Ferry crossing Dawson City

The campground is just past the ferry landing on the west side of the Yukon River. As I remember it is on the right, about 100 to 200 meters past where the ferry lands, across from Dawson Town.

The old river boat grave yard is in walking distance of this area. The old boats are getting in real bad shape from what they used to be, of course. LOL They were pulled up one fall after working all summer and with the decline in hauling freight on the rivers, they just never got put back in the water to work.

I always travel with a copy of Robert Service's poem about the great north land. Now I have a copy of the complete works on my Kindle ereader and I enjoy sitting in the presence of these great vessels and read some of his works. The man was a genius in creating the moment in which he was writing. I can close my eyes and visualize these once proud ships, steaming up and down the river with loads of passengers and freight, spewing out the wood smoke from the boilers that powered them.

Here are a couple of older photos I took of some of them in better shape days.

Where is the campground with the sign about bears. How to tell grizzly scat from other bear scat - because of the hiker bells in the grizzly scat.

free radical wrote:
Some hikers also buy bear bells and tie those to their gear or clothes..

Bear bells are fondly known as dinner bells here.
:D

If you have the time do not do the TOW in 1 day. It is worth more than that. There is a CG, on the US side about 30 miles before Chicken which is dry camping & goes very quiet at night except for the sound of the river. Beautiful. Chicken is good for a night too. The rest of the time is spent at turnouts really soaking up the views.

Scottiemom wrote:

Tripalot wrote:
Before you take the ferry you might enjoy walking the hike to the riverboat graveyards - very interesting.

If you are leaving Dawson City and taking the ferry to the TOW, the graveyard is on the far side, AFTER you get off the ferry. I agree, don't miss it, if you can hike. I went with a friend. A bit rugged and not for the feint of heart, but it was pretty cool.
As we were hiking back, my friend said. . . "Hope we don't see any bears." Oops. I had bear spray, but I left it in the motorhome. We did come upon a very large dome type mound that we thought might be a den.
Dale

Bears dont like surprises,you should find a stick and hit some trees or rocks as you go along making plenty of noise and bears will hopefully avoid you..
Some hikers also buy bear bells and tie those to their gear or clothes..

Was just talking about this last weekend with some friends. They took their 42ft tag axle pulling a toad across the ferry with no problem. There trip was four years ago.

They were laughing about how two folks with smaller Class A DP decided to not trust ferry, despite watching other rigs make the crossing and couple of 18 wheelers.

Now we might fly up and do some touring again, but probably won't ever make the drive again. So glad we at least did it once!

It's a grand trip.

Dale

God bless you for posting that, as I am one that never gets tired of Dawson City....it is a one of a kind place as I driven there 6 times so far (first time in 1992 and every visit ending on an even year).

For those who want that feel of turning back 100 years and feeling the historic Klondike value of the town, Dawson is definitely the place, along with a few neat additional attractions nearby.

For anyone that has not ferried across the Yukon with their rig yet, I also recommend taking the time to ride the ferry as a foot passenger which gives you a greater feel of how strong the Yukon River really is.

One of the rare times the Yukon River went out at Dawson well before the Tanana River went out at Nenana as it happened in May 2013.

The Tanana River went out on May 20 1964 at 1141am, and May 20 2013 at 241pm, the far distant latest day the ice has ever gone out.

However the May 20 1964 is still the official latest time by 21 hours because there was a Feb 29 leap year day.

Looks like another week of warm early April weather around here as forecasts are calling for highs in the +20's to +30's F and lows in the +10's F.

If my area sees some of the same conditions during February, it is going to be a frigid March and April.

We loved the trip. I loved the drive. There wasn't anything about the trip I didn't like. But we were prepared. We read everything we could about the areas we were traveling, the roads, etc. We are information junkies. I can honestly say we had no surprises. Others may not go as prepared as we were, but we had a great trip. I purchased maps and a Canadian Atlas before we left. We had an itinerary. Some don't plan that much. That's okay. . . whatever floats your boat. But we wanted to make sure we saw as much as we could in the time we were there. Our plans were always subject to change. Being retired, we really could do as we pleased, but we did have ferry reservations for the return home. We travel with DH and severe heart problems. . . never had any trouble on the trip, but will probably not do it again because of that. Now we might fly up and do some touring again, but probably won't ever make the drive again. So glad we at least did it once!

It's a grand trip.

Dale

thanks, Sue T and Dale, for your quick and helpful responses. Looks like it is "do-able" by following either approach. I will talk to the Ferry Crew the day before and see which alternative is likely to work the best for me on the day of the crossing.

Loved both of your websites. thanks for taking the time to share. Surely makes it easier for those of us who are traveling for the first time.

tom