Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park — Skagway

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska, preserves the buildings, landscape, and trails that witnessed one of the largest mass migrations in North American history. In 1898, an estimated 100,000 prospectors attempted to reach the Yukon goldfields, and nearly all passed through the port of Skagway. The town became a boomtown almost overnight — saloons, hotels, freight companies, and con men operated along Broadway in a wooden frontier city that materialized within months. Today, 15 original Gold Rush-era buildings along Broadway have been preserved and restored by the National Park Service, and the visitor center occupies the historic White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad depot at 291 Broadway. The visitor center shows a well-produced 25-minute orientation film and offers ranger talks on Gold Rush history multiple times daily. Walking the two-block historic district on Broadway is the core activity; interpretive panels on each building explain the original commercial purpose and the social world of the stampede. The park also encompasses the lower sections of the Chilkoot and White Pass trails, both used by stampeders to carry 2,000-pound supply requirements over the mountains to Lake Bennett and the river route to Dawson. Day hikers can access the lower Chilkoot Trail from the ghost town of Dyea, 9 miles from Skagway, for a scenic forest and river walk without crossing into Canada. The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad still operates scenic excursions from the Skagway depot, following the original 1898 route that climbs 3,000 feet in 20 miles to the White Pass summit.