Every guidebook says the train ride from Skagway on the White Pass & Yukon route is a must-do. But I'm wondering whether there's the option of driving that route too? I've heard of the Klondike Highway, but couldn't find much info on it. Does it parallel the rail track, and can you see the same scenery as the train route?

The train ticket seems rather expensive--$100 for 3 hours. We're thinking of renting a car and drive out there and have the flexibility of stopping and taking our time to look around. Would you recommend this drive vs the train? We're going at the end of May? I wonder if the road condition would be good then for driving?

We have 1 full day in Skagway on on cruise--7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Not sure we can fill it up. Is there any kayaking you can do Skagway. No guidebook mentions that at all.

Thanks!

You are out of luck. There is no road. The railroad traces and replaces the Chilcoot Trail which was used by prospectors to get to the gold mining areas. They used to have to pack tons of supplies to the top of the trail before they were allowed into these areas. The trip itself is nice - beautiful scenery, but gets kind of boring for kids and some adults.

The White Pass and Klondike probably only parallel about 3 miles with the White Pass definately superior for scenery, history and engineering. It is not for everyone, and probably not the poster with the costs??

Be sure to print out Murray's road guide for the South Klondike Highway. www.explorenorth.com
You will have no problem driving in May with clear well maintain road. This is the only time of year possible for bear viewing. Only 2 rental locations, Avis and Sourdough. Book now.

JC98
I read your post with interest because we will be in Skagway from 7a to 9p 5/23 on Hal. I had the same question and BudgetQueen also helped me. We decided on renting a car and driving. I reserved a mid-size yesterday from Avis. If you are interested, it is 800-331-1212. (They have their own phone number 907-983-2247 but that office does not open until May 15 so it will not be a useable number until then.) The price is 71.89 with unlimited miles and you can cancel anytime if you decide on the railroad.

I'm confused. Second poster says there is no road...and then we are talking about car rental and driving anyway. Can BQ or someone explain the car v. train option a little more thoroughly? (We'll be in Skagway in July). Thanks!

I know what you mean, it can be confusing. I think what the second poster meant was there is no road that follows the railroad (except briefly) You might want to pull up info from the ExploreNorth website BudgetQueen gave. Go to "South Klondike Highway" which is the road you would drive. We will drive it to Emerald Lake. I just printed it out an it is 20 of the best pages telling of this road with beautiful pictures of what you will be seeing.

An alternate option - which is what we did on our Skagway stop is to go horseback riding. We booked it independently of the cruiseline through Southeast Tours. The van does the driving into the Yukon and then you get to the ranch and take the horses out on a trail ride to an overlook of Emerald Lake. The van stops at a lot of the scenic overlooks and we had a great time!

The RR goes up one side and the highway goes up the other. Basically the same route but different views. The RR trip was outstanding and I would recommend it. There is an ongoing commentary about the trail. You can still see the Chilcoot trail with debris in some places. When we did it we took the RR up and a bus back (part of a Royal Caribbean excursion) that also included a stop at a "mining" site where we panned for gold (Hokie but fun). The trip takes half a day. The other half we walked around Skagway. You could also arrange a second excursion for the rest of the day.

Does May get a lot of rain or fog ? I'd hate to spend $100 for great scenery that I won't be able to see. Thanks

We rented a car and drove the Klondike Hwy on Labor day. It was great trip. Lots of places to stop and take great photos. Use Murray's guide for perfect advice and info. Have not ridden the train here but don't see how scenery can be that different. If you want that train experience, try that. If you want nice drive with great views, thats for you. I posted some photos on this site:
http://community.webshots.com/user/jq4653

Thanks, all for the great info! Looks like driving the Klondike Hwy is a good option, but unfortunately Avis ran out of cars on the day that I get to Skagway. Let me check the smaller car companies. Any other choices?

In general, how hard is it to book something on the day my cruise ship arrives at a port. I'd like to decide on what to do depending on the weather, etc. Do I have that much flexibility?

When we cruised the Caribbean, we never booked any excursions w/ the ship, and did everything on our own on the day of arrival and it worked out really great. We had a great time and saved a bundle. But I'm not sure if it's possible to do the same in AK.

For clairfication- you do NOT see anything of the Chilkoot trail, it is the White Pass, you see from the railroad. Two totally separate trails, very interesting reading on the history. The Chilkoot was shorter, but much steeper.

Only other car rental is Sourdough in Skagway. www.skagway.com
PB cruisers is out of business.

Thanks, BudgetQueen. We got a car rental from Sourdough, but their cars are pretty old--like 7 years old as they told us.

Has anyone rented from Sourdough, and please share if their service and cars are reliable? We don't want to get stranded somewhere on the Klondike Hwy and miss our ship.

I have to research on the Klondike Hwy, but does anyone know first hand whether the scenery along the highway is also spectacular like on the train ride? Anything particular we should stop and see along the drive? And how far should we drive for a day trip?

Thanks!

jq, thanks for sharing the photos. The sceneries along the Klondike Hwy looked really great. We'll definitely go for the drive option then. It looks like most people go as far as Emerald Lake? About how long a drive is that?

I also checked out the photos in your other folders. Did you have good zoom lenses, or the wildlife (esp. bears) in Denali were that close?? I'll be very happy if I could see all what you saw! Thanks for sharing.

I have rented from Sourdough and will be again in May. Don't expect "pretty" cars but they have been reliable. As for the Klondike Highway, very scenic, it's just that the White Pass is even better. As I have already mentioned, be certain to bring along Murray's Log.

It is 75 miles to Emerald Lake, plan on 4-5 hours.

I have driven it many many times, including several trips to Whitehorse.- Had to make a Harley Shop run.

JC98
This is the link that BudgetQueen is taking about to print out and bring if driving. I did and it is amazing. So glad she recommended it!
http://www.explorenorth.com/library/...e-photos1.html
Are you on the HAL? We might be travelling the same hwy on the same day. We'll be there the 23rd.

JC98
We have done the denali shuttle 3 times and have seen at least one grizzly close to bus on all three trips. Most of those photos were with a 70-200 zoom or a 400mm lens. A couple of times they were too close and I had to try to change lens with people hanging over us trying to see out the window. The 400 did work nicely for most wildlife shots in denali. I also use it for my binoculars most of the time. We also saw about 9 wolves from both packs on our last tour.

I'm revisiting this question, as my trip to AK is coming up in about 2 weeks! I've been monitoring the weather and it's still raining and cold everywhere.

I wonder whether it's wise to rent a car (esp a 7 year old one from Sourdough, Avis ran out), and drive at the end of May. Is the South Klondike Hwy ok to drive if it rains (or snows)? I've read that the initial climb was up 3000+ ft on 11% gradient. Just worried about whether the old rental car can handle it.

Also, if I have to do one train ride in AK, would you recommend the White Pass & Yukon route or the Seward to Anchorage one? The advantage of the 2nd one is it's cheaper and it's also part of my transportation from Seward to Anchorage. Otherwise I might use the bus there.

Counting down... Thanks!

I just rented from Sourdough last week, although I have not had the negative comments they get in the past, their car only got me 20 mpg. Should have been at least 25+++. The car was clean and no problems running.

I did call them about the low gas mileage, hopefully they have it serviced.

As for road conditions- there was a lot of snow at the summit with snow covered roads and 10 foot snow banks. Should be gone in a week.

As for the trains, the White Pass is the highlight for history and superior scenery. I would take the Alaska RR anyway from Seward to Anchorage, the bus would be my last choice.

BQ, what kind of car did you rent from SourDough? And what is the gas price in Skagway?

We like the idea of going into the Yukon ourselves and have more time to stop and explore. We have one long day on that stop in Skagway -- 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

BTW, does anyway know at what time the happenings in Skagway downtown start to shut down? We want to do the town after our drive trip, but don't want to come back too late and see only a ghost town.

Thanks.