Bonanza Creek Discovery Site

Top choice in Dawson City


Some 1.5km up the valley from Dredge No 4, this national historic site is roughly where gold was first found in 1896. It's a quiet site today with a little water burbling through the rubble. A fascinating 500m-long walk passes interpretive displays. Pick up a guide at the visitor center.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Dawson City attractions

1. Dredge No 4

0.96 MILES

The scarred valleys around Dawson speak to the vast amounts of toil that went into the gold hunt. Most emblematic is Bonanza Creek, where gold was first…

2. Cemeteries

6.89 MILES

A 15-minute walk up King St and Mary McCloud Rd near town leads to 10 cemeteries that are literally filled with characters. Among them is Joe Vogler, who…

3. Crocus Bluff

6.9 MILES

Near Dawson's cemeteries, there's a short path out to pretty Crocus Bluff, which has excellent views of Dawson and the Klondike and Yukon Rivers. If…

4. Jack London Museum

7.06 MILES

In 1898 Jack London lived in the Yukon, the setting for his most popular stories, including Call of the Wild and White Fang. At the writer's cabin there…

5. Robert Service Cabin

7.08 MILES

The 'Bard of the Yukon,' poet and writer Robert W Service, lived in this typical gold-rush cabin from 1909 to 1912. Each day in season there are dramatic…

6. Dawson City Museum

7.2 MILES

Make your own discoveries among the 25,000 gold-rush artifacts at this museum. Engaging exhibits walk you through the grim lives of the miners. The museum…

7. Commissioner's Residence

7.3 MILES

Built in 1901 to house the territorial commissioner, this proud building was designed to give potential civic investors confidence in the city. The…