SS Klondike

SS Klondike Review

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 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 S.S. 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; as an added bonus, in the old days they were also one of the few places where First Nations men could get paying jobs, so there's a rich Native history to the riverboats as well. You can't really understand the scale of the goldrush without touring a riverboat; really, it's one of the best things you can do in Whitehorse.