18 Best Sights in Yukon Territory, Canada

The stories and experiences of the Yukon's First Nations peoples are one of the many topics explored throughout this museum on regional history. While touring the excellent displays of gold-rush materials in this ornate former territorial administration building, you may find it surprising just how luxurious Dawson was for the lucky few who could call themselves rich. Four restored locomotives and other railway cars and gear from the Klondike Mines Railway are housed in an adjacent building. The museum also has a library and archives, with staff on hand to help those seeking information about gold-rush ancestors, and tours are offered throughout the day (these are included with the price of admission).

Relax away the driving miles with a dip at this luxurious, recently remodeled complex off the Klondike Highway. Lounge or swim in the four hot spring–warmed pools, clear out your sinuses in the intense eucalyptus-infused steam room, or nap in the hibernation relax room on heated-tile lounge chairs. There are also cold-plunge pools to get your blood flowing. Occasional yoga and mediation classes are included with the entry price. After your soak, enjoy gelato, espresso, and banh mi sandwiches from the café, which also serves wine, beer, and sake. There's also an RV and tent campground. The pools are open year-round and in winter provide a breathtaking way to take in the wintry outdoors while staying warm and toasty. There's also a hair-freezing photo contest each February.

This archaeological dig site provides a glimpse into the past of the local First Nations people. Long before Western civilizations developed the Miles Canyon area, the First Nations people used it as a seasonal fish camp. From mid-June to late August, the Yukon Conservation Society sponsors free two-hour, kid-friendly natural and historical hikes starting at the Miles Canyon bridge, which hangs between rock canyon walls over the Yukon River. Hikes provide the opportunity to experience the surrounding countryside with local naturalists and are occasionally led by topic experts like botanists, entomologists, and First Nations historians. The views of the Yukon in the area's hiking trails are worth checking out even without a guide in summer, or on cross country skis or snowshoes in winter. A bookstore in the society's downtown office ( 302 Hawkins St.) specializes in the Yukon's history and wilderness and sells souvenirs, maps, and posters.

Its inviting atmosphere makes the center a good stop to explore the heritage of Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nations people. For countless generations Hän-speaking people lived in the Yukon River drainage of western Yukon and eastern Alaska. This specific language group settled around the mouth of the Klondike River. Through annually rotating displays, as well as tours, cultural activities, films, live radio broadcasts, and performances, you can learn about the traditional and contemporary life of "the people of the river." Though somewhat sparse, the historical exhibits convey a sense of what the gold rush was like for the people who were here first. Special summer activities include music events and daily programs in beading, Indigenous medicine, and tea- and jelly-making. The gift shop sells fine First Nations art, clothing, and beaded footwear, and stocks music and books. Admission is valid for two days.

Adults-only Gerties presents live entertainment and high-energy performances, including a scintillating cancan three times nightly in summer. This community nonprofit is the only authentic, legal gambling establishment operating in the entire North (it's also the oldest gambling hall in Canada), though the scene is mostly slots along with a few gaming tables. And there really was a Diamond Tooth Gertie—Gertie Lovejoy, a dance-hall queen who wore a diamond between her two front teeth. Admission is good for the duration of your stay in Dawson City.

When this massive wooden-hull gold dredge was in operation (1913–59), it ate rivers whole, spitting out gravel and keeping the gold for itself—on one highly productive day it sucked up 800 ounces. These days the dredge—a Canadian National Historic Site—occupies a spot along Bonanza Creek about 10 miles southeast of Dawson. The dredge is still worth a look, even on your own, if only to ponder the geology and economics that made it viable to haul this enormous piece of equipment into the middle of nowhere at a time when gold only brought $20 an ounce. You can pan for gold yourself in Bonanza Creek, where the Klondike Visitors Association offers a free claim for visitors. Bring your own supplies (almost every gift shop in town sells pans). You can also view the full inner workings of the dredge on one of the Dawson City tours offered by the visitors center.

This reproduction of London's home from 1897 to 1898 is constructed with half the wood from his original wilderness home that was found south of Dawson in the 1930s. The other half was sent to Oakland, California, where a similar structure sits at Jack London Square. The small museum contains photos and documents from London's life and the gold-rush era. Half-hour talks are given twice daily during peak season.

About 170 km (100 miles) west of Whitehorse, the reserve has millions of acres for hiking. This is a completely roadless wilderness, with hundreds of glaciers and so many mountains over 14,000 feet high that most of them haven't been named yet (one exception: Mt. Logan, Canada's highest peak). Kluane, the neighboring Wrangell–St. Elias National Park in Alaska, and a few smaller parks, constitute the largest protected wilderness in all North America. The staff at the Haines Junction visitor center can provide hiking, flightseeing, and other information. There's also the small Thechàl Dhâl Visitor Centre at the southern end of Kluane Lake whose staff can recommend hiking trails at numerous roadside pullouts that are great for Dall sheep viewing. If you're driving at sunrise or sunset from spring through fall, there's a good chance you'll catch sight of a grizzly bear eating roots or leaves near the side of the road. 

The exhibits at the MacBride provide a comprehensive view of the colorful characters and groundbreaking events that shaped the Yukon. An old-fashioned confectionery and an 1898 miner’s saloon are among the highlights of the Gold to Government Gallery illuminating gold-rush and Whitehorse history. The gold-related exhibits illustrate particularly well what people went through in quest of a little glint of color. Other displays investigate the Yukon's wildlife (including a taxidermied albino moose) and geology, and there are fine collections of photography and First Nations beadwork. Outdoor artifacts include the cabin of Sam McGee, who was immortalized in Robert Service's famous poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee."

Both scenic and historic, Miles Canyon is a short drive south of Whitehorse. Although the dam below the canyon makes its waters seem relatively tame, it was this perilous stretch of the Yukon River that determined the location of Whitehorse as the starting point for river travel north. The dam, built in 1958, created a lake that put an end to the infamous White Horse Rapids. Back in 1897, though, Jack London won the admiration—and cash—of fellow stampeders headed north to the Klondike goldfields because of his steady hand as pilot of hand-hewn wooden boats here. You can hike on canyon trails or rent a kayak and paddle through. In winter, strap on skis or snowshoes, or travel the trails on a fat-tire bike.

The poet Robert Service lived in this Dawson cabin from 1909 to 1912. From late May to mid September, enjoy daily readings outside the cabin from Parks Canada. A daily 45-minute tour (except Sundays) from Parks Canada gives background on the poet's life and the era he lived in. Stoke your inner poet and follow Service's footsteps on the nearby trail to Crocus Bluffs.

You can't really understand the scale of the gold rush without touring a riverboat. The SS Klondike, a national historic site, is dry-docked on the bank of the Yukon River in central Whitehorse's Rotary Park, just a minute's drive from downtown. The 210-foot stern-wheeler was built in 1929, sank in 1936, and was rebuilt in 1937. In the days when the Yukon River was the transportation link between Whitehorse and Dawson City, the SS Klondike was the largest boat plying the river. Riverboats were as much a way of life here as on the Mississippi of Mark Twain, and the tour of the Klondike is a fascinating way to see how the boats were adapted to the north. In the old days they were among the few operations that provided Indigenous people paying jobs, so there's a rich First Nations and Alaska Native history as well. Entry fees include a self-guided tour brochure. Guided tours are available through Parks Canada for C$8.

The walkway along the Yukon River passes by a few points of interest. Start along the river just east of the MacBride Museum entrance on Front Street. Traveling upstream (south), you'll see the old White Pass and Yukon Route Building on Main Street. The walk is a good way to get an overview of the old town site and just stretch your legs if you've been driving all day. On Thursday afternoons in summer, there's an excellent outdoor market with local foods, crafts, and entertainment.

Yukon Energy built the world's longest wooden fish ladder to facilitate the yearly chinook (king) salmon run around the Whitehorse Rapids hydroelectric dam. The salmon hold one of nature's great endurance records, the longest fish migration in the world—more than 2,000 miles from the Bering Sea to Whitehorse. There's a platform for viewing the ladder, and TV monitors display pictures from underwater cameras. Interesting interpretive exhibits, talks by local First Nations elders, and labeled tanks of freshwater fish enhance the experience. The best time to visit is August, when hundreds of salmon use the ladder to bypass the dam.

The story of the Yukon during the last ice age comes alive at this center near the Whitehorse Airport. Beringia is the name given to the large subcontinental landmasses of eastern Siberia and Interior Alaska and the Yukon, which stayed ice-free and were linked by the Bering Land Bridge during the latest ice age. The area that is now Whitehorse wasn't actually part of this—it was glaciated—but lands farther north, among them what is present-day Dawson City, were in the thick of it, and miners are still turning up mammoth bones. Large dioramas depict the lives of animals in Ice Age Beringia, and there are skeleton replicas and genuine artifacts. A 26,000-year-old horsehide reveals that horses weren't as big back then as they are now.

The lobby of the Government of Yukon Main Administration Building displays selections from the Yukon Permanent Art Collection, featuring traditional and contemporary works by Yukon artists. The space also includes a 24-panel stained-glass mural by artist David MacLagan depicting the historical evolution of the Yukon. In addition to the collection on the premises, the brochure Art Adventures on Yukon Time, available at visitor centers throughout the Yukon, guides you to artists' studios as well as galleries, festivals, and public art locations.

This museum takes a fascinating look at the planes, trains, trucks, and snowmachines that opened up the north. Even if big machines don't interest you, this is a cool place to learn about the innovations and adaptations that transport in the north has inspired. A mounted DC-3 cargo plane, said to be the world's largest weathervane, greets visitors in front of the museum.

The preserve provides a fail-safe way to photograph sometimes hard-to-spot animals in a natural setting. Animals roaming freely here include moose, elk, caribou, mountain goats, musk oxen, bison, mule deer, and Dall and Stone sheep. Bus tours take place throughout the day, and self-guided walking maps are available.