Dawson City is a historical town of 2,270 people (2021) in Yukon. It invites visitors to celebrate its heritage as a late 19th-century gold rush town, with frontier buildings and boardwalks, saloons, and a vintage sternwheeler.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
In prehistoric times the area was used for agriculture by the Hän-speaking people of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and their forebears. The heart of their homeland was Tr'ochëk, a fishing camp at the confluence of the Klondike River and Yukon River, now a National Historic Site of Canada, just across the Klondike River from modern Dawson City. This site was also an important summer gathering spot and a base for moose-hunting on the Klondike Valley. The current settlement was founded by Joseph Ladue and named in January 1897 after noted Canadian geologist George M. Dawson, who had explored and mapped the region in 1887.
Great White North Taxi, ☏ +1 867 730-2227. (updated Jul 2019) Polaris Adventures, ☏ 1-867-730-1747Country code missing, info@polarisadventures.ca. Local transportation & custom tours (updated Sep 2026)
In 2023 the site Tr’ondëk-Klondike was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. It's composed of eight sites, one of which is in the Tombstone Territorial Park and the other seven in and near Dawson City: Dawson City as well as the Native American settlement of Tr’ochëk slightly to the south, Jëjik Dhä Dënezhu Kek’it (Moosehide Village) and Fort Reliance a bit downstream on the right bank of Yukon River, and much further downstream (maybe 70 km as the crow flies), close to each other, the forts Cudahy and Constantine and the Native American sites of Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile) and Ch’ëdähdëk Tth’än K’et (Dënezhu Graveyard). 1 Paddle Boat Graveyard.
2 Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall, 1001 Fourth Ave, ☏ +1 867 993-5575. Summer: 7PM-2AM, Off-season: Select weekends 7PM-1AM, but no cancan shows. A touristy relic of the old Gold Rush days but it is still a blast, frequented by locals and visitors. It is the only casino in northern Canada. In the summer there are three can-can shows a night in addition to gambling of all sorts, food, and of course local beers and drinks. Must be 19+. In summer, admission requires $30 season. No pass needed off-season, but some fundraising events have cover charges. (updated Feb 2026) 3 Tombstone Territorial Park, Dempster Highway.
1 Drunken Goat Taverna, 950 Second Ave (in downtown), ☏ +1 867 993-5868. Great Greek food. Eat in. Take out orders. (updated Sep 2024) 2 Aurora Inn, 736 Fifth Ave, ☏ +1 867 993-4194. Restaurant. Eat in. Take out orders. In the menu: Bison carpaccio and fireweed honey duck breast. (updated Sep 2024) 3 Bonton & Company, 878 Third Ave (in the city centre), ☏ +1 867 993-4194. Restaurant. Eat in. Take out orders. (updated Sep 2024) 4 Riverwest Bistro, 958 Front St (opposite Waterfront Park), ☏ +1 867 993-6339. Restaurant. Eat in. Take out orders. (updated Sep 2024) 5 Belinda's Dining Room, Westmark Inn, Fifth & Harper St, ☏ +1 800-544-0970. Family restaurant. Meals on site.
1 Sourdough Saloon, , 1026 Second Ave, ☏ +1 867 993-5076. A good bar, home of the "Sourtoe Cocktail Club": to join, down a shot of Yukon Jack whiskey garnished with a mummified human toe. Don't swallow the toe, though, or you'll be fined $2,500. Eat in. Take out. 2 The Pit, Westminster Hotel 929 Third Avenue, ☏ +1 867 993-6029. For some local colour try the beer parlour at the Westminster Hotel or "the pit" (the dodgy-looking pink building on 3rd Ave) where gold mining fortunes and welfare cheques are cheerfully exchanged for $2 sleeves of draught beer almost any time of any day. Good local live music in the lounge next door at the pit on some nights.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Oct, Dawson City typically sees ~4°C daytime highs and 15 rainy days.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-10-18. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
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