bornintheusa

Have rented a car for one day in Skagway so now I need all of you good folks to tell me where to go in and around Skagway, what to see, where to eat and shop and all that good info to make our day memorable!!

abram

Well, we spent a wonderful day there without a car, so you may not like my suggestions. The White Pass & Yukon RR was fascinating. We liked the National Parks exhibits and walking tour, as well as the City Museum, the Corrington Museum, and walking the main street to poke into a few shops.

skagway65

I'll tap off some suggestions, you decide how much time and effort you want to spend in Skagway itself. The town is packaged to be quickly and easily absorbed, complete with costumed guides and false fronts built just last year. And there's shopping, but it's up to you to decide if you want to spend two hours picking out a teeshirt or walking in the trees.

Eating in Skagway: Not much there. I've eaten at the Corner Cafe, which is very much a local diner, and it's greasy food is good. Great pie too. Skagway Fish Company is impossible to get into, but is good. The Sweet Tooth Cafe has pretty good food too, basic soup/sandwich place.

But if you're getting there in the morning, I'd get that car, a picnic and get out of town. If your library has The Milepost, copy the pages for the South Klondike Highway and decide what sounds interesting to you.

On the way out of town, the Pioneer Cemetery is dumpy and rambling, that's fun if you enjoy reading gravestones like I do. Next, there's the turnoff for Dyea, now a ghost town. Pronounced Die-EE, it can be disappointing, since everyone dragged off any usable materials to build in Skagway years ago, but I find it a beautiful locale, and the Slide Cemetery deeply moving. Warning, though, the road's a hair raiser, and will take much longer to drive than the eight mile length suggests. I've seen seals in the waters along the road; keep an eye peeled.

After that, there's only one way out of town. The road goes up the other side of the gorge from the railroad. Although steep and winding, it's safe to drive. The landscape atop is amazing, like landing on the moon. You'll cross into Canada, so be sure to have ID for *all* travelers in the car. You will be stopped and checked when you return. (No, that's not an outhouse; it's the border station!)

Carcross is 66 miles for Skagway. To me, it's worth the stop, although it has few shops/restaurants--depends on who decides to go to the effort each summer. There's generally an ice cream shop open in the summer, but it's a real Yukon town, with shambly houses and a sandy-beached lake that's incredibly peaceful.

A few more miles gets you to the Carcross Desert, the world's smallest desert. Another few miles brings up Emerald Lake, an amazing sight with pure green water--or is it?

At mile 87, I like to stop at Robinson, the sight of an former roadhouse. Walk through the brush, and look at some buildings still in good condition. Makes for some very 'Yukon' photos, with log walls and turf-covered roofs.

If you have the time, push on to Whitehorse, 109 miles from Skagway. I haven't timed it, since I always stop along the way, but realize that's not going to be an 1 1/2 hour drive as it would be in the States. (Although you can get some speed going to Whitehorse, since it's flat once you're through the pass. Be careful though, I was going about 90 when a mother moose and two calves ran in front of the car.) Whitehorse is a 'real' town, with gas, restaurants, and other signs of civilizations. Don't worry about the currency; they accept US money this close to AK. The Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre is fabulous, if you have the time. There's also some wonderful gift shops, with unique items from all over the Yukon--head down to the riverfront streets. If you're there for a meal, go to the Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ on 2nd and Steele streets. You can't miss it; the building resembles a tent. Truly unique food--Caribou Stew, Muskox Stroganoff, Artic Char (I recommend this fish highly if the other stuff's scaring you.) along with the usual Halibut/Salmon. Enough food to kill a Sourdough.

Then turn the car around and drive like hell back! Hope that helps and others will chime in with more ideas. Any more questions; let me know.

bornintheusa

Thanks Skagway--those were just the kind of ideas I was looking for...and I especially like the stopping and looking on the way and the driving back like hell to the ship!! Much appreciated

cjnky

This year's Skagway trip is booked for us, but NEXT time I will be following Murray's guide that you can see here:
http://www.explorenorth.com/library/...e-photos1.html

GetOutThere

We also rented a car the last time we were in Skagway. Very small towns in Alaska. Make sure that you go to the waterfall behind the cemetary just outside of town. Walk behind the graves and you will find it! We just drove up into the Klondike and stopped at the little places and waterfalls and all the tour buses are there anyway but you will have spent alot less money than those trips.(I am assuming you are on a cruise?)
Our last Alaskan cruise we rented cars in several ports and enjoyed it very much!

cd

When we were there, we rented a car and drove the Klondike Highway to Emerald Lake and back. We had a very good time and certainly enjoyed the town of Carcross. We had planned on having lunch there but couldn't find a place, we're talking here, rural. I think we did have ice cream.

jorr

Before you set out in the car try to fit in the film presentation by the National Park service at the train station. It helps you appreciate what you are seeing in the area and how it all happened. I especially liked hearing about how Skagway was a town run by thugs to profit off of gold miners and there was no law enforcement. The whole town was built on stolen property.

BudgetQueen

http://www.nps.gov/archive/klgo/schedule.htm

I agree, this place is a GEM.