Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

Frommer's Review

"At 3 o'clock this morning the steamship Portland, from St. Michaels for Seattle, passed up (Puget) Sound with more than a ton of gold on board and 68 passengers." When the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published that sentence on July 17, 1897, it started a stampede. Would-be miners heading for the Klondike goldfields in the 1890s made Seattle their outfitting center and helped turn it into a prosperous city. When they struck it rich up north, they headed back to Seattle, the first U.S. outpost of civilization, and unloaded their gold, making Seattle doubly rich. Although this place isn't in the Klondike (that's in Canada) and isn't really a park (it's more of a museum in a historic building), it's still a fascinating place, and it seems only fitting that it should be here in Seattle. (Another unit of the park is in Skagway, Alaska.) During the summer, free walking tours of the Pioneer Square neighborhood are scheduled daily.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.