The White Pass & Yukon Route is a narrow-gauge privately owned railroad built in 1898 at the height of the Klondike gold rush. Between 1900 and 1982 it provided passenger and freight service between Skagway and Whitehouse in the Yukon Territory. In 1994 the…Read More

The White Pass & Yukon Route is a narrow-gauge privately owned railroad built in 1898 at the height of the Klondike gold rush. Between 1900 and 1982 it provided passenger and freight service between Skagway and Whitehouse in the Yukon Territory. In 1994 the White Pass & Yukon Route was declared an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, one of only 15 in the world.

During the gold rush days, thousands took the 40-mile trek from Skagway to Lake Bennett, where they build boats to float down the Yukon River to Dawson City and the goldfields.

This railroad has one of the steepest railroad grades in North America. From sea level at Skagway, the railroad climbs to 2,885 feet at White Pass in only 20 miles.

Today the White Pass Railroad operates a three-hour round trip train excursion between Skagway and the White Pass Summit and features the most spectacular sights of the entire route, including the steep climb to White Pass Summit, Bridal Veil Falls, Inspiration Point and Dead Horse Gulch. From mid May through mid September there are two trips daily, one leaving Skagway approximately 8:45 am and the other at approximately 1:00 pm.

There are more than 200 certified charter/air taxi operators and countless private pilots in Alaska and literally thousands of landing areas for amphibious aircraft. The Alaskan Bush Pilots are an integral part of the Alaskan landscape, bringing supplies, mail and passengers to some of…Read More

There are more than 200 certified charter/air taxi operators and countless private pilots in Alaska and literally thousands of landing areas for amphibious aircraft. The Alaskan Bush Pilots are an integral part of the Alaskan landscape, bringing supplies, mail and passengers to some of the most remote regions of Alaska.

We had some thrilling and exciting experiences with small aircraft in the Alaska wilderness. The first was the flight in Skagway to the tip of Glazier Point and the beginning our Wilderness Safari. I found it very interesting how these pilots handled not only their aircraft, but also the weather, mountains and unique landing facilities. We left Skagway airport, with two other planes, each carrying four to five passengers. The planes flew in somewhat of a loose formation, always in site of each other. We flew over the water and between beautiful mountains and before long we spotted what they called a "beach landing strip". The entire flight was exciting but never frightening. These pilots do not have radar and fly by the "seat of their pants". As we saw for ourselves, the Bush Pilot is a unique and dedicated breed.

The second flight was out of Juneau over the Juneau Icefield by seaplane. This one-hour tour was bold and incredible. Taking off on the water, flying just below a low deck of dark clouds and over the mountaintops, turning and twisting, swooping down into the valleys to give us great views and spectacular photo opportunities.

The Glacier Point tour begins with a short bus ride through the Skagway ending up at the Skagway Airport for a 20-minute scenic flight over Alaska’s deepest fiord to a remote beach landing strip on the tip of Glacier Point. Here we came face-to…Read More

The Glacier Point tour begins with a short bus ride through the Skagway ending up at the Skagway Airport for a 20-minute scenic flight over Alaska’s deepest fiord to a remote beach landing strip on the tip of Glacier Point.

Here we came face-to face with a sprawling glacier in the heart of southeast Alaska’s lush rain forest. After landing on the beach, we boarded an old Bus for the short drive to the trailhead. There we were outfitted with heavy jackets and knee high rubber boots. An adventurous ¼ mile walk across the glacier’s terminal moraine took us to the edge of a lake where we could see the Davidson Glacier right in front of us.

We divided into two groups and boarded two 31-foot canoes for our final journey among icebergs to the face of the mighty Davidson Glacier. Although the canoe had a small outboard motor, we did have to row- the motor was only used in specific areas. Our guide was very knowledgeable and basically allowed us to direct where we went around the glacier and how long we stayed. As we approached the glacier, we saw the deep blue color you always hear about in the glacier, and we were seeing it "Up Close & Personal".

There was actually an "ice cave" from which melted snow was gushing. I must have taken an entire roll of film on this one site- the deep blue packed ice, the melting snow, the beautiful water, and the snow caped mountians in the background.

We returned to the landing strip by the same route – and enjoyed a picnic of smoked salmon and listened to the adventures of the fascinating men who lived and worked in the wilderness. Our guides live on Glacier Point with no running water and no electricity about 7 months out of the year. They obviously enjoy what they are doing. We returned to the Skagway Airport, leaving our beach airstrip and colorful guides behind.

The tour is approximately 5 hours and the cost is $199.00 per person, and well worth every penny. It was a realtively easy tour, with the most difficult part being the short hike to the lake. It is a wonderful trip for children and adults alike.

Like the Haines Highway, The South Klondike Highway is a gorgeous and well maintained road that connects the inside passage to the Alaska Highway. That is where their similarity ends. From Skagway the road starts the serious climb to White Pass immediately upon leaving the…Read More

Like the Haines Highway, The South Klondike Highway is a gorgeous and well maintained road that connects the inside passage to the Alaska Highway. That is where their similarity ends. From Skagway the road starts the serious climb to White Pass immediately upon leaving the city. It passes US Customs at mile 6.9. Soon thereafter there is a good turnout with views of Esk Glacier and The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway. Cross the unusual Captain William Moore suspension bridge in a couple more miles. Now at the summit area itself, you will find massive rounded peaks of lichen covered gray rocks and waterfalls. (Mile 14.2) From here the highway begins it's descent into the beautiful Yukon lake country. A couple miles past the summit there is a great view of the light blue Summit Lake and a train depot at Fraser, BC. Stop at Canadian customs at mile 22. The impressive remains of the Venus Silver Mine come into view at mile 54.4. The most beautiful overlook along the route has to be the Bove Island overlook at mile 59.5. Just short of Carcross, the lake and mountain views from this rest area are phenomenal.





Make a stop in Carcross at the Matthew Watson General Store and the very nice Carcross Depot Welcome Center and Museum.(off the main highway) Carcross itself is surrounded by small houses and cabins. The Anglican Church and ruins of Lake Bennet's last Steamer, Tutshi, serve as nice photo stops.



Venture less than five miles beyond Carcross to two sites that are definitely worth the drive. The Carcross Desert is the world's smallest desert, and it is surrounded by mountain views and golden aspen. Just a couple miles more brings you Spirit Lake and then Emerald Lake. Emerald Lake is very bright blue green around the edges and deep emerald in the center. We chose to make Emerald Lake our turn around point. We still had time to see downtown Skagway and the Gold Rush Cemetery upon returning.





Lunch Ideas


In Carcross, the hotel has a nice little restaurant. The Shell station back on the highway serves decent Chinese food. North of town, the Lodge at Spirit Lake has excellent homemade pies and hearty lunches for reasonable prices (summer only).Close

Skagway is the oldest incorporated town in the state of Alaska, although in reality Sitka is much older. Situated at the extreme northern end of the Lynn Canal and the end of inside passage, Skagway could not avoid the onslaught of thousands of gold crazy…Read More

Skagway is the oldest incorporated town in the state of Alaska, although in reality Sitka is much older. Situated at the extreme northern end of the Lynn Canal and the end of inside passage, Skagway could not avoid the onslaught of thousands of gold crazy stampeders which resulted in it's founding. Founded to service and swindle the tens of thousands of gold-crazy stampeders passing through it, the town became notoriously rough, "little better than a hell on earth," a Canadian Mountie said. Day and night, gunfire rang out on Broadway, the main street, and spilled out of one of the many saloons in town. Merchants, prostitutes and thieves hustled stampeders, restrained by nothing more than their talent, imagination, and scruples. At the height of the gold rush, Skagway had over 20,000 residents and 80 saloons. Today it has a little over 800 full time residents. The National Park Service does an excellent job telling the story of the "trail of 98". The Klondike Gold Rush National Park was founded in 1976 to preserve and tell one of the most bizarre chapters in the history of the United States and Canada. Federal funds along with massive capitol from the cruise lines have been instrumental in preserving, restoring, and using many of Skagway's splendid turn of the century buildings.

Skagway is quite suitable and comfortable for 700,000 cruise ship passengers per year that find themselves on Broadway. Preservation is almost always a good thing, but some Alaskan locals wished that the park service would have at least considered the approach of "arrested decay" with many of the town's old buildings, and that more of them had been left in their original locations. The streets were still dirt until the early 1980's when they were paved for dust control. In this process of restoration, the story and the town have become a somewhat sanitized version of their true past. Skagway is now very "pretty", bordering on "precious", town that resembles a Disney movie set. Rest assured, all of the buildings are original to Skagway.Close

The first couple of miles are a good warm up: climbing up and down along the rocky riverbanks gives you a little sweat. Most people do the trail in 5 days speding four nights on the trail. This makes only the third day very hard.…Read More

The first couple of miles are a good warm up: climbing up and down along the rocky riverbanks gives you a little sweat. Most people do the trail in 5 days speding four nights on the trail. This makes only the third day very hard. The most miles to cover and the actual climb through the pass.

Plowing through the snow on the third day my girlfriend asked "Martin, remember we why I decided to come along on this trail?". The third day is the difficult one!

I think if you are reasonably fit you can do the trail. It gets even easier later in the summer when there is no more snow.

The experience is great and we are still proud we made it to Bennet Lake!

THe original trail was already years old and operated by the local indians who used the pass as a trade route with the interior. The goldrush was on in the winter so al the paths were snowed under. People used sleds to go over the…Read More

THe original trail was already years old and operated by the local indians who used the pass as a trade route with the interior. The goldrush was on in the winter so al the paths were snowed under. People used sleds to go over the iced over river for the first part of the trip. Now you follow the river as well and the first two days are relatively easy.

During the third day you have to climb The Stairs and the dreaded Scales. Just a little steeper and you can call this mountainclimbing! On top of the pass is a Canadian Parc Ranger post to get a little rest. Early in the summer you will have to walk in the snow to the next campsite.

The last two days are again relatively easy and once you reach Bennet Lake you can be proud and feel sorry for the cruiseliners who take the train up!

We took the train back all the way to Skagway, being a bit smelly all the Chilkoot trailers have their own wagon!

You have to bring all your food for the whole 5 day trip with you (and carry the garbage out) since there are no camp stores.

When people brought I huge load of gold into Seatlle the news spread quickly and the Goldrush was on! There were (and still are) only a few ways to get to Dawson City. Because of the coast mountains of the panhandle of Alaska and Canada's British…Read More

When people brought I huge load of gold into Seatlle the news spread quickly and the Goldrush was on!

There were (and still are) only a few ways to get to Dawson City. Because of the coast mountains of the panhandle of Alaska and Canada's British Columbia only a few passes exist to get to the interior.

A lot of people went by boat to Vancouver and Seatle, bought their equipment and a boat ride to Skagway, to the trailhead.

It was winter and in a hurry to get to the goldfields and stake a claim everybody embarked on the Chilkoot pass.

Little towns sprang up along the trail offering all kinds of services to the people.

Walking the trail you get an impression what went on. The trail is not so difficult to hike but the goldrush was on in the winter making it much more difficult to cross the pass.

Sad thing was, everybody arriving in Dawson early spring was much too late. All the good places were already taken...

Glaciers are formed when years of snowfall compact into ice and begin to slide down the mountainside. Gravity and melt water combine to drag the ice mass toward the sea. Glaciers photograph best on overcast days when the blue in the ice is most…Read More

Glaciers are formed when years of snowfall compact into ice and begin to slide down the mountainside. Gravity and melt water combine to drag the ice mass toward the sea.

Glaciers photograph best on overcast days when the blue in the ice is most visible.

Glacier ice is blue because blue is the only color not absorbed by the physical characteristics of ice molecules.

Compressed air trapped inside glacial ice creates a phenomenon called "ice sizzle". As the ice melts, the bubbles burst creating an audible "snap, crackle and pop".

When the climate of a region becomes warmer, glaciers will start receding. The debris deposited by a melting glacier is called a ground moraine. The debris left at the edge of the glacier’s extreme forward movement is a terminal moraine. On our Wilderness Safari Tour we walked ¼ mile on a terminal moraine. It looked like a rain forest, trees, grasses, etc, but the ground was very soft.

The Days of ’98 Show with Soapy Smith is in its 75th year of running. It is presented at the Eagles Hall and is a historic musical comedy of Skagway and the legendary con man, Soapy Smith and the town hero, Frank Reid.…Read More

The Days of ’98 Show with Soapy Smith is in its 75th year of running. It is presented at the Eagles Hall and is a historic musical comedy of Skagway and the legendary con man, Soapy Smith and the town hero, Frank Reid. It is presented several times a day and is good family entertainment. At the evening shows of this musical comedy, you can gamble with “Funny Money” (907) 983-2545.

Hike the Chilkoot Trail- 33-mile (53 KM) trail begins on Dyea Road climbs Chilkoot Pass elevation 3,739 feet to Lake Bennett, following the historic route of the gold seekers of 1898. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Trail of ’98 Museum is owned and operated by the citizens of Skagway. It is located on the second floor of the Artic Brotherhood Building on Broadway and is open mid May to mid September from 9am to 5pm. Admission is $2.00 adults and $1.00 children. The museum’s goal is to preserve Alaska’s historical material and to display Alaskan pioneer life. (907) 983-2420

Gold Pan Theatre- Includes a Bar Room Shoot-Out, Vaudeville Melodrama, Old Fashion Sarsaparilla Bar, and a beautiful Victorian Parlor. Located at 7th and Broadway, there are nightly shows June-September (907)983-3177.

Artic Brotherhood Hall, Broadway between 2nd and 3rd Streets, 10,000 pieces of driftwood adorns the false front of this 1899 fraternal meeting hall, now used by the City of Skagway and the Trail of ’98 Museum.

Gold Rush Cemetery located about 3 miles from downtown, is where the notorious Soapy Smith and Frank Reid, the town hero, are buried. Close