Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park commemorate the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. Though the gold fields that were the ultimate goal of the stampeders lay in the Yukon Territory, the park comprises staging areas for the trek there and the routes leading in its direction.
There are four units, including three in Municipality of Skagway Borough, Alaska and a fourth in the Pioneer Square National Historic District in Seattle, Washington. An integral part of the park is the Visitor's Center in Seattle, Washington, in the Pioneer Square National Historic District. It functions as an interpretive center and museum, and also has information on how to visit the Skagway units of the park.
Map of Washington State Highways / Tourist Map. Published by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
https://www.nps.gov/klse/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_Gold_Rush_National_Historical_Park#Seattle_unit
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park commemorate the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s. Though the gold fields that were the ultimate goal of the stampeders lay in the Yukon Territory, the park comprises staging areas for the trek there and the routes leading in its direction.
There are four units, including three in Municipality of Skagway Borough, Alaska and a fourth in the Pioneer Square National Historic District in Seattle, Washington. An integral part of the park is the Visitor's Center in Seattle, Washington, in the Pioneer Square National Historic District. It functions as an interpretive center and museum, and also has information on how to visit the Skagway units of the park.
Seattle flourished during and after the Klondike Gold Rush. Merchants supplied people from around the world passing through this port city on their way to a remarkable adventure in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Today, the park is your gateway to learn about the Klondike Gold Rush, explore the area's public lands, and engage with the local community.
The park and visitor center are located on the northwest corner of 2nd Ave South and South Jackson Street in the former Cadillac Hotel. The Pioneer Square neighborhood is serviced by several public transportation options. Visit your directions page for more information about parking.
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial is an outdoor exhibit commemorating the internment of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island in the state of Washington. Wayside markers provide history and other information. This site is a unit of the Minidoka National Historic Site in Idaho. The park is located at Pritchard Park, 3.8 miles from the Winslow Ferry Terminal. Its open year-round during daylight hours. The memorial is staffed by a Park Ranger during the summer months.
Via public transit The Memorial is accessible via Kitsap Transit bus #99. This bus runs from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal. Get off at the Eagle Harbor at New Sweden stop and head east on Eagle Harbor Drive towards New Sweden Road. More information can be found via the Washington State Department of Transit and Kitsap Transit.
Klondike Gold Rush Visitor Center
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is located in the historic Cadillac Hotel building. Look for the Cadillac Hotel sign on South Jackson Street. The Visitor Center contains interactive exhibits and displays about the Klondike Gold Rush. Free video presentations are shown in the park's theater.
Located in the historic Cadillac Hotel building at the corner of 2nd Ave S and South Jackson Street. Look for the Cadillac Hotel sign on South Jackson Street and NPS arrowhead signs on both streets.
Outdoor Recreation Information Center (ranger station at REI)
At the Ranger Desk in the REI Seattle Flagship Store, we have the information you need to discover the best recreation opportunities on public lands in Washington State. We also have a wide selection of educational merchandise and free printed materials to help you make the most of your visit. We're able to bring you this unique service experience through a dynamic partnership with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Washington State Parks, and REI.
Inside REI store
No camping facilities
Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit is an urban park with no camping facilities.
Cadillac Hotel
Large brick wall with glass windows.
Cadillac Hotel
Interactive exhibits
display of old newspapers
Two floor of interesting and interactive exhibits and displays
Ton of gold
One ton pile of gold bars
How many gold bars take to make one ton?
Front door
Front entrance to park
On the corner of Jackson St and 2nd Ave S
Miners cabin
replica of Stampeders winter cabin
Compare a replica Stampeders winter cabin to your home.
Big Wheel of Fortune
Big wheel to find your fortune
Spin the big wheel and see if you would have struck it rich.
2019 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service
Celebrate 50 years of the NPS Volunteer-in-Parks Program, and learn about the contributions of the volunteer recipients of the 2019 George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service, for work performed in fiscal year 2019.
a volunteer wearing a red life vest walks towards you with a smile, lifting a canoe paddle
Teaching with Historic Places in the Parks: Teaching the Klondike Gold Rush
I was apprehensive – how could I write a lesson plan in just five days? I was never trained as a teacher; I had no idea what to do. Fortunately, the TwHP template is easy to use and can be applied to any historical site, public or private, prehistoric or modern.
ad for boots for those heading to the Klondike NPS photo
National Park Getaway: Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park - Seattle Unit
Speeding to Seattle from 1897 to 1899 on transcontinental trains, steam ships, and other modes of transportation, 70,000 gold rushers overran downtown Seattle, now the Pioneer Square National Historic District. The Klondike Gold Rush to the gold fields in the Yukon of Canada ignited the imaginations of the poor, the wealthy, adventurers, and fortune seekers alike.
Museum exhibits
Veteran Story: Patrick Pilcher
After a successful military and NPS career, Patrick Pilcher helps visitors connect with the Klondike Gold Rush as a volunteer.
A man poses in a volunteer uniform by a door labeled "Klondike Gold Rush"
Gang of Gams and Cut Throats
In Seattle Fred W. Dewey had to purchase gear for his trip north. He needed his camp gear plus a year's supply of food. He encountered shell-game-men and other bunco artists during his Seattle visit.
1890s three story brick store with goods to be sold piled on sidewalk in front of building.
But There Is Some Pleasure, too.
Here in Bennett Fred and his friends build their boats, watch stampeders fall through the ice, enjoy each others company and wait for the Yukon River to melt so they can float to the Klondike.
A collection of white tents along a lake.
It Was Grand: Inside Passage
Fred Dewey boards a steamship to go up the Inside Passage from Seattle to Dyea, Alaska. He encounters bad weather, sick dogs and seasick people.
Two photos of steamships alongside wharfs.
Avalanche!
In this section Fred tells about the avalanche that killed almost 100 people near Sheep Camp. He also tells about his final push to the Summit of Chilkoot Pass.
Men at bottom of mountain pass and climbing pass.
You Bloated Mine Owners
Stampeder Fred W. Dewey travels by train in 1898 from New York State to Seattle, Washington on his way to the Klondike Gold Rush.
steam train engine
My Back Is Lame, My Feet Are Sore
The hard works begins for Fred Dewey as he takes his outfit to Sheep Camp up though the frozen canyon of the Taiya River.
Men struggle up a snow covered canyon with their sled.
Series: Fred W. Dewey's Trip to the Klondike
Fred W. Dewey, age 26, left Jamestown in February 1898 to go to the Klondike in search of gold. He represented a group of friends who financed the venture. His letters home give a vivid picture of the almost unbelievable hardships and grueling hard work men endured in the elusive search for great wealth.
Two men sawing, one man above the other on a platform.
Series: Creative Teaching with Historic Places: Selections from CRM Vol 23 no 8 (2000)
These articles are a selection from a special issue of CRM Journal, "Creative Teaching with Historic Places" published in 2000. They provide examples of teaching using historic places both in and out of the classroom, helping students connect with history using the power of place, as well as how to prepare lessons making those connections. Teaching with Historic Places is a program of the National Park Service.
Cover of CRM Journal "Creative Teaching with Historic Places"
Annie Hall Strong
The life of Annie Hall Strong, a white woman who spent decades in Seattle before pursuing wealth in Alaska with her husband, highlights the connection between those two places during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Woman in Victorian dress with large sleeves and hat stands next to two men on her right.
Series: Women's History in the Pacific West - Columbia-Pacific Northwest Collection
Biographies of women from parks in Washington, Oregon Idaho and far western Montana
Map of Washington, Oregon and Idaho
Books and Buildings: Connecting the Past to the Present Through an Employee Library
Emma Rockenbeck shelving books at KLSE's employee library
Emma Rockenbeck shelving books at KLSE's employee library
Trails&Rails 2023 National Conference
Current NPS Director Chuck Sams addresses attendees at the 2023 National Trails&Rails Operations Conference.
A large group of people sit facing forward at tables arranged in a U shap