Dawson City, Yukon's Klondike Spirit paddlewheeler being revived after 5-year hiatus

One of Dawson City, Yukon's most popular tourist attractions is back — almost.

The paddlewheeler, named the Klondike Spirit, had been in service taking passengers on short cruises down the Yukon River past Moosehide Village and back up toward town, every summer from 2008 until 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic then kept it out ot the water in 2020 and it hasn't been operating since. 

Now there are plans to have it back in action this summer.

Brad Whitelaw, who bought the vessel in Eagle, Alaska, in 2007, said the business was going "great guns" in the years before the pandemic. But he wasn't sure the boat would ever float again.

"I wouldn't say I gave up on it, but I had been considering selling it. But it takes the right person," Whitelaw said.

Things changed when his family showed interest in reviving the business.

"With the excitement of my daughter and her partner wanting to get the ship going, I was excited too — and so we've barred down and starting to put it back together," he said.

Whitelaw said his daughter Alexandra and her partner Logan have been working tirelessly for months to get the paddlewheeler ready for the season. He said there are just a few more tests and inspections to go, including one from Transport Canada, before it's fully ready to welcome passengers on board once again.

Whitelaw says they're aiming for that to happen this month.

"Being so remote, it's really difficult to find qualified people and proper resources to get this done. So we're just trying to hammer it to get it done," he said.

"The Dawson spirit is still alive, and it's going to be ready to go soon."

Whitelaw said getting a vessel of this size up and running after a five-year break isn't an easy task. He said the worst case scenario is that it doesn't work out this year, and they try again next summer.

Andy Cunningham works for the town's Klondike Visitors Association. He said that many of Dawson's promotional ads include images of the Klondike Spirit and people would often ask about it at trade shows. He would then have to tell them that it wasn't actually operational.

Cunningham said he's excited that he'll soon be able to say it's running again.

"It's not an awkward conversation anymore when people ask about that," he said. "It's obviously been in a ton of ads over the years ... and as a tourist you can come and actually be on it."

Cunningham isn't only excited for visitors to once again experience the Klondike Spirit. He said he is finally able to experience it for himself.

He recalled how in 2019 he competed in the Yukon Gold Panning Championships and won two free passes for the Klondike Spirit. 

"They're still hanging up on my bulletin board at home," he said.

"So I'm excited to get to go on it for the first time because I was very disappointed in myself that I didn't get to go on it when it was in the river — and I was really worried it might not go back in."