Dawson City, Yukon, visitors and residents now have a new way to walk through history, as an interactive audio guide featuring local voices sharing stories of the town’s historic sites has launched. The guide comes less than three years after Dawson City was inscribed as part of the Tr’ondëk-Klondike UNESCO World Heritage Site in September 2023.
The audio tour can be followed while strolling the wooden boardwalks or used remotely with an interactive map, making it accessible even from home. It puts a spotlight on the people behind the landmarks, drawing on voices from the community to tell deeper stories of the Klondike Gold Rush era and the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, who have lived in the area for thousands of years.
Dawson City was the epicentre of the 1896-1899 gold rush, when its population swelled to roughly 35,000, briefly making it the largest city north of Seattle and west of Winnipeg. Today, the town of about 1,500 people is a living museum. Parks Canada maintains 17 historically significant buildings in the Dawson Historical Complex, including the Palace Grand theatre and the cabin of poet Robert Service. An existing Parks Canada audio walking tour is available in English, French, and German at the Visitor Information Centre, but this new guide marks a fresh approach by weaving together personal narratives.
The UNESCO designation shifted attention to telling a fuller story, including Indigenous experiences during the colonial gold rush period. The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in traditional territory encompasses the World Heritage Site, and their perspectives are central to its management. Through the new guide, listeners can expect to hear directly from community members about places like Tr’ochëk and Moosehide Village, adding layers of meaning to the landscape.
The Dawson City Visitor Information Centre, located at Front and King streets, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from May 1 to September 30, where visitors can learn more about the audio guide and other local heritage programs. The project builds on work by the Klondike Visitors Association and the City of Dawson, reflecting an ongoing push to make history feel alive and personal for the roughly 60,000 annual visitors.
