Travel to Dawson City in the Yukon, Canada

Downtown Dawson City Hotel in the Yukon, Canada.

Travelling through the small northern communities in the Yukon – like Haines Junction and Beaver Creek – has been fun, but it was time to hit a lively town: Dawson City, Canada. This is where the beginning of the Klondike gold rush began, which turned a small town into a booming city of 30,000.

I explored most of Dawson City on foot, getting an audio tour from Parks Canada ($6.30 CAD) and walking the historic streets with the history playing in the MP3 player. It starts with Paradise Alley, where the red light district was first developed, to the Palace Grand Theatre, the post office, Diamond Tooth Gerties casino (first licensed casino in Canada), blacksmith shop and the oldest surviving hotel.

Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino in Dawson City, Yukon (Canada).

S.S. Keno, one of the 250 paddle wheelers that once plied the Yukon River and played an essential role in keeping Dawson City connected, is parked on the waterfront across from the Visitor’s Information Centre.

Next to it is the smaller, but working Klondike Spirit side paddle wheeler, which is now run by father and son team Bob and Brad (truly wonderful hosts and a great two hour ride down the Yukon River- $52.50 CAD for the cruise and $82.50 for the cruise and dinner).

Klondike Spirit Paddle Wheeler Owners Bob and Brad in Dawson City, Canada.

Outside of the downtown core is the Midnight Dome, where panoramic views of the city are laid out from every angle. On a clear day, it’s a glorious sight from 4,048 feet up. On the way up there, I stopped in at Claim 33, where I learned how to pan for gold and have it in a small flask as proof that I struck it rich in Dawson City. (Okay, it’s a very small flask.)

The main purpose of travelling to Dawson City, though, was the Dawson City Music Festival.

The Poet Robert Service Cabin in Dawson City, Yukon (Canada).

Travel Tips:

• A nice walk is up Eighth Avenue leads to “Authors Corner.” Pierre Burton’s writer in residence house is here, along with the Jack London Cabin and the famous Robert Service cabin.
• If you like drinking, you’ll love Dawson City. Old bars keep the beer flowing all day and night.
• A surprising find was the Aurora Inn’s Restaurant, La Table on 5th (5th Avenue and Harper Street, 867-993-6860). This elegant little restaurant has delicious food, a delightful staff and topped my dessert list for their Mango Crème Brulée.
• I stayed at the Eldorado Dawson City hotel in an enormous newly renovated room on the second floor (this floor had a fire, so the rooms are now newly re-done). It has free wireless, friendly staff and a prime location. There are many hotels in Dawson City that looked noteworthy, but at this time of the year you just pick whichever has a room available.
• This isn’t a tourist trap, dressed up to look like a gold rush town. People live here, about 1,800 of them, so hard drinking local characters are in every bar and street, while the buildings have been restored by Parks Canada, yet remain true to their dusty, Klondike days. The streets are all dirt and wooden boardwalks line most of them.