Things to do in Skagway
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Denver Glacier Trail
This trail begins at Mile 6 of the White Pass & Yukon Route, where the USFS has renovated a White Pass & Yukon Route caboose into the Denver Caboose, a rental cabin of sorts. The trailheads up the east fork of Skagway River for 2 miles, then swings south and continues another 1½ miles up the glacial outwash to Denver Glacier. Most of the trail is overgrown with brush, and the second half is particularly tough hiking.
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Alaska Fjordlines
Offers a day cruise to Juneau aboard the fast Fjordland, a 65ft catamaran. Continental breakfast is served on the way down, and on arrival in Juneau, passengers transfer to a bus for a tour of Mendenhall Glacier and the city. You're on your own there for lunch, then a light dinner is served onboard during the return trip.
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Days of '98 Show with Soapy Smith
Skagway has Southeast Alaska's best and longest-running melodrama. The entertaining and lively Days of '98 Show with Soapy Smith covers the town's gold-rush days and the full story of Soapy and his gang. Four shows are offered daily in summer; the evening show is preceded by an hour of 'mock gambling.'
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Starfire
Order pad Thai or spicy drunken noodle here and then enjoy it with a beer on the outdoor patio.
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Dewey Lakes Trail System
This series of trails leads east of Skagway to a handful of alpine and subalpine lakes, waterfalls and historic sites. From Broadway, follow 3rd Ave southeast to the railroad tracks. On the east side of the tracks are the trailheads to Lower Dewey Lake (0.7 miles), Icy Lake (2½ miles), Upper Reid Falls (3½ miles) and Sturgill's Landing (4½ miles).
Plan on taking an hour round-trip for the hike to Lower Dewey Lake, where there are picnic tables, camping spots and a trail circling the lake. At the lake's north end is an alpine trail that ascends steeply to Upper Dewey Lake, 3½ miles from town, and Devil's Punchbowl, another 1.25 miles south of the upper lake.
The hike to…
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Yakutania Point & AB Mountain Trails
The Skagway River footbridge, reached by following 1st Ave west around the airport runway, leads to two trails of opposite caliber. For an easy hike to escape the cruise-ship crowds turn left from the bridge and follow the mile-long trail to picnic areas and lovely views at Yakutania Point and Smugglers Cove.
Nearby on Dyea Rd is AB Mountain Trail, also known as the Skyline Trail, This route ascends 5½ miles to the 5100ft summit of AB Mountain, named for the 'AB' that appears on its south side when the snow melts every spring. The first 30 minutes is along a well-defined trail through a hemlock forest to a view of Skagway. After that the trail is considerably more challen…
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Dyea
In 1898 Skagway's rival city, Dyea, at the foot of the Chilkoot Trail, was the trailhead for the shortest route to Lake Bennett, where stampeders began their float to Dawson City. After the White Pass & Yukon Route was completed in 1900, Dyea quickly died. Today the town is little more than a few old crumbling cabins, the pilings of Dyea Wharf and Slide Cemetery, where 47 men and women were buried after perishing in an avalanche on the Chilkoot Trail in April 1898.
The ghost town is a 9-mile drive along winding Dyea Rd, whose numerous hairpin turns are not for timid RVers. But it's very scenic drive.
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Wells Fargo Bank
The Wells Fargo Bank dates back to 1916 when a group of East Coast businessmen founded National Bank of Alaska and built the bank a year later. In 1981 the bank underwent an extensive historic renovation and today it is an interesting place to visit even if you're not short on cash yet. Two of the five brass teller gates are originals, there are spittoons in case you're chewing tobacco and on display everywhere are banking artifacts from a classic 'Cannonball' safe to the old safe deposit boxes.
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Gold Rush Cemetery
Visitors who become infatuated with Smith and Reid can walk out to Gold Rush Cemetery, a 2½-mile stroll northeast on State St. Follow State until it curves into 23rd Ave and look for the sign to Soapy's grave across the railroad tracks. A wooden bridge along the tracks leads to the main part of the cemetery, the site of many stampeders' graves and the plots of Reid and Smith. From Reid's gravestone, it's a short hike uphill to lovely Reid Falls, which cascades 300ft down the mountainside.
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Haven Café
The aptly named coffeehouse is removed from the heart of the fray and makes a great place to kick back and plan your next move. Inside, a sofa and wooden floorboards create a warm ambience, while soft music plays on the sound system. A bulletin board in the foyer provides insight into local life, and the café often hosts special events (live music, poetry reading etc). Oh yeah, the espresso is potent and the panini sandwiches and salads are large.
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Skagway Overlook
It's a very scenic drive to Dyea, especially at Skagway Overlook, a turnoff with a viewing platform 2½ miles from Skagway. The overlook offers an excellent view of Skagway, its waterfront and the peaks above the town. Just before crossing the bridge over the Taiya River, you pass the Dyea Camping Area where an NPS ranger is stationed in the summer to assist hikers on the Chilkoot Trail.
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Jewell Gardens
If the crowds are overwhelming you, cross the Skagway River to Jewell Gardens. Located where Henry Clark established the first truck farm in Alaska, the garden is a quiet spot of flowerbeds, ponds, giant vegetables and a delightful miniature train. Enjoy a cup of tea in the tearoom, soak in the color, regain your sanity. From downtown the SMART bus will drop you off at the entrance.
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Arctic Brotherhood Hall
The most outlandish building of the seven-block historical corridor along Broadway St and possibly the most photographed building in Alaska is this defunct Arctic Brotherhood Hall, now home of the Skagway Convention & Visitors Bureau. The original driftwood, 8833 pieces of it, that covers the façade were attached in 1899 and extensively renovated, piece-by-piece, in 2005.
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Sockeye Cycle
Sockeye Cycle rents hybrids and mountain bikes and offers several bike tours out of Skagway that include all equipment. Its 2½-hour Klondike Tour begins with van transportation to Klondike Pass (elevation 3295ft) on the Klondike Hwy. From there it's a 15-mile downhill ride back to town, with plenty of stops to view waterfalls and the White Pass & Yukon Route.
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Sabrosa Café & Bakery
Tucked away just off Broadway St, this small café - four tables outside, four inside - is easy to miss but shouldn't be. Its vegetarian choices, from Rockin' Vegetarian Chili to spicy veggie tacos, are extensive and its King Ranch Casserole (layers of corn tortillas, roasted chicken and cheese) will give you the get-up-and-go to face five cruise ships at once.
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Olivia's
The extensive garden outside the Skagway Inn is a good indication of how fresh the mains are inside. Staff members don't waste time cooking fish-and-chips at this bistro; lunch is a fixed-priced meal, dinner is a choice of four mains. The chicken pot pie sounds plain but it's delicious.
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Juneau Shore Excursion: Whale-Watching Cruise and Glacier Flight
by Viator
This 5-hour shore excursion from Juneau covers the perfect duo of Alaskan attractions: whale-watching and a scenic flight over the glaciers of the Juneau Icefie…Not LP reviewed
from USD$279.00 -
Skagway Float Tours
Skagway Float Tours offers a three-hour tour of Dyea that includes a 45-minute float down the placid Taiya River. Its Hike & Float Tour is a four-hour outing that includes the beginning of the Chilkoot Trail then floating back.
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Skagway Shore Excursion: Full-Day Tour of the Yukon
6 hours (Departs Skagway, Alaska)
by Viator
Spend time in port in Skagway enjoying a full-day shore excursion into the Yukon, Canada's westernmost territory. Explore some of North America's most stunning …Not LP reviewed
from USD$103.95 -
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Chilkoot Charters & Tours
Offers the Summit & City tour. This is the standard tour in Skagway and includes Gold Rush Cemetery, White Pass Summit and Skagway Overlook, including a lively narration that might be historically accurate.
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Skagway Shore Excursion: Private 4x4 Yukon Adventure from Skagway
6 hours (Departs Skagway, Alaska)
by Viator
When your ship docks in Skagway, venture into Canada's Yukon Territory in a luxury 4x4 SUV, passing through rainforests, subarctic alpine tundra, boreal forest …Not LP reviewed
from USD$210.00 -
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Skagway Fish Company
Despite a menu loaded with seafood, what locals rave about at this restaurant located next to Stowaway Café are its ribs - great barbecue even if you weren't in Alaska.
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Skagway Shore Excursion: White Pass Summit and Skagway City Tour
2 hours 30 minutes (Departs Skagway, Alaska)
by Viator
When your cruise ship docks in Skagway, enjoy a shore excursion to see the best sights of the city, and take in the views from the majestic White Pass Summit ar…Not LP reviewed
from USD$47.25 -
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White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad
White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad offers the best tour: the three-hour Summit Excursion climbs the high White Pass in a historic narrow-gauge train.
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Skagway Museum
The Skagway Museum is one of the best in Southeast, and its gold-rush relics are some of the most interesting exhibits in a town filled with museums.
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