June 23-25, 2024.
Dawson City is located in the Yukon Territory in Northwestern Canada. As the crow flies, it’s about 45 miles from the Alaska border. Known today for its Klondike Gold Rush history, the area has been home to thriving indigenous communities for millennia. The modern Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation is based in Dawson City, and you can learn much more about this history from Indigenous Yukon or by visiting the Dänojà Zho Cultural Center in town.
Ferry time
When planning our trip here, I learned that the downtown area and most of the amenities are located on the east side of the sprawling Yukon River. However, the nicest-looking campground is located on the west side of the river. This is not usually an issue in most cities since the invention of bridges. But due to the nature of the untame-able Yukon, it has no bridge across. Rather, a small ferry carries pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles across day in and day out through the summer season (in the frozen winter, you can snowmobile across).
Luckily, the ferry is free and runs continuously. They fill up the boat with as many people as they can, expertly fitting RVs, trucks, cars and more like Tetris pieces into a grid. People on foot or on bike can simply walk on and take a seat. When the boat is full (or the line is empty), the ferry starts its quick journey across the river. Then, the boat unloads and the process is repeated on the other side. Thus, you simply drive to the end of the road and wait your turn. It’s quite simple.
We took our van on her first ferry ride, checked into the Yukon River Campground and settled in for the first night. On subsequent days, we walked a few minutes to the ferry loading area, hopped on the boat and explored Dawson City by foot. It was fun to have a break from driving for a few days and to take so many ferry rides.
A couple awesome things about Yukon government campgrounds:
As of 2024, there are only four campgrounds that accept online reservations for specific dates and sites. All others are first-come, first-served. However, if you pre-pay online for a Yukon camping permit, you can use it at any site at a government campground and you save $2 a night. There aren’t even any stupid reservation fees. Please note these are currently two totally separate reservation systems so you’ll need to make two accounts if you want to take advantage of both options. It confused the hell out of me, so be patient when you’re first getting started. If you don’t want to deal with any of that, there are kiosks located at the front of each campground for self-registration!
Things to do
When we visited, the temperatures were in the 90’s and the sun felt like a hot oven. Thus, the following list is based predominantly on how we were feeling in this weather! Starting with…
Klondyke Cream and Candy. Bring cash for this incredible ice cream and sweets shop. Depending on when you arrive, there may be a line, but it’s worth the wait! Walk across the street and enjoy a seat on the lawn near the river to enjoy your sweet treat.
Paddlewheel graveyard. You’ll need to ferry across the river to see this tangle of metal and wood behind the Yukon River Campground. Follow the well-worn user trail to see what remains of the gold-rush era paddlewheel ships.
Dänojà Zho Cultural Center. Learn about the past, present and future of the indigenous people who have always lived and thrived on this land. The museum is small but they pack a lot into that space. They have a small tea room with (free!) tea made from locally foraged flora as well as a gift shop featuring native crafts. But the best part for us was talking with the staff. They’ll be happy to share stories and teach you about life in Yukon if you just ask.
Yukon Spa. Do yourself a favor and get a 3-hour pass to this day spa and you’ll leave feeling like a whole new person. Your pass includes access to (NICE, CLEAN!) showers, hot and cold pools, three types of saunas and rooftop lounge chairs with an open view of the sky. We used every second of our passes to clean up and soak our road weary muscles. They also have a vegan cafe, which was not to our taste, but you may enjoy!
Parks Canada Escape Room. Yes, you read that right. We signed up for the “Catch the Klondike Killers” room, staged in the Commissioner’s Residence. It’s rated most difficult and we both totally agree! The game is based on a real murder case and the Parks Canada game master will set the scene for you before “locking” you in the room. You’ve got an hour to get out and we just barely solved it! We talked about the history of the area with our host for another half hour after we escaped. Not only was this a fun activity but we walked out having learned so much more about Dawson City from the excellent Parks Canada staff. Be sure to sign up in advance for this one by calling ahead or dropping by the Visitor Information Centre.
There are many other things to do if you have different interests or if the weather conditions are different. Check out your options here.
Favorite hikes
The heat prevented us from doing too much hiking during our visit, but here is more information about the two we enjoyed.
Orchid Acres. I had been looking for the elusive spotted ladyslipper for a couple weeks, so when I found out about this trail I knew we had to give it a try. The orchid acres loop is only 0.6 miles long and gains 150′ (all on the way back to your car). On our visit, we found many patches of spotted ladyslipper in bloom! In addition we saw lots of twinflower, mountain death camas and bunchberry. YMMV when hiking this trail at different times of year. There is a lovely wooden deck with an overlook of the Yukon River about halfway down the trail. For an even better view of Dawson City, drive back to the main road and pull off near some graffitied concrete barriers. You can see where the clear blue water of the Klondike enters the silty, gray water of the Yukon. Dawson City sits just to the left of the confluence.
Waterfront Trail to Ninth Ave. Trail. We made a roughly three mile (I didn’t track it) loop in town, starting on the dike trail and connecting it with the Ninth Avenue Trail. The dike trail follows the river and has some interpretive signs along the way. It’s also fully exposed to the sun, so we quickly lost interest. The Ninth Ave. Trail was a breath of fresh air as it immediately dove into the forest. It did require climbing some stairs and hills though, so we traded sunshine for elevation gain. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the recent (and ongoing) trail maintenance as well as beautiful flowers and a few nice viewpoints. There are other trails you can connect to from these trails, so pick up a trail map and design your own adventure!
Overall, I really enjoyed our visit to Dawson City and I hope I get to come back another time. We didn’t get to all the museums and restaurants and it was too hot to do much hiking. It would also be fun to be there during one of their annual events. As with many of the places we visit, it’s just been a scouting mission so far. The next time we’ll be better prepared!
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