Visit to Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria - British Columbia

The Gem of the Pacific North-West, the Garden City of Canada, is the preferred destination of millions of international visitors each year. Many British Columbians also call Victoria home. One little known fact is that Victoria receives 65% more sunshine than Vancouver. Said another way, Vancouver receives 65% more rain than Victoria.

Victoria offers a unique blend of old-world British charm and 21st Century comfort. In 1862 Victoria was described as: "The largest town north of San Francisco; population 4,000 to 5,000, or about four-fifths of the entire population of the colony. Four years ago it was a trading post of the Hudson Bay Company, and contained about 250 people."

Whether you wander the vibrant gardens and parks, stroll the lively Harbour or break-water, visit the museums and stately homes, go to a spa or rest in the sun as you watch the world go by, Victoria has something for everyone.

For exciting shopping, visit the quaint shops on Government Street, the open-air craft market in Bastion Square, Antique Row, Murchies the Tea merchant, the many art galleries or the excellent specialty stores in the downtown.

Discover fine dining at one of the many local restaurants offering everything from North West Cuisine to exotic ethnic fare. And consider doing Victoria in Victorian style by staying at one of Victoria's fine Bed and Breakfast Inns where your hosts can point you in all the right directions.

With its mild weather and temperate climate there is always a flower in bloom from the cherry blossoms in January, through daffodils and tulips in March, lilacs in May, to the abundance of roses and rhododendrons in the Summer and Fall. The air reflects the aroma from the blossoms, especially during the long summer nights.

The sun shines on Victoria year round and, when it rains, the rose petals glisten, the rich greens deepen and the fragrance in the air sweetens - encouraging the abundant bird life to sing out.

This is the city that breaths in an abundance of fresh sea air and soaks up more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in Canada. It’s the perfect place to hold hands with nature and witness marine wildlife in its natural habitat; and to feel safe, free, and refreshed.

Parliament Hill - Ottawa - Capital of Canada

Following on Dave's visit last winter, here is some information about the summer in Ottawa

Parliament Hill is the seat of Canada’s government, home to both the House of Commons and the Senate. Free tours are offered every day, but are occasionally rescheduled due to the business of the House. You must pass through security similar to an airport. www.parl.gc.ca

In the summer, there is a free Changing the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill each day at 10:00 a.m. Modelled on the version performed in London, the ceremony runs from late June to late August 25 annually. Pure pomp and ceremony.

There’s also a free Sound and Light Show, entitled Canada: The Spirit of a Country, on Parliament Hill every night after dark between early July and early September. Images are projected onto the Parliament Buildings.

Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill are spectacular—the only place to be on July 1 if you’re Canadian, or even if you’re not. Free concerts, short speeches by politicians, the Snowbirds, the Musical Ride, maple leaf “tattoos,” face painting, fabulous fireworks, and everyone in a patriotic mood.

Bear watching on Vancouver Island

This amazing picture was taken from Hidden Cove Lodge near Port McNeill on Vancouver island.
The northern part of Vancouver island is one of the many hidden gems of British Columbia. It is one of the best places to see whales, sea otters and both grizzly and black bears.

Newfoundland - good news

Air Canada have resumed direct flights from Heathrow to St. John's in Newfoundland - the closest bit of Canada to England. This is splendid as it now only takes a few hours to get to this wonderful province.


The Artisan Inn has operated since 1997 and, by Canada Select, is Trinity’s highest rated inn. In addition to the main building of the Artisan Inn there is a fishing “store” at the shoreline. Originally used to store and maintain nets and gear, it is now home to the Twine Loft dining room, recommended in Where to Eat in Canada. We also offer Vacation Homes and operate the Campbell House B&B.



The Inn provide full breakfasts, soup and a sandwich lunches and, in the evening, affordable fine dining. Our evening menus are table d'hote using local produce and products and employing eco-friendly practices.

There is an in-house sommelier and careful attention is given to our wine list and to food and wine pairing.

Twine Loft dining is open to the general public and we encourage visitors to Trinity to drop by, visit us and view the menus. The Twine Loft is also a venue for artisan workshops and artistic presentations.

The accommodations are in several buildings, each with only a few bedrooms within minutes walking distance of Trinity’s major attractions. Trinity itself is centrally located on the Bonavista Peninsula and within an hour’s drive of other popular area attractions. Trinity is about a 3 hour drive from St. John’s.

Historical Trains in Saint Constant, near Montreal Quebec

Exporail - Canadian Railway Museum - Saint-Constant, Québec

Exporail's new exhibit pavilion showcases 44 historic pieces of rolling stock in a spectacular climate-controlled 90,000-square-foot building. With a total of over 160 streetcars, interurban railway cars and locomotives, Exporail is recognized as one of the world's most important railway museums – and is, bar none, the largest such collection in Canada.

MTC streetcar 1959 runs every day from 10 AM to 4 pm.

The "John Molson" locomotive, a replica of an 1849 steam engine locomotive, is used for demonstrations on occasion throughout the summer. Check our schedule for details.

Barrington Station, an example of a rural flag stop station from southwestern Quebec, brings visitors back to the nineteenth century.

Other vehicles from the collection are on view in the railway yard; Visitors will frequently see railway cars and locomotives in motion. You will feel the sensation of being in a real operating rail yard.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic - Nova Scotia

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is the oldest and largest Maritime Museum in Canada. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998, the Museum has developed a unique history of its own. The idea of this maritime museum can be credited to a group of Royal Canadian Navy officers who envisaged a maritime museum where relics of Canada's naval past could be preserved. Starting with a small space at HMC Dockyard, the museum moved to quarters in the Halifax Citadel in 1952 and became the Maritime Museum of Canada in 1957. Floods & fires in the early 1960s caused temporary relocations to a variety of sites until 1965 when a home was found in a former bakery building at the Navy's Victualling Depot. The museum became the Marine History section of the Nova Scotia Museum in 1967. The exhibits remained on Citadel Hill while the offices, library and some of the collection moved to the new Nova Scotia Museum building on Summer Street in Halifax in 1970. Through the 1970s, a long search for a permanent home ensued. Finally, in 1982, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was established on the site of the historic William Robertson & Son Ship Chandlery and A.M. Smith and Co. Properties on the Halifax Waterfront. It opened to the public on January 22, of that year. Since then, nearly two and a half million people have visited the Museum.

The Museum is a valuable historical, cultural and educational institution. It is the largest site in Nova Scotia that collects and interprets various elements of Nova Scotia's marine history. Visitors are introduced to the age of steamships, local small craft, the Royal Canadian and Merchant Navies, World War II convoys and The Battle of the Atlantic, the Halifax Explosion of 1917, and Nova Scotia's role in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster.

The Yukon River

just heard from those lovely people at the Great River journey in the Yukon that they are reducing their prices - I am so pleased - it is such a fabulous trip but was outside the budget of most of us before.
Have a look at http://www.frontier-canada.co.uk/detail.php?id=454&a=1

The bears of Bute - an invitation from the Homalco people

Join us on board the "Chinook Spirit" for a trip through the waters surrounding the Discovery Islands. Our destination is Bute Inlet, home to Homalco First Nations people and the Bears of Bute.

Homalco Wildlife Tours invite you to share the experience of the magnificent creatures found along the shorelines of the narrow waterways and inlets between Campbell River and Bute Inlet.

Your day trip starts in Campbell River on board the comfortable 32-foot "Chinook Spirit". Leaving from the Discovery Harbour dock, the one and a half hour trip will take you past abandoned villages and mile high peaks. You will arrive at the mouth of the Orford River where lunch is supplied. You will then be transferred to one of the specially designed viewing platforms that provide a safe area to wait and watch for the Bears of Bute.

Departures are at 10:00am daily and return by 6:00pm . Lunch is included. Tours are limited to 11 passengers. Bring warm clothing and don't forget your camera and binoculars.
Bute Inlet is a long, deep fjord that cut into the coastal mountain range of British Columbia. The remote and pristine area of the British Columbia coastline is located 50 kilometers north across from Campbell River on Vancouver Island . Bute Inlet reaches 66 kilometers into the coastline where the Homathko and Southgate rivers feed waters running from the glaciers and ice fields high up in the mountains.

The Orford River is located halfway between the entrance to Bute Inlet and its headwaters. The glacier green waters of the Orford are feed from the Lillooet glacier and many lakes and creeks nestled in among the rocky peaks. The luscious green valley and estuary of the Orford River are perfect for attracting wildlife that roam along the shores of this coastal river.
At the Orford River site is the Taggares-Homalco salmon hatchery that operates year round. The hatchery produces Chinook, Chum and Coho salmon that enhance the natural stock. It has a capacity to incubate up to 4 million Coho eggs, 6 million Chum eggs and over 150, 000 Chinook eggs annually.

To get to the Orford River site, the Chinook Spirit departs Campbell River and travels for approximately 90 minutes cruising at up to 32 knots.

Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary

Covering an area of approximately 26,000 sq. miles, the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, straddling the boundary of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in Canada's mainland Arctic, is the largest and most remote wildlife refuge on the North America continent - and possibly the world. As there is little surrounding development in this region, the unusual forest oasis located far out on the tundra truly represents one of the last great, unaltered ecosystems on our planet. For those few fortunate enough to have ever visited this extreme remote region, the experience is like stepping back to a time when grizzly, wolves and musk-ox ruled the earth.

During the intense studies carried out by the International Biological Program (IBP) in the 1960's, the Thelon Sanctuary was identified as a 'Biological Site of Universal Importance'. This was primarily due to the extreme biological diversity found in the unusual boreal forest oasis that for nearly 100 miles follows the meandering Thelon River valley located 200 + km north of the tree-line. Many other important sites throughout the North identified by the IBP later became UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, accessible only with difficulty and high expense, the Thelon Sanctuary was all but a forgotten entity.

The Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary has always been a political enigma: control over this vast area has been passed from one government department to another - both federally and territorially - and subsequently there has never been a true management policy in effect - no department had the budget to police or even patrol such a vast, remote area. It remained closed to all development activity including native hunting since the 1920's; and was probably the only Sanctuary or Park in Canada that offered such full protection for wildlife. This anonymity of the Thelon Sanctuary was most probably its best protection during those times, as everyone seemingly left the Thelon alone.

Jasper River Rafting

For an adventure of a lifetime! Jasper's best rafting float trips take you down the Athabasca River for those in seek of a complete and fun filled Alberta wilderness adventure.

We invite you to travel with us on a river rafting adventure and share our love of whitewater, wilderness, and friendship. Our rafting trips are great for young and old alike looking for a more mild adventure.

Jasper offers first-class visitor attractions, activities, facilities and services within magnificently scenic wilderness surroundings of unparalleled beauty.

Jasper National Park is Canada's largest Rocky Mountain Park and one of North America's largest natural areas. Shimmering glaciers, abundant wildlife, crystal clear lakes, thundering waterfalls, deep canyons and evergreen forest surrounded by towering, rugged mountain peaks and pristine rivers - are what your eyes have been waiting to see.

Jasper is an internationally recognized four-season destination with so much to see and do to suit everyone's tastes. Whatever spectacular time of year you choose to visit - just be sure you plan to stay awhile.

Houseboating at it´s best - Shuswap Lake, British Columbia

Nestled amongst vast BC mountain valleys, the beautiful Shuswap Lake in the North Okanagan, accessed through Sicamous, British Columbia is the home for Waterway Houseboats. This magnificent lake, half way between Calgary and Vancouver is a recreation paradise. Countless kilometers of pristine shoreline on Shuswap Lake await your exploration. Sun drenched beaches, beautiful waterfalls and awesome fishing are yours to discover from the comfort of your home away from home. Swimming, hiking, water skiing, golfing, ATV riding and mountain biking are some of the activities available for those with the need for more vigorous action.



Before you even reach Sicamous, you’ll see something spectacular - the houseboats. No matter how many people your vacationing with, There are a variety of luxury houseboats to accommodate your needs. From the first class fittings and trim to our comfortable berths and spacious bathrooms, you’ll feel like you're a guest in a first class resort condominium. Some of them even have hot tubs on board!

Spring starts early on Shuswap Lake. You can get a jump on summer fun at Great pre summer rates. April to June 9th is a favourite time of year for many Houseboaters - not only for the fabulous fishing, but also for golfing, hiking, exploring and especially the famous Shuswap Lake Beach Parties that are always going on somewhere on this fabulous lake system. Meet new friends or relax with old friends in one of the hundreds of secluded coves or beaches.

Trophy Mountain Buffalo Ranch Wells Gray Park- British Columbia

We are just adding this property to our website. A welcome newcomer to the Wells Gray Park scene.


Trophy Mountain Buffalo Ranch is located 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Clearwater, British Columbia. The ranch is surrounded by beautiful Wells Gray Provincial Park. Within a 20 minute drive, you will find many things to do and see, such as; hiking, sightseeing, canoeing, fishing and whitewater rafting. Wells Gray Park is world famous for "Helmcken Falls". The falls are three times higher than Niagara Falls.

As you drive down the driveway, you will see a herd of bison on your left and horses on your right. You will also see a well treed campground. Overlooking the property is the log home Guest House. Enjoy a quiet country stay, where you can eat and watch the Buffalo Roam.

This unique home is built from hand-axed square logs. Built in the late 1920's, it originally resided in Blue River, north of Clearwater. In 1992 the home was taken apart log by log and brought to Clearwater where it was reassembled by Joe Fischer. Along with the Guest House, there is horseback riding, bison farming, campground and a fully licenced restaurant specializing in bison meat.

Enjoy a scenic horseback adventure to Moul Falls. The 3 hour trip takes you by a fabulous view of the Clearwater River and then down to Moul Creek. There you have break to stretch your legs and walk down to the falls. If you go all the way down to the bottom, make sure you take the short trail behind the falls. On the way home we may go faster or stay at a walking pace, depending of the abilities of the group.

You do not have to be an experienced rider to take the trip. As well as seasoned riders, we take people who are beginners and many first timers. Children must be of 10 years old and up to join our guided trips.

Cruise North Expeditions

Nobody Gets Closer - News from Cruise North

Cruise North Expeditions and our exciting line-up of expeditions for 2009/10, including our first-ever tour of the Northwest Passage.

Cruise North is a very special company. Owned and operated by and for the Inuit of the region we visit, the company is an investment in protecting the past, and at the same time, preparing for the future. Our top priorities are cultural preservation, community investment and environmental commitment. With each expedition our guests help us to realize our goals.

Our expeditions highlight this region’s striking landscape and seemingly impossible contradictions of nature, where delicate wildflowers survive among rugged terrain and exotic animal life.

We travel to islands in Canada’s Arctic where polar bears, measuring up to 11 feet in length, patrol their favourite beaches, while thick-billed murres in the thousands fly overhead. We visit sites populated by the almost prehistoric-looking muskox, with their crown tusks and skirts of fur. White beluga whales, a walrus colony and all sorts of marine mammals are common sights aboard our expeditions.

We travel to virtually untouched archaeological sites dating back thousands of years, explore remote outposts and follow in the footsteps of early explorers in their search of new lands. On ship and ashore we are greeted by Inuit hosts and visit communities where residents still live traditional lives by harvesting from the land and speaking the Inuit language of Inuktitut.

While relaxing on deck, we glide alongside immense icebergs thousands of years old, and take in the scenery of rolling tundra and towering fiords.

This is the Cruise North experience. Join us for an unforgettable and authentic journey to catch the spirit of the North.

All Bookable through Frontier Canada - www.frontier-canada.co.uk

One of my favourite hotels in Ontario

Arowhon Pines - Algonquin Park - Ontario


Arowhon Pines is a small, rustic 50-room summer resort located in the heart of Algonquin Park, a huge nature and wildlife preserve. Arowhon Pines is on the shores of Little Joe Lake from where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the woods of the Canadian north. Perfect for a peaceful getaway, honeymoon or to celebrate an anniversary.

The tranquillity of Arowhon Pines' natural setting amidst lakes, rivers and forests filled with wildlife - myriad of birds, moose, deer, fox - seeps into your soul. They combine this spectacular peaceful location with a renowned kitchen, warm hospitality and attentive service - your assurance of this is the fact that 60 per cent of guests return year after year.

The rustic log cabins range in size from three, four, eight and twelve bedrooms. All bedrooms, furnished with antique pine furniture, have ensuite bathrooms with robes, electric heat and hair dryers. Each shared cabin has a spacious central lounge with comfortable chairs and couches around a wood burning fireplace. The one and two bedroom suites, each in their own building, have a lounge, fireplace and private deck.

In keeping with Arowhon's approach to a relaxed and peaceful holiday in the woods, there are no televisions or radios in the rooms. Outside telephones are centrally located. In the evenings guests watch a movie, drop by an impromptu bonfire, take a moonlight paddle or enjoy meeting others from around the world in the lounge.

Arrowhon Pines is a pretty three hour drive from Toronto and Ottawa - and is open from late May to Thanksgiving.

Aboriginal Journeys - Campbell River, British Columbia

Aboriginal Journeys is a family owned and operated First Nations wildlife viewing and adventure tour company located in Campbell River on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada within the traditional territory of the Laichwiltach (Native) peoples.

They offer awe-inspiring wildlife, marine life, and nature-viewing excursions through some of the most scenic areas found anywhere in the world. Enjoy Whale Watching, Grizzly Bear viewing, Black Bears, soaring Eagles, playful Dolphins, and other Marine Wildlife in their natural habitats.

View some of the world's strongest ocean currents with rapids, boils, and whirlpools. Our tours provide insight to our local First Nations (Native) history and culture.

Enjoy a comfortable journey aboard the tour boats — such as our 27-foot covered high-speed tour boat with onboard washroom. This vessel carries 12 passengers and is fully equipped with proper navigation and safety equipment. Even on a rainy day, you'll be warm and dry inside. We also have a 24-foot Zodiac tour boat that carries 12 passengers.

Your tours are guided by locally born residents, Garry Henkel and Daniel Billy, an elder from the We-Wai-Kai First Nation on Quadra Island. Garry is Daniel's son-in-law. Both are certified boating professionals. Garry has over 30 years experience and Daniel over 60 years experience working and travelling within our waters.

The Laichwiltach (Laichkwiltach / Lekwiltok / Ligwithdaxw) peoples are part of the Nation now commonly referred to as the Kwakwak'awakw (and Kwak'wala speaking people).

The Kwakwak'awakw Nation's territory extends from Cape Mudge to the mouth of Bute Inlet in the south to Smith Inlet in the north and around the northern part of Vancouver Island to Quatsino Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Laichwiltach are the southernmost of the Kwak'wala speaking people.

On of the greatest sights in the world

The Icefields Parkway drive between Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper is pretty spectacular stuff! The undeniable highlight is the Columbia Icefield which is one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle, covering an area of nearly 325 square kilometres in the Western Canadian Province of Alberta.

The Athabasca Glacier is a tongue of ice 6 kms long and 1 km wide which drops almost to the road. Brewsters of Banff, offer tours up onto the icy slopes in the purpose built Ice Explorer, an all-terrain vehicle equipped with large, low pressure tires. The 5 km round trip travels up over the ice and the driver/guide explain how glaciers are formed and points out interesting geological features. Up at the icefall, below the glacier headwall, you can walk around on the ice, make snowballs from 400 years old snow, take pictures and cool your heels for a while.

The tours run from the Icefield Centre, a chalet-style stone building which houses 'The Glacier Gallery' an extensive interpretive centre on the National Park. There is also a dining room, cafeteria and snack bar, gift shop and from the third floor up - a hotel. The Chalet Hotel has 32 guest rooms - most have at least two queen beds and a loft. You can actually hear the glacier moving in the still of the night.

If you are traveling the Icefields Parkway - you can’t miss the Glacier. Leaving from Banff the Parkway follows the Bow, Mistaya and North Saskatchewan Rivers and after an essential diversion to see Lake Louise, you return to the Parkway and drive on by Bow Lake, Peyto and Crowfoot Glaciers, Mistaya Canyon and the Weeping Wall to the Glacier.

From Jasper, the route passes Athabasca Falls and the Sunwapta Canyon. It is breathtaking wilderness habitat for elk, bighorn sheep, moose, mountain goat and both grizzly and black bears. Allow a whole day for this drive of 230 km (143 miles) from Banff to Jasper and if you are on motor coach tour, the Icefield is usually a major sightseeing stop. There are also roundtrip motor coach day tours from Banff to the Icefields.

Vancouver Transit System - good news! Airport/downtown in 26 minutes

The new Canada Line opens on August 17, 2009 4 months ahead of schedule! Vancouver is the only Canadian city with a rapid transit link to the airport. It will take approximately 26 minutes for visitors to travel on the Sky Train between Vancouver International Airport and downtown, with three stops in downtown. Have a look at http://www.translink.ca/en/Rider-Info/Canada-Line/Map-and-Travel-Times.aspx and more information is at www.canadaline.ca/. The Vancouver Airporter bus will stop operations September 30.

The Canada Line will cost C$3.75 (£2.00) per person one-way for all journeys on the Sky Train. From January 1st 2010, Vancouver Transit Authority will charge a premium fare for Canada Line passengers going to and from the airport. The premium will be $2.50 (£1.40) over and above the regular transit fare and a premium ticket will be valid for 90 minutes; therefore, the total cost will be $6.25. (£3.50.

Still good value compared with the tube to Heathrow!

Osoyoos Desert - Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Tucked into the southernmost corner of British Columbia’s beautiful Okanagan Valley, this extraordinary habitat is home to one of North America’s most fragile and endangered ecosystems. The area hosts one of the largest concentrations of species at risk (over 100 rare plants and over 300 rare invertebrates) in Canada, and is of international importance. Our desert is actually part of the Great-Basin Desert.

The Osoyoos Desert Centre is a 67 acre nature interpretive facility where visitors can learn about desert ecology, habitat restoration and conservation of endangered ecosystems in the South Okanagan. Guests are invited to explore Canada’s desert by taking a guided or self-guided tour along a 1.5 km elevated wooden boardwalk. In addition, the Centre features an interpretive facility with hands-on exhibits and a native plant demonstration garden.

The Southern Okanagan Valley provides the hot dry summers and mild winters characteristic of the arid antelope-brush ecosystem. This region is home to a diverse array of uniquely adapted wildlife species such the Nuttall’s Cottontail, Great Basin Spadefoot Toad, Western Rattlesnake, Tiger Salamander and Wind Scorpion, to name a few.

The humming birds ‘hum’ and the rattlesnakes ‘rattle’ in the bright morning sun of Canada’s only desert. Simmering at the northern tip of the Sonora desert system which starts way down in Mexico, this dry, arid finger extends up through North America to the resort and vineyard country of the Southern Okanagan Valley where the long hot summers and dry mild winters maintain an eco system unique in Canada.

Don’t worry too much about the ‘rattlers’ though; they are shy and are seldom seen, and only then if you stray from the raised boardwalk! But you can watch the humming birds, darting, diving, then hovering at their honey feeders.

Early morning is for the birds – and you can join local birding experts very early each Wednesday morning to see and hear the desert’s avian species and experience the beauty of the desert at sunrise. Nesting Bluebirds feed their young and Meadowlarks swoop after food.

Hiking in Banff National Park

White Mountain Adventures is a small, Banff based, active outdoor company, in operation since 1987. In addition to the Sunshine Meadows service, they also offer a variety of other unique services in the Rockies and across western Canada.

Join a professional naturalist/guides for a hike on top of the world! You'll have great opportunities to learn about the unique alpine ecosystem, about different plants and animals found in the alpine, and about the colorful history of the area. And best of all, you'll stretch your legs and see a lot more of one of nature's finest landscapes!

Walk among flower-speckled meadows and turquoise lakes. Hike up through golden larches and along the ridges above. Take in the views from a sun-baked summit!

Example: Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, is famous for its meadows and easy hiking peaks which lie below the Matterhorn-like summit that towers above.

This relaxed hiking tour is for those interested in experiencing four days of walking in this beautiful sub-alpine region along with the simplicity of life that comes with staying at the rustic Naisset Cabins.There are not many areas where it is possible to do this and yet avoid carrying the heavier backpack usually required to visit such a place.

Diamond Tooth Gerties - Dawson City - Yukon

A group of local citizens keen to promote tourism formed the Klondike Visitors' Association in the late 1950s. Recognizing that gambling was a major part of Dawson’s Gold Rush history, the association obtained a special gambling licence from the Canadian Government and in the early 1970s began running casino nights on the dry-docked S.S. Keno.

Today, Dawson City’s world famous non-profit gambling hall is named after bona fide dance hall queen Diamond Tooth Gertie. During the Gold Rush of 1898, in order to distinguish herself from numerous Klondike kings and queens, Gertie Lovejoy wedged a sparkling diamond between her two front teeth. Any discomfort this caused paid dividends. Instead of working the creeks for her riches, Diamond Tooth Gertie made her fortune by mining the lonely prospectors who readily opened their gold pokes in return for her affections. In Dawson City today, Gertrude Lovejoy’s moniker lives on at the town-run Diamond Tooth Gertie's Casino.

Replete with cancan dancers and a singing master of ceremonies named Gertie, Canada’s oldest gambling hall gives you a chance to re-live the heady days of Dawson’s Gold Rush era. With three nightly shows by Gertie and her Gertie Girls, Diamond Tooth Gertie's is today a fixture of fun-filled entertainment where patrons can enjoy a beverage while playing blackjack, roulette, Texas Hold'em poker and an array of glittering slot machines.

Dawson can be visited on several of our Yukon itineraries.