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Skagway: Train vs. Rental Car (with photos)


marysb
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We just got back from our 3rd Alaska trip and now that I have done both the car rental and the train in Skagway, I thought I would share our experiences. I know many people prefer one to the other for various reasons, but both were excellent excursions.

 

Advantages to train:

  • the short train ride up to the summit and back is a half day and then you have the rest of the day to poke around Skagway to shop or hike. (and we had a teenager who was done with scenery in a couple of hours)
  • the train had incredible "wilderness views" not a highway and signs lying before you for miles
  • you are on an engineering marvel ....clinging to cliffs, going through tunnels, standing on the back platform as you cross over deep ravines on numerous bridges.
  • you get a historical commentary while you are riding. Very Interesting
  • Sit in the rear car, then you can go outside on the back platform for great unobstructed photos.
  • link to White Pass Rail website: http://wpyr.com/

 

Advantages to Driving:

  • less expensive
  • you can stop when you want
  • if you have Murray's guide, you get a great idea of what you are seeing around you.
  • if the weather is nice, it is an easy drive and the drive has lots of scenery right straight in front, so this shouldn't be an issue for the driver not getting to see much.
  • there are lots of pull offs to see scenery and animals.
  • you can go further into Canada ... went to Carcross, Emerald Lake, and then we drove all the way to Whitehorse. We were back in Skagway by in plenty of time for our all aboard.
  • Packed some snacks so we could have a little picnic at Emerald lake.
  • on the klondike Hwy, you are following the Chilkoot Pass for a good portion of the trip. Sign/ boards are posted at various stops.

 

Bit of both? : A tour with train up and bus back. You travel with the hordes, but people do enjoy this, but it is a long travel day,

 

 

I will post photos from our 2012 train ride and also our 2014 drive. We had beautiful days both trips, so there is a good comparison with the scenery photos. We saw a bear on both trips, but you will notice that there are no bear photos from the train....not quick enough ;-)

 

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Sit in the last car on the right side going up the mountain. You will be made to switch sides on the way back down so everyone get the cliff side view.

Take your photos on the way up so you can relax and soak in the views on the way back down. If you are in the last car you can go out on the open platform and get some unobstructed photos.

 

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Bridal Veil Falls

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photo from back of train

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the old /original bridge

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The Trail of 98 as seen from the train. The original path is still here. All prospectors had to travel on foot along this path before the train was built.

 

Each person had to carry in ONE TON of supplies before they were allowed into Canada. If they did not carry in the supplies, they would die of starvation, so the Mounties made sure everyone was well supplied to last a winter in the klondike. The horses could not handle these mountain passes and would die (hense Dead Horse Gulch), so everything had to be carried on foot. If each man could carry about 50 pounds at one time, that means that they would have to go back and forth over this pass 40 times to get the full ton of goods for weigh-in at the Mountie station at the top of the pass:eek:. .... and you thought customs was a pain today

 

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The Trail of 98 (seen midway down the ravine)

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At the Summit

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The Weigh in station for prospectors entering the Yukon (they would keep a pile of their stuff and go back and get more until they had the one ton of supplies to get into Canada. )

NWMP =Northwest Mounted Police

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Next up ... our rental car drive that we did mid-July of this year.

 

We drove to Emerald Lake where we were going to turn around, but since we had lots of time and it was a great day, we carried on to Whitehorse.... and then back.

 

 

We ordered a rental car through Avis a few months before the cruise. We ordered online ... with no payment. A few days before we arrived in Skagway, Avis sent us an email to confirm. If we still wanted the car were were to DO NOTHING. If we wanted to cancel, we were to reply to the email.

 

We ordered the car for 9am (we docked at 8am). We thought this would be a good time as the early tours would be gone and we could get in a big hearty breakfast as we would probably just be snacking on the drive.

When we walked up to Avis, there was only one other party in front of us. It is a small shop and they could only process 1-2 cars at a time. Service was great!- very friendly and helpful. They had great maps too.

 

We had very little traffic on the way. Timing was great. All aboard for the Oosterdam was 8:30, but we were back by 6:30 and we were certainly travelling at a leisurely pace.

 

Skagway

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Walking to the Avis rental office.

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Our red Corolla on the Klondike Hwy.

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Beautiful columbines outside the Avis office

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Here are some views across the pass at the rail tracks cut into the side of the mountains.

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Bridal Veil Falls (see rail bridge near top centre of photo) -There is a photo of bridal veil falls seen from the train in post #2.

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Thank you for the comparison. We will be there one week from today and have decided to take the train up and back for our first trip so we have time to do other things that day. So if we are going up and back in the 3 hour round trip it is right side up and left side down?

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So if we are going up and back in the 3 hour round trip it is right side up and left side down?

 

That comment by the OP is incorrect - to get the view side you want the left side going up, the right side going down.

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That comment by the OP is incorrect - to get the view side you want the left side going up, the right side going down.

 

Our 3-hr roundtrip this June did a big turn at the top so the passengers didn't need to move to give everyone a good view (as opposed to the OP describing moving the engine to what had been the rear of the train on the way up). Sit on the left and you will get the "good" views on the way up but if you sit on the right you will get the "good" views on the way down. So it depends on the weather...we had better weather on the way down on our trip!

 

We were out on the platforms most of the trip up and down though, then you can get great views if the others on the platform cooperate and switch spots periodically (one guy had a prime spot and didn't move the entire hour and a half as the rest of us politely switched it up every once in a while to make sure everyone got good views and pictures).

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That comment by the OP is incorrect - to get the view side you want the left side going up, the right side going down.

 

Oops...:eek:. You are correct. Left side going up and right side coming down

Sorry for that confusion.

 

But I spent most of the ride outside on the platform.

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Murray's guide call this the "Inukshuk Graffiti" We saw lots of cars at this pull-off.

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At the border crossing in Fraser B.C. It is a short stop at the customs building- you usually just remain in your car. Make sure you have your passport. 14584562619_dd925de8ff_c.jpg

 

 

Some photos taken at the border pullover.

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Leaving BC and into the Yukon

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Here is a map I found online that gives you an idea of the routes of both the road and the train. (the suspension bridge is in a beautiful setting, but we did not stop here)

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Windy Arm

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Bove Island

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Carcross - We stopped on the way back. There were very few people around at that time of day.

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Carcross Desert - Called the worlds smallest desert, but really just sand dunes from an ancient lakebed.

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Near Emerald Lake we see a black bear come out of the woods and start eating berries off a little bush. Very exciting!! He glanced at our car a couple of times, but kept about his business.

 

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Emerald Lake .... yes a beautiful green!

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We drove around Whitehorse. It was a very pretty, clean city and the locals were out enjoying a nice summer day (low 70's). We stopped at Walmart for some pop and free wifi. Then it was back to Skagway.

 

The scenery was very nice looking south ...quite different, so you have a very scenic trip in both directions.

 

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CARCROSS

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We waited about 10 minutes as the road was closed to a single lane

while machinery cleared the debris from a rockslide

(same place as on the way north).

 

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Beautiful scenery to stare at while we waited.

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That is a lot of debris from the rockslide!

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On our way again.

I think the roof you see in the mid left of the photo

is the building at the Yukon Suspension Bridge. A beautiful spot!

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A view of the cruise ships coming back into Skagway

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We took the road that led to the old cemetery. Definitely worth a look.

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We were back in Skagway by a little after 6 and we left Whitehorse about 2:30pm. It was a full day, but we enjoyed it VERY MUCH!

If you have any questions, just let me know.

 

Mary

Edited by marysb
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