Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park to Celebrate Golden Jubilee

SKAGWAY, AK - On June 30, 2026, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is celebrating its 50^th anniversary, or "Golden Jubilee".

In honor of this milestone, the park is hosting several special events throughout the day, including expert presentations about the park's museum collections and the Chilkoot National Historic Trail, ranger talks illuminating some of the park's lesser-known stories, guided tours of the Jeff. Smiths Parlor Museum, Junior Ranger games, a scavenger hunt of the park's historic buildings, and an evening of festive live music at the Mascot Saloon Museum. The main event will be at the Moore House lawn from 1 - 3 p.m., featuring birthday cake and other locally-made treats while supplies last.

Congress established Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park on June 30, 1976 to preserve historic structures and trails associated with the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898 "for the benefit and inspiration of the people of the United States." In 1998, the park was designated and included as part of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park, acknowledging the significance of the gold rush to both Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory. In 2022, part of the park was designated the Chilkoot National Historic Trail to commemorate a traditional Tlingit trade route followed by stampeders during the gold rush. Today, more than a million people visit Skagway and the park each year.

"Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park is a special place," said Acting Park Superintendent Lisa Cassidy, "We welcome visitors, community members, and former and current park staff to come to the park to celebrate a half-century worth of accomplishments and to look forward to the next half-century of preserving our history for future generations."

A detailed schedule will be available at the park Visitor Center on Tuesday, June 30. All events are free and open to the public.

nps.gov