Official Language:
English
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Currency:
CAD
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Population:
Approximately 2,000 people call Dawson City home.
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Weather:
Climate and current weather information for Dawson Canada: Located south of the Arctic Circle it is at roughly the same latitude as Fairbanks. In the summer there are over 20 hours of sunlight with a mean high in July of 72°F/22°C.
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Dawson City is a city of Gold Rush history. Located approximately 400 km from the Arctic Circle, this was the largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg .The city was named after George M. Dawson, Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, who explored the region in 1887. Tourism and gold mining are the major industries in Dawson City. Placer gold mining which is the most common method and still used today, takes place on the local creeks and rivers. The mining activity can be seen from the roads along the Bonanza and Hunker Creeks. There are approximately 70,000 people that visit Dawson City every year.
Dawson City offers more activities for visitors than any other town in the Yukon or Alaska. Take a quiet stroll up and down the old wooden walkways on a crisp early morning. Many special events take place during the annual Discovery Days Festival celebrating the Discovery of Gold in 1896. Visit the Commissioner's Residence, the home of Pierre Berton as a young boy. The Yukon Gold Panning Championships are hosted on July 1st. Goldpanners attend from all over the world and compete in various panning categories.
During the early years of the Gold Rush the First Nations people relocated downstream to an area called Moosehide. The original buildings still stand and are used at Moosehide even today. Dawson is rich with First Nations Culture and the Tr’ondek Hwech’in people. They are proud to share their history through their Cultural Centre. Traditional songs and dance are performed by the members of the Tr’ondek Hwech’in in the Centre. Visitors will notice that the exhibits, displays and crafts portray the lives and the history of Klondike. Many of the old landmarks, such as the Palace Grand Theatre, have been reconstructed. The Old Post Office, has been restored. There are many sites in Dawson City that have been designated of National Historic significance by the Canadian government. Restoration and maintenance of numerous gold rush buildings have taken place as well.
However, Dawson City is more than just a gold-rush theme park; it's a real town with 2,000 year-round residents, many still working as miners (and many as sourdough wannabes). The citizens still like to party, stay up late, and tell tall tales to strangers, much as they did 100 years ago.
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Attractions |
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All of Dawson City and much of the surrounding area is preserved as a National Historic Site, and it's easy to spend a day wandering the boardwalks, looking at the old buildings, shopping the boutiques, and exploring vintage watering holes. About half of the buildings in the town are historic; the rest are artful contemporary reconstructions. Klondike National Historic Sites (tel. 867/993-7200 or 867/993-7237; www.pc.gc.ca) preserves eight blocks and sites in and around Dawson City. The Parks Service fees are usually C$5 (US$3.60) for adults for a guided tour, for most of its sites and services. For current Parks Canada program information and tickets, head over to the local Visitor Reception Centre.
Between the town and the mighty Yukon River are a series of dikes channeling the once-devastating floodwaters. A path follows the dikes and makes for a nice stroll. The SS Keno, a Yukon riverboat, is berthed along the dikes (next to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Front St.). Built in Whitehorse in 1922, it was one of the last riverboats to travel on the Yukon -- there were once more than 200 of them.
Bonanza Creek:
The original Yukon gold strike and some of the richest pay dirt in the world were found on Bonanza Creek, an otherwise-insignificant tributary flowing north into the Klondike River. A century's worth of mining has left the streambed piled into an orderly chaos of gravel heaps, the result of massive dredges. The national park service has preserved and interpreted a number of old prospecting sites; however, most of the land along Bonanza Creek is owned privately, so don't trespass, and by no means should you casually gold-pan.
The Discovery Claim:
About 16km (10 miles) up Bonanza Creek Road, is the spot, now marked by a National Historic Sites cairn, where George Carmack, Skookum Jim, and Tagish Charlie found the gold that unleashed the Klondike Stampede in 1896. They staked out the first four claims (the 4th partner, Bob Henderson, wasn't present). Within a week, Bonanza and Eldorado creeks had been staked out from end to end, but none of the later claims matched the wealth of the first. Just over 12km (7 1/2 miles) up Bonanza Creek, Parks Canada has preserved Dredge no. 4 (tel. 867/993-7200), one of the largest gold dredges ever used in North America; it's open June through early to mid-September daily 9am to 5pm, with tours offered hourly to 4pm at C$5 (US$3.60) for adults or C$2.50 (US$1.80) for youths ages 12 and under. Dredges -- which augured up the permafrost, washed out the fine gravel, and sifted out the residual gold -- were used after placer miners had panned out the easily accessible gold along the creek. Dredge no. 4 began operation in 1913 and could dig and sift 13,800 cubic m (18,000 cubic yd.) in 24 hours, thus doing the work of an army of prospectors. You can do some free panning yourself at Claim 6, 14km (9 miles) up Bonanza Road. Bring your own pan (BYOP)!
The Bear Creek:
The next drainage up from Bonanza Creek is Bear Creek, Which became the headquarters for the dredge gold mining that dominated the Klondike area from 1905 to 1965, after the bloom went off placer mining. Parks Canada has developed a 65-building interpretive site that explores the history of industrial mining, including a dredge, a hydraulic monitor, and a gold mill, where the gold nuggets were cleaned, melted down, and cast into bullion. The turnoff for Bear Creek Historic Mining Camp is about 11km (7 miles) south of Dawson City, off the Klondike Highway. The site is open dawn to dusk from June through the first week of September, and two tours of the gold mill are given daily, at 1:30 and 2:30pm, costing C$5 (US$3.60).
Dawson City Museum:
In the grand old Territorial Administration building, this excellent museum should be your first stop on a tour of Dawson City. Well-curated displays explain the geology and paleontology of the area (this region was on the main migratory path between Asia and North America during the last ice age), as well as the history of the Native Hän peoples. The focus, of course, is the gold rush, and the museum explains various mining techniques; one of the galleries is dedicated to demonstrating the day-to-day life of early-1900s Dawson City. Various tours and programs are offered on the hour, including two video presentations. Costumed docents are on hand to answer questions and recount episodes of history. On the grounds are early rail steam engines that served in the mines.
Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall:
This is a real Klondike Gold Rush-style gambling hall. Visitors will fin poker, Blackjack and other table games as well as slot machines. Live entertainment and a bar, open nightly at 7pm.
Gaslight Follies/Palace Grand Theatre:
A National Historic Site with a variety show that relives the Gold Rush era. This show plays every night at the Palace Grand Theatre and is highly suggested.
Midnight Dome Road:
A five-mile road to the top of Midnight Dome overlooking Dawson City, the Yukon River and gold fields. The road will take you 2900 feet above sea level, where visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Klondike Valley, the Sixty Mile country, and the Yukon River.
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More Information |
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Useful Links About Dawson:
Dawson Travel Information
Dawson Info
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