Skagway Cruise Port

Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.

1scenic

White Pass & Yukon Route Railway — Summit Excursion

Board a vintage 1898 narrow-gauge train at the dock and climb ~3,000 feet in 20 miles on the original Klondike gold-rush route, hugging cliff edges above Dead Horse Gulch past Bridal Veil Falls, Inspiration Point and steel cantilever trestles. It's a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and the one thing a first-timer with a single port day would most regret missing. ~2.5–2.75 hrs round trip, departs steps from the ship.

We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for this one, so we are not quoting either.

What to expect, timing & how to book →

2scenic

Helicopter Glacier Landing on the Juneau Icefield

Lift off from Skagway and fly over the Chilkat, Ferebee and Meade glaciers before touching down on a remote glacier for a guided walk on ancient blue ice among crevasses and moraines. This is the only way to actually stand on the Juneau Icefield — one of the largest icefields outside the poles — and the aerial perspective is something you simply cannot get from the ground or the ship. Weather-dependent, so it's a genuine do-it-while-you-can.

We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for this one, so we are not quoting either.

What to expect, timing & how to book →

3scenic

Yukon Day to Emerald Lake & Carcross (into Canada)

Cross the White Pass into Canada's Yukon Territory on the Klondike Highway for a second country and a totally different landscape in one port day: turquoise mineral-streaked Emerald Lake (one of the most photographed spots in the North), the gold-rush town of Carcross, the tiny Carcross Desert, and big-mountain and wildlife viewing past Tutshi Lake. A small-group local guide tells the gold-rush story the whole way. Bring a passport — this is a cross-border, long-day item.

We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for this one, so we are not quoting either.

What to expect, timing & how to book →

4hike

Chilkoot Trail Hike & Float (Dyea / Taiya River)

Set foot on the legendary Chilkoot Trail — the brutal 'meanest 33 miles in history' that 1898 stampeders climbed — then float the glacial Taiya River through the Dyea valley rainforest, watching for bald eagles, all in a port-sized loop. It's the hands-on, walk-where-the-prospectors-walked counterpart to the train, with none of the cruise crowds. Boots, poles, ponchos and life jackets included; pier pickup available.

We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for this one, so we are not quoting either.

What to expect, timing & how to book →

5food

Liarsville Gold Rush Camp, Gold Panning & Salmon Bake

The crowd-pleaser when the heli/train budget is spent: an all-you-can-eat wild-Alaskan-salmon bake grilled over alder wood in a forest camp, a waterfall, a live vaudeville melodrama with sourdoughs and dance-hall girls plus a Robert Service recitation, and real gold panning where you keep what you find. It captures the tall-tale Klondike spirit the town was built on and is the easy, walkable, family-friendly safety net close to town.

We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for this one, so we are not quoting either.

What to expect, timing & how to book →