A Sunny Day in Skagway

The highlight of my trip to Skagway was a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. Sitting comfortably in a vintage railroad car, I saw more in my 3 hour trip than many of the would be prospectors ever saw in their quest to find gold. In fact, many miners and thousands of pack horses died just trying to climb the mountain to get to the gold fields.

Skagway is surrounded by mountains which make a scenic backdrop for the wooden sidewalks and restored false front buildings that now house interesting restaurants and shops filled with native arts and crafts. Shopping can be thirsty work so we stopped for a drink at a sidewalk table outside the Golden North Hotel and enjoyed our sunny day in Skagway.

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Most of the town's tours include the cemetery in their itinerary but it also makes a nice walk from town if you have spare time.

At one time, over 20,000 people descended on Skagway determined to strike it rich. In their quest for gold, many men and thousands of pack horses perished due to exhaustion, weather, etc. without ever laying eyes on the gold that they sought. Too many people, too fast, meant that Skagway turned into quite a lawless town with more than its share of varmints and outlaws like Soapy Smith and his gang.

The gold rush didn’t last long nor did Skagway’s prosperity. Nowadays, less than 1,000 people live in Skagway year round although the number increases in the summer due to the tourism jobs available.

The tour travels along Skagway’s main street, Broadway, which is part of the Historic District. The raised, wooden sidewalks and false front buildings are vivid reminders of the gold rush era.

A trip to the Gold Rush Cemetery is included and it is here that local outlaw Soapy Smith and local hero Frank Reid are both buried. Frank killed Soapy in a shoot out but also died from his wounds.

Tours last about 2 hours and cost around $35.00, depending on the style of tour.

If you have more time and money, other tours from Skagway include trip on the historic White Pass & Yukon Railway as well as float plane and helicopter tours of the countryside. For a small place, Skagway has alot to choose from.