A
minimum stay of two days is necessary to capture the full
Dawson experience. After coming this far, visitors should
relax and stay long enough to see the important sites
and, especially, to soak up the incredible historical
scene that Dawson City provides.
A
walking tour through the downtown area leaves the town
infocentre at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Guided
mini-bus tours of the city and the gold fields are
available from Gold City Tours, (867) 993-5175.
Tours can include gold panning on an original gold rush
claim site.
Parks
Canada, the national parks service, has restored
several historic sites including: Harrington's
Store, where an excellent photography exhibit shows
the work of early photographers who worked here during
the gold rush; the Robert Service Cabin on 8th
Ave., home of the "Bard of the Yukon," the poet who wrote
the classics Cremation of Sam McGee and Shooting of Dan
McGrew; S.S. Keno, the river steamer on the
riverfront, one of more than 200 sternwheelers that plied
the Yukon River until the 1950s, and the last to sail
down the river from Whitehorse; the Bear Creek Gold
Camp, outside of town, with gold mining buildings
that provided support for gold dredging by the Yukon
Consolidated Gold Co.; the 1901 Post Office, still
operating at 3rd Avenue & King St.
The
original Palace Grand Theatre was built in 1899 by
Arizona Charlie Meadows and restored in the 60s.
"Gaslight Follies" is performed nightly in this King
Street music hall.
Admission is $15.00 Main Floor, $17.00 Balcony, Children
under 12 - $7.50 Main Floor. Reservations are
recommended. For show times and reservations call (867)
993-6217.
Diamond
Tooth Gertie's celebrates its coup of being the first
modern licensed gambling casino in Canada. The casino
offers live entertainment including three different Can
Can shows nightly, full bar service, food concession,
slot machines, blackjack tables, roulette wheels and
more! Open Daily: 7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. Admission fee
$6.00
The
Gold Room is a historic memento of the Klondike Gold
Rush, located on the second floor of the original Bank of
Commerce building, on the waterfront. Miners brought
their pokes to be weighed in the gold room, which is open
daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during summer.
The
Dawson City Museum is located in the former
Territorial Administration Building on 5th Avenue,
featuring many exhibits on the history of the Klondike.
Silent films of the period, unearthed during a
restoration project in 1978, are shown in the museum
,along with a slide-audio program on the Dempster
Highway. There's a coffee and gift shop. The museum is
open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., from early June through
Labor Day.
Jack
London's Cabin is an interpretive centre devoted to
the author of Call of the Wild and other classics of the
north. The cabin was moved to Dawson City from a more
southerly location, and contains exhibits and readings
from London's works.
Events:
Yukon
Gold Panning Championship
Every Canada Day July 1st, the Klondike Visitors
Association hosts the Yukon Gold Panning Championship.
Participants are given a bucket of gravel containing a
few gold flakes, and then timed to see who can take out
the most gold in the shortest time. There is a category
for visitors and others who have never panned before, so
everyone feels welcomed at this holiday event.
Discovery
Days
Held each August, Discovery Days celebrates the
discovery of Klondike Gold at Bonanza Creek.
The
Year 2000 festival will be neld August 18 - 21.
Events
include a fastball tournament, the annual parade hosted
by the Yukon order of Pioneers, a horticultural show,
relay race, games for children, the Klondike Country
Jamboree, a demolition derby, canoe race, and a youth
triathlon. A highlight of the festival is the arrival of
bathtubs from Whitehorse. The bathtub race is an
hilarious annual ritual.
Klondike
Outdoors
Claim
# 6
This gold claim (free to visitors) is No. 6 above
Discovery on historic Eldorado Creek. It was first staked
by F. Ladouceur in October, 1896, not long after George
Carmack made his famous discovery about a half-mile
downstream. It has been owned by a variety of miners and
mining companies, including the Yukon Gold Company. The
Klondike Visitors Association owns the claim, and
visitors are welcome to pan for free and can keep the
gold that they find. Panning is restricted to hand tools
only.
Guggieville,
a combination RV park and gold rush theme park, offers
panning on the original Guggenheim family mining camp at
the junction of Bonanza Creek Road and the Klondike
Highway. The sand here is also salted, to guarantee you a
pay day. For information, call (867) 993-5008.
Dredge
# 4: This huge dredge is 13 KM (8 miles) south of
Dawson City on Bonanza Creek Road (off the Klondike Hwy.)
These dredges floated in their own ponds, scooping up
creek gravel and gold. This is the largest wooden-hulled
dredge ever built. Open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The
Yukon River provides opportunities for cruising and
sightseeing. Yukon Queen II, operated by Westmark
Tours, takes tourists for cruises on the Yukon River,
covering the 174 KM (108 miles) from Dawson to Eagle,
Alaska. Check at the tour desk in the Westmark Inn for
times and cost. For advance information, call (867)
993-5599.
Midnight
Dome is the hill that overlooks Dawson City and the
gold creeks. You can drive to the top of the Dome to walk
around it, viewing the historic landscape. A midnight
celebration is held on the Dome by locals on June 21st,
when the sun pops behind the tops of the Ogilvie
Mountains for just a few seconds. It's a thrilling sight
which is available on several evenings each June. The old
original RCMP cemetery is along this road.
Eureka
Gold Panning Adventures offers a pioneer-style
experience on the banks of Hunker Creek, one of the
original gold rush locations. You can take a day tour,
with pickup in Dawson City, to pan for gold (and keep
what you get). You can also re-live the experience of
actually camping in tents at the gold claim, along 3,800
feet of gold bearing creek valley. The wall tents are
large, comfortable, and well equipped. All you need to
bring are sleeping bags and food. Panning equipment
provided includes a gold pan, shovel, rubber boots, and
rubber gloves. Overnight guests are picked up in Dawson
City, for the one hour drive to the gold fields. For
information, call Morris and Sandy George at (867)
633-6519.
As
with other areas of the Yukon, the Klondike region offers
many outdoor activities, including canoeing, fishing, and
hunting. Outfitters in Whitehorse offer canoe trips down
the Yukon River to Dawson. The North Klondike River
provides good canoe tripping, with the Dempster Highway
available to take you to a launching point. For hunting
possibilities, contact a local guide.
The
town information centre has names of registered hunting
and fishing guides. Winter provides other possibilities
for outdoor recreation. The most exciting cold-weather
activity is dog sledding. Excursions are available from
Dawson through Yukon Dog Voyageurs, (867) 993-5256. While
the daytime temperatures may be in the frigid range,
accommodations in Dawson hotels and cabins along the way
provide creature comforts. These dog sled trips operate
from November through March.
Dawson
Camping
Guggieville
Campground
P.O. Box 311, Dawson City YT Y0B 1G0
(867) 993-5008
You'll see Guggieville signs as you approach Dawson City
from the south. The campground and gold panning
attraction is located on famed Bonanza Creek, and
facilities include hookups, tent sites, showers, laundry,
and a car wash. Off season phone: (867) 993-5319
Gold
Rush Campground
P.O. Box 198, Dawson City YT Y0B 1G0
(867) 993-5247
This small private campground is at 5th Avenue and York
Street, in downtown Dawson. Facilities include full and
partial hookups, showers, laundry, store, car wash, and
dump station. Open May through September.
Klondike
River Yukon Government Campground
Located 13 miles south of Dawson City on Yukon
Highway 2, with 30 campsites.
Yukon
River Government Campground
Located on the west bank of Yukon River, across from
downtown Dawson.
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