Though the gold fields that were the ultimate goal of the stampeders lay in Yukon, the park comprises staging areas for the trek there and the routes leading in its direction.

The Skagway unit includes much of the historic downtown such as buildings owned and restored by NPS and others, some leased even today for ordinary commercial purposes to recreate the city's bustling activity.

The visitor center in Skagway is located in railroad depot building at Second and Broadway and is a good place to begin tours either led by a ranger or self-guided.

Severely damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, it was rehabilitated in 2004–2005 as home to the interpretive center and museum for the Seattle unit of the park, and was opened and dedicated on June 26, 2006.

[17][18] The Seattle unit's visitor center originally opened June 2, 1979[19][20] in the Union Trust Annex (built 1902),[21] across Main Street from Occidental Park.

[22] In 1969, the United States and Canadian governments jointly declared their intention to make Chilkoot Trail a component of a Klondike Gold Rush International Historic Park.