Yukon: Klondike Gold Rush

Week 11: Canadian Summer Staycation Series!

This is the eleventh in a series of 13 weekly blog posts highlighting one iconic Canadian experience in each Province and Territory.

In this weeks’ blog post we’re visiting the Yukon, the first Territory in this blog post series.

The Yukon Territory is nestled between Alaska and the North West Territories, north of the province of British Columbia.

In 1896, gold was found near Dawson City, Yukon starting the Klondike Gold Rush. Over 100,000 people arrived looking to find gold and strike it rich.

The gold rush eventually settled down but there are still remnants to be found throughout the Yukon.

Tourism and gold mining are the two largest industries in the Yukon today, so there are still opportunities for visitors to find their own gold and relive the history of the gold rush days.

Dawson City

Dawson City is located on the banks of the Yukon River. It’s a living city but also a National Historic Site protected by Parks Canada.

At one point in time Dawson City was the center of the Klondike Gold Rush and there are many National Historic Sites located throughout and around the City.

Dawson Historical Complex

One of the National Historic Sites located in Dawson City, is a section of the downtown core.

Most buildings in the area look like they are from the 19th century and any new building construction has to be approved to ensure that historic architecture and facade are kept intact.

These are real stores, restaurants and hotels that look like something from history text books.

Sourtoe Cocktail

Another National Historic Site is the Downtown Hotel at Second Avenue and Queen Street. The hotel is world famous for its unusual Sourtoe Cocktail, which features a real mummified human toe.

This human toe has been dehydrated and preserved in salt and is used to garnish a drink of choice. Since real toes can’t last forever (and a few have been accidentally swallowed), the hotel does seek out new toe donations from time to time.

There is one rule that has to be followed when drinking a Sourtoe Cocktail “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow—but the lips have gotta touch the toe.”

Panning for Gold

Why not try your hand at getting rich by panning for gold? Whatever you find, is yours to keep!!!

If choosing to pan for gold on your own, there are some rules that have to be followed and a call or visit to the Mining Recorders Office is required to get approval. Panning needs to be done on public land and on land that has not already been claimed by someone else.

There are also tour operators in the Yukon that will take visitors to a gold panning site and show them how to find gold and provide all of the tools and equipment to do so!

Dredge No. 4

After years of panning for gold by hand, mining companies built dredges to help speed up the work. Dredge No. 4 is a wooden-hull, bucketline sluice dredge that was used to mine gold on the Yukon River until 1959.

One of these (known as Dredge No. 4) is located along the Bonanza Creek Road and was preserved as a National Historic Site by Parks Canada.

Guided tours of the Dredge are available to the public.

In addition to panning for gold yourself or visiting artifacts related to the Klondike Gold Rush, the Yukon Territory is a beautiful place to visit. It’s home to Mount Logan (Canada’s tallest mountain) and the world’s largest non-polar icefields are located in the beautiful Kluane National Park Reserve.

What would you do if you hit the jackpot while panning for gold in the Yukon? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

And if you want to catch up on our other blog posts in this Canadian Summer Staycation series…click on the links below:

Newfound and Labrador: Iceberg Alley

Nova Scotia: Tidal Bore Rafting

Prince Edward Island: All Things Anne

New Brunswick: Hopewell Rocks

Quebec: Old Quebec

Ontario: Tobermory

Manitoba: Going on Safari

Saskatchewan: Notoriously Moose Jaw

Alberta: The Drumheller Dinosaurs

British Columbia: Rainforest and Beaches

North West Territories: The Northern Lights

Nunavut: Inuit Culture in Iqaluit

---

If you haven’t had the pleasure of traveling for a vacation within Canada before, now is the ideal time to do so.

With a decrease in the number of international tourists expected to visit because of the Covid-19 travel restrictions in place, popular tourist destinations within Canada will be less crowded this summer. Hotels and resorts have been offering discounted room prices and free room upgrades to entice travelers to book accommodations.

In addition to a less expensive and more enjoyable travel experience, the tourism industry in Canada has been hit hard by Covid-19 and they are going to need our help to recover as quickly as possible with our tourism dollars.

Let’s all do our part and help support our own economy and tourism industry to recover by choosing to spend money on Canadian travel experiences this summer.