The next stop on our Alaskan cruise is Skagway, gateway to the Yukon and gold-rush wild west town.
A Bit About Skagway
When gold was discovered in the Canadian Yukon in 1896, the Alaskan city of Skagway exploded from a remote town of 700 residents into a muddy and lawless tent city of up to 30,000 at its peak. Thanks to its deep-water port and direct route overland into the Yukon, a thousand (usually inexperienced) prospectors sailed into Skagway every week seeking their fortune.
The gold rush was over in only a couple of years, not even long enough to complete the railway built for it. Tourism to the town started up pretty quickly as early residents bussed around visitors and the tent cities gave way to more permanent buildings.
Skagway Today
Over time, the town moved and restored all the historically important buildings to a central historic district. Skagway boasts about 1,000-2,000 semi-permanent residents who tend to around 900,000 visitors during the summer months. Most of these disembark from cruise ships that pull right up to town. We were in the last “parking spot” at the docks and had a 10-minute walk into town past all the other cruise ships.
The result of so many tourists on a mostly pedestrian main street of highly-themed wild west buildings gives the whole town a “Klondike Disneyland” feeling. It can feel a little manufactured if you don’t dig a little deeper (gold mining pun intended.)
Historic Walking Tour
I find it helps to get a historic walking tour map from the visitor’s center. This brings alive the history of each building, and it takes you deeper into town than most visitors. I walked past pretty little churches, streams, and gingerbread houses of the town’s richer residents of yore. Don’t forget to look for signs of the “Fatal Duel” of vigilante Frank Reid and conman Soapy Smith back in the lawless gold rush days.
check this whale weather vane 
Gold Rush Cemetery & Reid Falls
Try to get a little out of town by taking the bus to Gold Rush Cemetery Road. Walk past the railyard to a small cemetery in the side of the hill. The wooden markers are all curiously well-preserved so I suspect they aren’t strictly original to the late 1800’s. But it’s fun to look around at the outlaws and “soiled doves” (AKA prostitutes) buried here, along with many unknown poor souls.
View from the cemetery
Up behind the cemetery is a short trail to Lower Reid Falls, a really pretty spot. I actually got stuck here for about 20 minutes taking pictures for other people! That was kind of a fun experience on its own.
Also, I didn’t visit, but Jewell Gardens is near this area as well. It seems popular and it looks like they have a little model train situation going on there. Besides the plants, they have sessions on glassblowing and sell glass gifts in their gift shop.
Bus Info
A word about using the bus. The SMART bus system operates during the summer months with stops all over town. A one-way pass is $2 and an all-day pass is $5. I think I had to buy the all-day pass to get as far as the cemetery.
The bus stops every 15 minutes around town, but out at the cemetery, it’s only every hour. And while they drop you off at the end of Cemetery (or Alaska) Street, the return bus stop is around the corner to your left.
White Pass & Yukon Railway
To get WAY out of town, the most popular excursion in Skagway is the scenic train, the White Pass & Yukon Route. Finished in 1900, just as the Yukon gold rush was dying down, it quickly switched to transporting other mining materials as well as passengers.
In 1988, it was refurbished as a tourist attraction. You can purchase tickets on your own at the train depot or through your cruise line. I found that booking through the cruise line cost $10 more but allows you to board right next to the ship.
We ended up in the very back of the line to board our train, and it happened that the train filled up before we boarded. Then they bussed those of us left over to another train on the other side of the docks where we boarded a far less crowded train, which was a bit lucky for us.
Summit Excursion
The most popular ticket on the White Pass & Yukon, and the one we
the other train 
heading into a tunnel 
Skagway way below 
the old bridge 
reaching White Pass 
the Canadian border 
We wait while the train prepares for the return journey
At several spots near the train, you can see the original Chilkoot Trail where those inexperienced gold miners climbed the mountain on foot with the one ton of provisions that the Canadian government required of them. You also pass “Dead Horse Gulch” where all the horses died while carrying those supplies. The entire ride is narrated so you know what you’re seeing along the way. We had two great guides, Julianna and Alyssa, who were tons of fun! The whole trip takes two and a half hours.
Other Excursions
There are other excursions to take on the White Pass & Yukon. One 8-hour trip will take you all the way through Yukon Territory to Bennett Station BC ($235), only reachable by train or on foot. Or you can take the train only 6 miles up to the trailhead for the Denver Glacier ($36). In fact, you can use the train to supplement your hiking of the original Yukon/Chilkoot Trail or just to transport some gear.
The Value of Getting Out of Town
It was at this point during the Alaska part of our adventure that I realized the value of getting out of town in these port cities. The central historic district of Skagway is interesting, but it features many of the same tanzanite stores and candy shops that all the ports have. On just about any cruise you take, make sure to expend a little effort to get farther out of town than just where the ship lets you off.
It doesn’t have to be a $100+ excursion, but there are hiking trails and a cheap bus that can give you a broader look at your surroundings than just the strict tourist trade immediately at hand.
Next Stop
Check out the next post for the experience of cruising Glacier Bay! It was pretty cool. (Pun intended again.)
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