Why is Skagway RR so great?
 

I've read many raves about the railroad that is out of Skagway. What is included? Why do you consider it a "must do" in Alaska?

Why not take the day bus trip from Skagway into the Yukon? You'll see even more than on the train and it's interesting to get into the Yukon, even for a few hours.

When we did the railway (from a cruise ship) we took a bus from Skagway up to a terminal in Canada. From there the train took us back into Skagway. The train spends much of it's time riding along the tops of mountainsides, which ofdfers really beautiful, breathtaking scenery. I sure felt it was one of the highlights of our trip to Alaska. By the way, Skagway, itself is a pretty neat little town.

The train runs along the old Chilkoot Trail used during the gold rush. Supposedly you can still see some discarded equipment. The trail was incredibly steep and Canada was worried about the miners arriving without sufficient supplies so they were required to bring about 2,000 lbs of equipment and food with them, requiring several trips up this trail. The trek is commemorated on some Alaska license plates. I think the ride is more interesting if you know some history behind Skagway. The local gift shops carry books. If you aren't on a cruise or the ferry, Skagway is not easy to reach, about 2 days drive from Anchorage.

As dfrostnh said, the Skagway RR takes passengers up the mountain. However, if it's rainy or foggy, you really don't see much.

We visited Skagway off a cruise ship several years ago and were debating about the RR. Decided to stay in Skagway itself for the day. Since we only had a day, we really couldn't do both adequately. The entire town is a US National Park because it is original to the 1800s. Park rangers will take you on a free guided tour of the town and tell you the history of the area. (If you have kids, tell them to sign up to become a junior park ranger. They complete a little book of information along the tour and are "inducted" at the end of the tour.)

If it was just a shopping stop, we would have done the RR.