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What to do in Skagway?

big bro

By big bro,
in Alaska

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cruisingrightalong

cruisingrightalong

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Skagway is popular for the train that takes you to the Yukon. Must take your passport since you pass into Canada. Ships have excursions that have 1/2 and 1/2 example van up and train down or vice versa or train only. Can be pricier. Or get a private guide like Dynea Dave ( see boards on Skagway...people will have favorites). Walk around town have lunch at the Red Onion Saloon. There is a shuttle from the ship to town or walk.

 

Some sights in driving are Emerald Lake....the Desert (yes a desert!)....the views....depending what month the leaves change for one day..try and catch it!

 

Lou

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cruising twosome

cruising twosome

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Last trip we took a helicopter ride, this year we are trying out the train.

The helicopter trip was amazing, we got to stop on a glacier and the girls slid down it on cardboard that the pilot had brought. We walked into a ice tunnel made from dripping water that turn horizontal when the glacier moved. Blue ice! Enjoy.

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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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Any suggestions for Skagway? Will be there mid august from 7am until 830 pm. Sightseeing or nature related suggestions or experiences would be great. Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

Skagway is a nice little town, but that is all it is, a little town. You need to get out of Skagway to really see what Alaska has to offer. Best way to do that, rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. Sure you can do the train. it is nice and enjoyable, but for a much cheaper price, you can drive almost the same route as the train, and when the train turns around to go back, you go off into the Yukon to really experience Alaska.

Alaska is set up so you simply cannot get lost or anything like that. There is one major road there and back. The trip is about 100 miles or so ( anyone can correct me if I am off) and the entire trip there and back, with many, many stops in between should take about 5-6 hours, quicker if you want to just drive there and back. You print out Murrays guide for about $5 and it will tell you mile by mile what to see and do, where to stop etc. We stopped by a waterfall to take a pix and a bear comes wandering out across the road about 30 feet from us. We stopped to take pics of Eagles nesting in trees, we picnicked at Emerald Lake, we stopped for ice cream at a local store.

Along the way, there is a big sign that you are now entering the Yukon territory. By the sign, there was a woman selling some stuff. We bought a local thing from her and we chatted for about 25 minutes about things in the Yukon. We loved to try and chat with locals as you gain a greater perspective of the places you are at, than chatting with tourist trap people.

 

All in all, a truly wonderful trip and a memorable day.

 

Cheers

 

Len

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cruisingrightalong

cruisingrightalong

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Yes we had the tour guide Dyea Dave and we took our time. You could rent a car you are correct only 1 road!!! I enjoyed having the guide due to the local yore....you need one though that will cater to your needs and "stops" and knows how long it takes to get back to the ship...wink wink.....that to me is the hard part. Our guide also always traveled with a second vehicle in case his broke down.

 

Lou

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Babyeddiedog

Babyeddiedog

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Last trip we took a helicopter ride, this year we are trying out the train.

The helicopter trip was amazing, we got to stop on a glacier and the girls slid down it on cardboard that the pilot had brought. We walked into a ice tunnel made from dripping water that turn horizontal when the glacier moved. Blue ice! Enjoy.

 

cruising twosome - I've been seriously thinking about this excursion but I've been a little put off by people saying that it's dirty on the glacier and not what they expected. I know that there will be rocks and it won't be pristine snow, but you sound as if you had a good time. Did you book this in advance or once you arrived in Skagway? I really love the idea of walking in an ice tunnel !

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Gunner22aa

Gunner22aa

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But stay in town unless it is on your ship. I lived in the Yukon for a number of years and was a frequent visitor to Skagway. The sleepy little town of 1000 or so is flat out overwelmed by cruise ships. With the exception of the tourist stuff on the main street there is very little to do in town itself. Best pub in town is the Red Onion but it seats 100 at best and can have long lineups to get in. If there is more than one ship in town on the day that you are there it's going to be a zoo!

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UPGrandma

UPGrandma

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cruising twosome - I've been seriously thinking about this excursion but I've been a little put off by people saying that it's dirty on the glacier and not what they expected. I know that there will be rocks and it won't be pristine snow, but you sound as if you had a good time. Did you book this in advance or once you arrived in Skagway? I really love the idea of walking in an ice tunnel !

 

Dirty glaciers is a comment often heard by locals. You are correct, there will be rocks, dirt etc as it's picked up as they move, melt, etc. the coloring from the light and how massive they are is very impressive. Enjoy

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UPGrandma

UPGrandma

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Any suggestions for Skagway? Will be there mid august from 7am until 830 pm. Sightseeing or nature related suggestions or experiences would be great. Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

We are there mid-Aug too and taking train up. Meeting Dyea Dave at the border and going on up to Emerald Lake and back. One other excursion I looked at does not run on Sun which is when we will be there.

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mapleleaves

mapleleaves

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Your cruiseline will have a list of excursions available.

 

Or, look at the town web site http://www.skagway.com which has a list of vendors, activities, town bus info, maps, hikes, etc

 

Or look at the trip reports in the STICKY above to read about what others have done. Go to reply #45 where the reports are sorted by cruiseline.

 

The train is a popular option or you can rent a car and drive to the Yukon, Emerald Lake.

Edited by mapleleaves
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EagleRocker

EagleRocker

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Agree 100% about reserving a car and driving to Carcross and Emerald Lake. It is a very enjoyable drive with diverse scenery. If you set off early, you can take as much time to dawdle as you want and still be back in the afternoon and look at the tourist shops in the town. You do need to reserve your rental car early, however, they often sell out.

 

A free, and fun, thing to do is hike to Lower Dewey Lake. The trailhead is on the edge of town. Part of the hike is moderate (a bit of rock clambering is involved), part easy. It is a lovely lake and a nice spot to simply enjoy how beautiful Alaska is. Also free, and a much easier walk, is Yakatunia Point - just a short distance from town, and you get some fantastic views.

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Nancyquilts

Nancyquilts

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And after you've been there several times, try the free walking tour by the Park Service. Sign ups are at the old depot as you first reach town. They have several during the day, but you need to sign up. We enjoyed it so much, we've taken it twice now.

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varoo

varoo

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Agree 100% about reserving a car and driving to Carcross and Emerald Lake. It is a very enjoyable drive with diverse scenery. If you set off early, you can take as much time to dawdle as you want and still be back in the afternoon and look at the tourist shops in the town. ...
.....and a nice thing about hitting the tourist shops when you have the rental car is that you don't need to carry packages around because you can just store them in the car.

 

Then you can drive back to the cruise ship and drop off all your packages there, as well as any passengers who may have trouble walking, before you turn in the rental car.

 

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nhsbt

nhsbt

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We went hiking in Skagway. There is a nice trail that circles a small lake near town - we took 3-4 hours to do the loop. If you don't want that much exercise, there is a shorter trail that goes to the southern end of the lake where we saw many tourists in non-hiking shoes. There are maps in the visitor center/chamber office in town.

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Giantfan13

Giantfan13

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How do you book a rental car in Skagway? In advance? Which rental companies? Cost?

 

I believe there are 2 rental places in Skagway. We used AVIS and we paid about $120 for a Camray. And I would say that it is a must that you reserve in advance. You do not pay up front, so it's better to have a car and not take it, then to want a car and none are there.

 

Cheers

 

Len

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ballfamily

ballfamily

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How do you book a rental car in Skagway? In advance? Which rental companies? Cost?

Nickibear -- We have taken the train & bus in Skagway and this time (May 24 sailing) we will rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. There are five adults so I rented a mid-size SUV (like a Toyota Highlander, which we happen to own). Rented from Avis. A little spendy for one day - about $190 with unlimited mileage - but we needed the larger vehicle. I imagine compact or otherwise smaller vehicles will be less expensive. If you are even thinking of renting a car I would do so now; I understand the cars go quickly during peak cruising periods. Thru Avis, you can reserve w/o giving them your credit card, and cancel any time if you decide not to do the drive. Hope this helps.

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Ponygal

Ponygal

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I believe there are 2 rental places in Skagway. We used AVIS and we paid about $120 for a Camray. And I would say that it is a must that you reserve in advance. You do not pay up front, so it's better to have a car and not take it, then to want a car and none are there.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

Avis also, if you want more adventure, rent a Jeep from Alaskan Green Jeep Rentals!

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