Dawson City in the Yukon, Canada was definitely worth a two night diversion on our drive up to Alaska. It’s a charming historic city with ~1,500 residents year-round, but whose population swells in the summer due to tourism.
We were there for the Sourtoe Cocktail and only booked a couple of nights in the city as we didn’t think there’d be much else to do there. That was a mistake as it seemed like there was even more to see and do than we managed to fit in during our two nights.
Here’s more about what we did in Dawson City and why we enjoyed our short stay so much.
How To Get To Dawson City
If you’re planning on driving in to Dawson City from the south, you’ll be able to drive straight in. If you’re approaching from the north though, you’ll have to take the George Black Ferry. This is a small car ferry that’s free for all passengers and connects the city with the Top of the World Highway. The ferry runs 24 hours a day, with the journey only taking ~5 minutes.
Where We Stayed In Dawson City
We stayed both nights at The Downtown, a hotel that’s part of Coast Hotels (a chain primarily based in Canada).
We picked this hotel primarily because it’s home to the Sourdough Saloon where the Sourtoe Cocktail is served, but also because it has a great location in the center of the city and is pet-friendly (we have our dog Truffles with us).
The hotel was a nice place to stay; our room was comfortable and clean, it was useful having a mini-fridge/freezer rather than only a mini-fridge and the curtains did a pretty good job of keeping our room dark at night despite the fact that the sun barely goes down at that time of year.
It wasn’t perfect though. The water pressure in the shower was poor; there was enough water coming out, it just didn’t spray out very far. The internet connection wasn’t great either. It would frequently cut out for 5-10 seconds at a time and other times it would be slow. Having said that, Dawson City is a fairly remote city in the Yukon, so I can’t really begrudge them for that – it’s just something to be aware of if you’d be needing to have lots of Zoom calls during a stay or something like that.
Things To Do In Dawson City
Sourtoe Cocktail
Dawson City is perhaps best known for the Sourtoe Cocktail served at the Sourdough Saloon. It’s a challenge where you have to take a shot of Yukon Jack whiskey which just so happens to have a mummified human toe sitting in it. In order to earn a certificate, you have to follow the rules:
You can drink it fast
You can drink it slow
But your lips have gotta touch the toe
Both Shae and I completed the challenge which wasn’t as gross as I’d anticipated it being. Find out more about it here which includes a video of us both completing the challenge.
Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall is the oldest casino in Canada, dating back to the early 1970s. It’s run by a local non-profit, with proceeds from the casino going back into the community.
In addition to slot machines and games like poker, roulette and blackjack, one of the main draws of Diamond Tooth Gerties is its cancan shows. Every night there are three different performances by Diamond Tooth Gertie and her cancan girls which were incredibly fun and entertaining. Shae will be writing a separate post this week about our night out there, so stay tuned for that.
Midnight Dome Viewpoint
Midnight Dome Viewpoint is a viewing area sitting above Dawson City, a 10 minute drive up a steep hill, or a 2+ hour hike if you’re up for it.
Looking back through the photos we took that night, it doesn’t do justice to quite how beautiful it was up there. If you ever make it to Dawson City, this is somewhere that’s definitely worth visiting.
Shae and I went up there late one night to watch the sunset. And by late, I mean late. Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, when we went up there the night of May 30, 2024 the sun didn’t set until after midnight – 00:13am to be precise. That was our first experience of the Midnight Sun, with the night sky not seemingly getting properly dark at all at that time of year as it was only a few hours before the sun rose again.
Permafrost Effects
Dawson City sits on ~200 feet of permafrost, defined as ground that remains below 32°F (0°C) for at least two years. The permafrost beneath Dawson City is relatively warm though, with temperatures ranging from 28°-31°F. That means that with climate change, the ground warms up which causes it to become unstable.
That has a significant impact on buildings and roads in the city. The most obvious example of this is the now-abandoned St Andrew’s Presbyterian church. The ground that sits beneath it has sunk so much that it looks more like a short version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
This has also led the city to not pave its roads, with sidewalks also being raised off the ground (although the sidewalk design might be more as a result of snow levels in the winter).
Moosehide Slide
A prominent feature of Dawson City is a landslide visible on a hillside in the distance. Although the city was a key part of the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800s, the landslide wasn’t caused by mining activity. In fact, it happened in prehistoric times, but the landslide was a landmark marking the arrival in the Klondike.
Woolly Mammoth Statue
Over the past 125+ years, miners have uncovered thousands of woolly mammoth fossils. Other fossils discovered include one of a 57,000 year old wolf pup, preserved thanks to the thick layers of permafrost.
At the entrance of town there’s a statue of a woolly mammoth that was created in 2000, honoring the ancient creatures.
S.S. Keno National Historic Site
On the banks of the Yukon River downtown sits S.S. Keno, a riverboat that you can take a tour of. We didn’t end up taking a tour, but you can still admire it from outside.
A Tribute To The Miner Statue
Also set on the banks of the Yukon River is a statue honoring the history of Klondike gold miners in the area.
Wandering Downtown
Dawson City isn’t a very big city, so we spent some time walking around pretty much all of its streets downtown.
It’s a cute area, retaining the feel of a wild west/gold rush town, but with some modernization. It’s also an intensely colorful city.
One of my favorite colorful buildings was the Robert Service School which is the most vibrant learning institution I’ve ever seen.
There are quite a few boutique stores, restaurants and cafes around town, particularly on Front St which faces the Yukon River.
If you need to do a little grocery shopping, there are a couple of general stores.
Perhaps the most fascinating building in Dawson City is the one that houses The Rock Jewelry & Art Merchants. That’s because one of its walls was constructed with siding made from flattened oil barrels, a material miners used to use due to a lack of other building materials.
Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site
We didn’t have time to explore it in the end, but one of the other key sites in Dawson City is Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site. This was a dredge used to mine gold, with guided tours being available from the visitor center on Front St.
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