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Stores around the town sell all sorts of postcards along with stamps, with pictures of everything from wildlife to mountains, cruise ships, and more. Additionally, there is a city shuttle available from the cruise port for $5 for a day pass or $3 per ride. With bus stops conveniently located around town, getting around Skagway becomes hassle-free and affordable.
Watch a Movie About the Gold Rush in Skagway
This experience is not wheelchair friendly; it is considered moderate to strenuous, and walking shoes and a wind/water-resistant jacket are recommended. You’ll make stops at stunning viewpoints allowing you to take unique pictures, while your tour guide tells you about the history of the region and the Klondike Gold Rush era. Jewell Gardens is located 10 minutes’ drive from the Skagway cruise port, on Klondike Highway, a little bit outside the downtown area. 👆 Princess explains how the Skagway cruise port water shuttle will work in a letter sent to cabins during the cruise. You might need to take a water shuttle directly from the cruise ship to get to land. Heading into town is a bit of a walk — about minutes depending on which spot your ship is docked.
Cruise Ship Calendar
It’s actually a good idea to check this itinerary even if you aren’t curious about the water shuttle, because port times can change and you won’t necessarily be notified about it. To find out where in Skagway your cruise ship will be docking, see the 2023 cruise ship schedule for Alaska and look for SKG Skagway. In which case, you won’t need a shuttle directly from the cruise ship at all.
Top Things to Do in Skagway, Alaska
You’ll cross the Skagway River on a footbridge, then hike through trees until you come to a glorious overlook of the Lynn Canal fjord and docked cruise ships. The Grizzly Falls Ziplining Expedition includes 10 ziplines and four suspension bridges. You’ll begin with a 35 bus ride from the cruise ship dock to Dyea. After safety training, you’ll have two hours to fly through the rainforest at speeds over 45 miles per hour over spectacular sights including glacier fed waterfalls. You’ll be transported back to Skagway’s gold rush days with this entertaining excursion that takes two hours and includes transport to and from the cruise ship aboard a bus. The variety of shore excursion options is one reason why Skagway is such a popular stop for cruise ships.
View Gold Rush Artifacts at the Skagway Museum & Archives
One service is the SMART Shuttle bus that carries passengers directly from the dock to downtown Skagway for just $5 per person for an all-day pass. The town of Skagway is extremely small and is best to explore by foot. However the city of Skagway provides a shuttle service than can get you from the ship to the anywhere in the city centre and even to the Jewell Gardens and Klondike Gold Fields.
Exploring Skagway’s Gold Rush History and Nearby Attractions
The center is located at 2nd Avenue and Broadway, right as you enter town. On 3rd Avenue, there is a storefront called Alaskan Fry Bread which is home to the Klondike Doughboy. The pastry is essentially a dinner-plate-sized piece of sweet dough deep-fried and then sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
Viewing Skagway and the surrounding landscape from the air is an experience unlike any other. Plenty of helicopter tours are ideal for cruise ship passengers, as they allow you to take in an incredible amount of scenery in a limited time. Save time and view the mountains, glaciers, fjords, and forests from above. Each terminal and pier is also wheelchair accessible, so passengers with mobility needs will not encounter any issues navigating the port. Those needing assistance reaching the Skagway downtown area can take a round-trip shuttle service from the port’s drop-off and pick-up zone. The shuttle operates year-round and only costs five dollars for an all-day pass.
Royal Caribbean Removes Popular Alaska Port From Many Cruises - Cruise Hive
Royal Caribbean Removes Popular Alaska Port From Many Cruises.
Posted: Thu, 04 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
That being said, sometimes these excursions are only a few hours long, leaving you with extra time in the city. These dogs are powerful and you’ll get the chance to talk with the mushers and find out about how they train the dogs for races, including the famous Iditarod Race across Alaska. You’ll also get the opportunity to act like a musher yourself!
Guides choose the best route and landing spot depending on weather, but explorers will potentially land on either the Chilkat, Ferebee or Meade Glaciers. This narrated scenic tour will give you a better glimpse into the interior of Alaska and provide you with interesting gold rush history and nature information. There are several different companies that offer sledding experiences including a dogsled ride on a wheeled “summer sled.” Watching trained huskies pull a dog sled is an awe inspiring experience.
Port Skagway (locode USSGY) is among the most popular Alaskan cruise ship stops. For mainly tourism purposes is operated the White Pass Yukon Route (abbrev WPYR) gauge railroad. The railroad is also used for shipping copper ore from Alaska's interior. Skagway is also the northern terminus of Alaska Marine Highway (abbre AMH, state-operated ferry service). The settlement was familiar to thousands of gold rushers as the gateway to the Alaskan goldfields.
People seeking their fortunes would start in Skagway and then choose either the steep (but shorter) route over the White Pass Trail or the Chilkoot Pass Trail located in nearby Dyea. Open all year and a favorite of locals, the Station Bar & Grill serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with daily specials from an eclectic menu that will delight any palate. Offerings range from salads to assorted burgers, pizza, and the popular fish and chips featuring beer-battered Alaskan white cod. The restaurant is located in the center of town and is handy for a bite to eat after an excursion. The tours of the refuge are guided and the visit usually lasts up to two hours. You get the chance to touch animals, kiss a moose, or watch a Kodiak bear play in her pool.
Thrills aside, this is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in nature, take in the mountain scenery, and look out for wildlife, from bears to bald eagles. To get to the Kroschel Wildlife Refuge, you need to catch an early morning ferry from Skagway to Haines and ride approximately 45 minutes each way. Once in Haines, tourists will board an organized bus for their tour and ride approximately 1 hour each way to Kroschel Park. Upon arriving at a base camp, you’ll board a shuttle truck that will take you on a bumpy ride to the zipline starting point. In 1898, one year after the gold was found in Yukon, the investors started the construction of the narrow-gauge railroad to build the route from Skagway to Yukon’s goldfields. Built within three years, the iron trail was an engineering marvel as the route led through the region’s dramatic, rugged mountainous terrain.
This small walking trail with park is located between the docks and the town, so you’ll pass by as you leave the ship. It has a small pond and a stream, along with some grassy areas to sit and enjoy. Once you arrive at the cruise pier, you can take advantage of the SMART bus service, which operates from the dock to downtown Skagway. For just $5 per person, you can purchase an all-day pass and explore all that Skagway has to offer. Taking advantage of this shuttle service lets you explore tourist attractions and sightseeing opportunities while enhancing your experience in this locale.
Purchase an item in specific locations downtown where you will receive code access. The city of Skagway is easily one of the smallest you’ll visit on an Alaska cruise. During the summer months, this number gets up to around 3,000 people, which is still incredibly small. If you’re a seafood lover, head to Skagway Fish Company for their delicious seafood options to satisfy you. For coffee lovers, the Glacial Coffeehouse is a must-visit spot where you can enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee while taking in the mountains and the sea.
Mountain lakes, glaciers and the Tongass rainforest are all within your reach. The visitors centre on Broadway gives away free hiking maps. The most popular hike is the Dewey Lake Trail that starts in town, but there are also more challenging and off the beaten track hikes you can find in the area like the Denver Valley Hike or A.B. See the gallery underneath for more information and always make sure to pass by the Visitors Centre in Skagway for updated information in the trails and free maps. Please know a permit is required for the famous Chilkoot trail and therefore we recommend to do this particular hike with a guide or tour rather than independently.
Stephanie Yrungaray grew up in gorgeous Eagle River, Alaska and now calls Utah her beUtahful home. She enjoys traveling and exploring with her husband and five kids any way she can, from cruising to RV camping and everything in-between! When she’s not out exploring, you’ll find her writing about travel, finances and parenting as well as gift ideas on her website, In this post, I shared a complete guide of the 20 best things to do in Skagway Alaska when you’re on a cruise.
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