Day 5 - Skagway

Skagway is a city in southeast Alaska, along the Inside Passage. Much of the downtown is the historic Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad which runs through town operated vintage trains along the Chilkoot trail which offer sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.

Our ship docked the port around 8 am. Skagway is a much compact port than the others. 

We had booked the White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion through Chilkoot Charter Tours which was not to begin until 12:30 pm. So after a quick breakfast some members of our group decided to simply walk around town. DD also wanted to mail out Alaska postcards to her friends from a post office right in town. 

The entire town of Skagway is neatly lined with gold-rush-era buildings. Its like you stepped back into 1890s

You will notice this unusual looking building in town with the initials AB inscribed on its facade. Its the Arctic Brotherhood Hall and what looks like bones are actually thousands of sticks and pieces of driftwood that make up the facade.

You will also see the landmark Red Onion Saloon

Right in the middle of the town is this mammoth thing which is quite simply a railroad snow blower used to clear the tracks on the Yukon railroad

We also saw Whitepass train pull up onto the tracks and work the steam engine. 

Around 10 am we decided to head back to the ship to grab a bite before heading out on our tour . To our surprise  the breakfast buffet had closed at 9:30 am instead of the usual 10:30am that day. We were still able to grab something at the Outdoor Café but not a full meal.

For our tour we were told to walk to a red shelter structure right where we ship is docked. A small shuttle bus showed up with a driver who was clearly holding the Chilkoot Tours sign.  The tour is a 4 hour round trip which includes a 2 hour train ride up to Frazer , BC and return 2 hour journey on a bus. We picked this tour because we had heard that the train and bus journey each offers a very unique landscape experience. Note this bus and train combination is not offered via NCL excursions and is something that we booked privately months ahead.

After picking up more passengers from another ship the shuttle dropped us off to the train station where we boarded the famous White Pass & Yukon Railroad.

Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this Scenic Railway of the World was designated as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (along with the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty). The 3-foot wide Narrow Gauge Railroad climbs almost 3,000 feet in the first 20 miles with an average grade of 2.6%, and up to 3.9% in some locations. It also passes through 2 tunnels and travels over sky high trestles and bridges.

There are many points of interest along the way:

• Skagway Scenic Overlook
• White Pass Trail of ’98
• Brackett Wagon Road
• Pitchfork Falls
• Bridal Veil Falls
• William Moore Bridge & Overlook
• “Welcome to Alaska” sign
• Tormented Valley
• Fraser, British Columbia

Here are some glimpses

Upon arrival at the train depot at Fraser (Canadian Customs) passengers are transferred to a bus for their return to Skagway. 

On the bus ride back we stopped along some more scenic spots.

On arriving in town we decided to to grab a drink at the  Skagway Brewing Company. We ordered a flight of local brews along with onion rings and spinach artichoke dip with focaccia bread, both of which were really good. 

I also stopped by this quaint little store in town called A Fine Line - Made In Skagway located at 551 Broadway, Skagway, AK 99840. This store had unique handcrafted jewelry at reasonable price point. Here is my $25 purchase- a leather and metal bracelet that screams "Alaska"

Back on the ship the show that evening was the acrobatic show Anna and Vlad - Aerial Duo. It was a phenomenal act and the duo kept us on the edge of our seats with their jaw-dropping aerial  acrobatics.  Get there early to get good seats !!

TIP OF THE DAY:  

1. If you are taking this Chilkoot tour make sure to either eat before the tour or grab something to eat on the way. There is no food to purchase on the train and there are no food stops along the bus route. The other large group who were riding with us had starving teenage boys who ended up sleeping the entire time , to kill their hunger.
2. Check the timings of the dining options the night before on page 4 of your daily. It seems the start and end times may change daily.