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Comments from www.hostelz.com   Comment by inlove, USA November 2008 Nicest of the whole bunch Was in Dawson last August and totally enjoyed the town and absolutely enjoyed staying at the hostel. The location is mind-boggling and the view from the deck across the river and to Dawson is worth every penny. $18 bucks a night is a bargain considering that Dawson itself is not the cheapest of places. The outdoor hostel kitchen had lots of free food -- watch the squirrels! And the bath house was a daily adventure. The owner was the most helpful one can imagine and must say that there are very few other hostels I enjoyed as much as this one. A very easy place to meet other travelers and make friends -- sitting around the fire pit under the Midnight Sun and roasting wieners -- nice. Comment by mausie, germany December 2007 So simple and so nice A friend told me about this website and last summer i was in Dawson City for a few days, with a bicycle. I must also say that at first was very surprised that there is a place in Canada with no electric power -- and we needed power to charge our batteries! But the owner has solar panel power in the office and so that problem could be solved. Otherwise it was a really great place with nice people working there -- very helpful. There also were many books to read and board games one could play on the deck in the sun with view over river and town. but best was the bath place -- with firewood and like a sauna and the best in the world. Comment by olga, germany November 2007 Most interesting I have ever been That hostel is so simple it really took time to get used to it. And once I did it became the best place i have ever been. The peacefulness, the view, those simple pleasures of having to split wood like in old times, heating water oneself to cook and bathe. A big wide open place filled with friendly people and staff who went out of their way to help and be helpful. Such an amazing place -- no electricity! How many places in the world do not have that?! Water from a creek. Fire wood from dump! I heard of small footprint being good for planet and that hostel has very small one. Will go back to show friends next summer and maybe stay longer -- just to read and write and relax. there are so many books in the hostel library! Comment by tomo February 2007 I visited the hostel in Dawson a few times last summer and it always was the best experience of my travels through Canada. I am from Japan (but many years in Vancouver) and we have many hostels there but none as fun and friendly. I loved making firewood to cook and for the really nice bath house and the owner was very helpful and spoke some Japanese. We arrived by canoe and it was raining and he come to the river with his truck to help our stuff up to the hostel -- that was very nice. Dawson City too is a fun place and nice to walk around and spend time but it is the hostel that makes it extra nice. We hope to go back to the hostel in another year. Comment by paul October 2006 I spend a few days at the hostel in Dawson and it was an awesome place -- location was great and prices fair with simple but clean rooms (and their dorms are big and spacious compared to lots other hostels). The manager was helpful etc but the very best was the bath house. Neat and fun place and only can recommend it. During my three days there had a fox next to the kitchen shelter, a porcupine visiting, Eagles resting on a nearby tree -- its the Yukon and the hostel was the topping on the cake! Comment by can-can dancer October 2006 Ok, the hostel in Dawson is weird because its so different from other hostel I have been to -- and I have been to many around the world. First, the location is a killer. Right above the Yukon river and across from Dawson City, one can sit around the fire pit and use the outdoor kitchen and then eat in rustic but comfy easy chairs right on the edge of the river watching boat traffic and going-ons in town across. And the kitchen had enough free food to allow the preparation of a full meal for two! Then the rooms. At first was tenting and where tent grounds are concerned this place offers the most services at the lowest price anywhere I have been to. Weather turned bad and moved into the dorm and, what a breath of fresh air! Five beds in a large room where other hostel would have lots more. Then my special friend arrived and we moved into a private room -- large and comfy beds and the fresh smell of cut wood. Then the bath house! Wow! Free for all if tenting or in a room and once one comes past the "horror" ( for some people) of having to split wood, it's the experience of a lifetime. Then the people running the hostel! There were two and did not matter what questions I had, they had a ready and friendly answer. The owner writes guidebooks covering the Yukon and there must be no more knowledgeable person in the Yukon than him. A absolutely great place to spend longer -- Club Med of the North! Comment by calvin May 2006 A few years ago I have been one of those "summer workers" mentioned by that lady below and I know we did behave badly - staying longer in one place tends to make one belief that "the place belongs to us". Well, I have grown up since and in my previous letter to this forum I did express my regrets to the owner and his staff. And I also know now that one of the best times I had in my short life was spending that summer at the hostel in Dawson City. Again: its a unique place worth the trip to the far North. A hostel where one learns how simple life has been at one time and where one can reconnect with nature. And yes, if you are afraid of splitting wood why come to the Yukon in the first place? And in a few weeks I will go back to Dawson City, not to work but to explore the amazing Tombstone Park and drive the Dempster Highway and float down a couple of rivers and I will stay at the hostel and I am looking forward to their mind-altering bathhouse.....and I will split wood!!!!!!!!! Calv. Comment by H. January 2006 Hi and i am just researching for my next summers trip and came across the Dawson City listing - was there last summer and it truly is one of the most interesting hostels in the world. H. Comment by Heike August 2004 Well, if you are set up for camping this is surely fun, but if you are travelling on your own and looking for a hostel, this is not your place. I was doing the latter and, honestly, I am not a big city girl, but after a long day I was not up for splitting wood and lighting a fire before I could have a shower or even a wash. It was the same in the morning: chopping wood before you can have a coffee and a shower? Come on. . . Not to mention the bathhouse is not open before 10 am. The outdoor kitchen was not equipped at all. Stranger than all this were the people, though: there were a lot of summerworkers living there, who were not really interested in talking to new folks at all. So, even if the bunks were good, for me this should not be listed as a hostel.

Dawson City River Hostel / Dieter Reinmuth, Box 32, Dawson City, Yukon, Y0B 1G0 Telephone 1-867-993-6823. Author and publisher of the "Yukon Travel Adventure Guide" and "Saga of the Sourtoe". More info on www.yukonhostels.com