The main attraction for us when we chose to go to Dawson, Yukon, was the historic value of the city. Dawson was sort of a rest stop for travelers on their way to find their fortune in gold. The people of Dawson recognize this, and the base of their tourism industry rests on this. Of course, the locations are still historically relevant, they have simply been modernized. For a comparison, see the below photos:
The higher of the two is what the hotel looked like in the days of the gold rush, the lower is what it looks like today. We were told that the hotels above were the actual hotels slept in by miners and prospectors who passed through. We talked to some of the elders, and they passed on to us wild tales of "back in the day" when this town was considered to be an essential rest stop. When someone passed through, they could do so quite quickly if they wanted to. Dawson is quite a small town, but it feels big. Below you can see the main street.
There isn't much more to the town than that, other than local residences and corner stores. On our second day staying in Dawson, we noticed some local kids playing on the ice. Feeling adventuresome, we joined in.
We had fun enjoying the outdoors. We happened to stop during a warm spell (but not warm enough to fall through the ice!). After staying for two days, we had to move on as time was limited and we had the rest of the North to see. Our next destination: Whitehorse, NWT
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