United States
Skagway
Skagway: Where the Gold Rush Left Its Buildings Standing
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Skagway has a permanent population of about 1,000 people and receives more than 1 million cruise visitors in a summer season that lasts roughly five months. The arithmetic of that asymmetry is visible everywhere — in the restored false-front buildings along Broadway, in the ratio of jewelry stores to hardware stores, and in the quiet that falls over the town when the last ship leaves in the evening.
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Ships dock at the railroad wharf on the south edge of town. Broadway Street, the historic main thoroughfare, begins immediately at the pier and runs north for about a dozen walkable blocks. The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park occupies several of the buildings along Broadway and most of the restored historic district; admission to the park itself is free. The park's visitor center offers ranger-led walking tours of the district that provide the most concise introduction to the town's Gold Rush history.
The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, operating since 1900, is Skagway's most significant attraction. The narrow-gauge line climbs 2,865 feet from sea level to the White Pass summit in 20 miles — an engineering achievement completed in 1900 during the gold rush. The round trip from Skagway to White Pass Summit and back takes about 3 hours and passes through the Dead Horse Gulch, over trestle bridges, and past the route that prospectors walked north to the Klondike goldfields. Fog and rain are common at the summit; bring layers. The round trip to Bennett Lake (Canada) takes all day and requires advance booking.
Dyea, 9 miles west of Skagway by a dirt road, is the ghost town at the base of the rival Chilkoot Trail route. The trail north, once walked by tens of thousands of prospectors, is now a multi-day backcountry route to the Canadian interior. The Dyea flats themselves — a tidal flat with the remains of the rush-era tent city — can be reached on a half-day excursion and offer a quieter version of the Gold Rush story than the restored Broadway district.
Cycling down the Klondike Highway from White Pass, about 15 miles of downhill from the summit to Skagway, is a popular half-day excursion for those willing to take a van up and bike back. The views descending from the Canadian border into the valley are excellent.
Skagway is dry and has the best summer weather of the Southeast Alaska cruise ports — precipitation is significantly lower than Juneau or Ketchikan. June and July are the most reliably sunny. The town closes almost entirely after September when the last ships leave.
Good to know
What to Expect
Ships tie up at one of three docks, Broadway, Ore or Railroad, and Railroad Dock cannot be left on foot.
- Railroad Dock has been closed to pedestrians since rockslides in 2022, and its passengers are moved by shuttle bus or small boat. Confirm the arrangement with your ship.
- The north end of downtown, at 7th Avenue, is more than a mile from most of the docks.
- The SMART shuttle runs between the docks and downtown from 7 am to 9 pm when ships are in, at $3 each way or $5 for a day pass (2026).
Getting Around
Downtown is small enough to walk, and the SMART bus covers the stretch from the docks.
- White Pass trains booked through the cruise line board on the pier beside the ship.
- SMART also sells a shuttle to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Reid Falls, for anyone who would not walk the 2 miles each way.
- Dyea, where the Chilkoot Trail starts, is $15 a person by SMART's on-demand shuttle (2026).
Tipping and Currency
Skagway is in the United States, so standard US tipping applies.
- Tip at restaurants and for taxis as you would at home.
- Tour guides and drivers usually receive a tip at the end of the trip.
- SMART bus fares are paid to the driver, so carry small bills.
Where to Eat
The Red Onion Saloon, established in 1898 and once a brothel, is now a saloon and brothel museum that opens from May to September.
- Expect other Skagway restaurants to keep a short season too, and check hours if you sail early or late.
- The White Pass depot has stations for refilling a water bottle.
- The White Pass Summit Excursion includes bottled water, not a meal. Eat first, or bring a snack for children.
Traveling with Family
The White Pass Summit Excursion is a 40-mile round trip of about two and a half hours, which suits children who can sit that long.
- Cars are heated by a stove, and passengers can stand on the open platforms at each end. Bring a jacket, and keep hold of small children out there.
- The 2026 fare is $155 for an adult and half that for a child, and no passport is required for this trip.
- The Park Service rates the walk to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls as easy: 4 miles round trip from the visitor center, 2 hours, with 50 feet of climb.
Culture and Historic Sites
Much of downtown Skagway belongs to Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, and daytime visits are free.
- The visitor center, in the 1898 railroad depot at 2nd and Broadway, shows a 25-minute film, "Gold Fever: Race to the Klondike."
- Jeff. Smiths Parlor, the saloon the con man Soapy Smith worked from, is a park museum. Pick up a free timed ticket at the visitor center on the day.
- The Arctic Brotherhood Hall of 1899, at 205 Broadway, is faced with more than 8,000 pieces of driftwood and houses the town's visitor information center.
The Klondike Gold Rush
Skagway boomed for two years as a way in to the Klondike, in a valley the Tlingit already knew well.
- The name comes from a Tlingit expression, written Shg̱agwei today, for the rough seas that strong north winds raise in Taiya Inlet.
- The Chilkoot Trail from neighboring Dyea was a Tlingit trade route to the interior long before prospectors walked it.
- Gold was found on a Klondike creek on August 16, 1896, by George Carmack and two Tagish men, Skookum Jim (Keish) and Tagish Charlie (K̲áa Goox̱). The first boatload of prospectors reached Skagway on July 29, 1897.
- By June 1898 the town had 8,000 to 10,000 people and was the largest in Alaska.
- Railway construction began in May 1898 and finished at Carcross on July 29, 1900, when the rush was nearly over.
Shopping in Skagway
Some of the shops downtown trade from gold-rush buildings that the National Park Service restored and leases to businesses.
- For Alaska Native art, look for the state's Silver Hand seal, a black oval containing a silver hand, which marks work made by Alaska Native artists.
- Before buying jewelry sold as Alaskan gold, ask the jeweler for documentation of where it came from.
- The visitor information center in the Arctic Brotherhood Hall can point you to shops that sell locally made work.
Beaches
Skagway sits in a narrow glaciated valley at the head of Taiya Inlet, and the outdoors here means trails, not beaches.
- Yakutania Point is an easy walk of 1 to 2 miles round trip from the visitor center.
- Dyea, the ghost town where the Chilkoot Trail begins, has well-compacted gravel trails through the old townsite.
- The Chilkoot Trail itself is a 33-mile route into Canada, not a port-day walk.
Accessibility
All White Pass Summit Excursion trains are wheelchair accessible, but space in the lift-equipped cars is limited, so say you need the lift when you reserve.
- If your ship is at Railroad Dock you cannot walk off the pier. Ask your ship whether you will go by shuttle bus or by small boat, and whether a wheelchair or scooter can go with you.
- The Park Service says its visitor center programs and facilities are wheelchair accessible, and the trails at the Dyea townsite are well-compacted gravel.
- Ask SMART whether its shuttle buses have wheelchair lifts before you count on one.
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