SKAGWAY

We finally arrived in Skagway.  What a ferry system!  Makes BC Ferries look positively idyllic!  We got a spot for 2 nights at Pullen Park RV Park which is 500ft from the ferry terminal and near the Whitepass & Yukon Route Railway lines and all the cruise ship docks.  Yes … cruise ships.  I’d say the one thing that Skagway exists for is the cruise ship passengers.

Pullen Park RV Park

Whitepass & Yukon Route Railway boarding just a short walk from our campground

Whitepass & Yukon Route Railaway heading out on an excursion

The town is very cool, with rows of historic buildings – many of which are original buildings that have been restored by the National Park Service and many are now in use by local businesses. Unfortunately, so many of the businesses are selling identical ticky-tacky Made in China ‘authentic Alaska souvenirs’ – T-shirts, hats, beer mugs etc.

On the other end of the spectrum is the plethora of jewellery shops selling high-end jewellery.  I could not believe how many jewellery stores there were!  And BIG ones!!  I, however, found a store selling local-made jewellery – with a lot of the items being fossil ivory, jade, and ammonite.  Very reasonable and you know you’re supporting local people as opposed to big chains.

Downtown Skagway

We’ll stay in tonight for dinner and then tomorrow check out the trains … I think with this weather it won’t be worth the big $$ for a train ride … but we’ll see.  At the very least we might go for a bit of a hike, then have dinner out at one of the interesting places we saw today.

June 23, 2014

We decided not to pay the $159/each to ride on the steam train.  The weather was looking pretty iffy, with rain and very low clouds, and we didn’t want to waste the money and see nothing but clouds.

(Two years later we did have some great weather and the train ride is spectacular!  Don’t miss the opportunity!  Click here for our post WPYR)

So we walked around some more … more souvenir shops and then took in their live showing of ‘The Days of ‘98’ (that’s 1898!)  It was better than I thought it would be.  Sort of a song & dance narrative about a local con man/entrepreneur back in the gold rush days – ‘Soapy’ Smith.  Can Can girls and all!

Can Can Show

After that we headed to the Skagway Brewpub and had some of their spruce tip beer.  I think I liked Haines Brewery spruce tip better … this one was quite a bit lighter and I like my dark beer.  Bruce liked it just fine!  I also tried their ‘Boom Town Brown’ which I liked much better.  We had some shrimp appies then split a salmon sandwich.  Quite good.  Then a walk home and early to bed.

SKAGWAY INFORMATION

Skagway is situated at the northernmost point on the Inside Passage in Southeast Alaska, 100 air miles north of Juneau and 112 road miles south of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory or a 1 hour ferry ride from Haines, Alaska, where we came from.

In the great Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, historic Skagway saw tens of thousands of fortune-seeking prospectors piling off steamships – eager to head overland to the Yukon goldfields.  Now, it’s cruise ships that bring the tens of thousands – this time, tourists – to Skagway each week during cruise season.

The town itself, with beautifully restored buildings and wooden sidewalks, is lined with souvenir shops and jewellery stores with the occasional restaurant, café and bistro.

Skagway, Alaska

Downtown Skagway

Lots of interesting buildings!

There are numerous activities you can enjoy – one very popular one being the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway which takes you from Skagway to Carcross, YT along the same route that the Klondike stampeders traversed in 1898.

White Pass & Yukon Route Steam Train

One of the Steam trains of the Whitepass & Yukon Route Railway ready to depart

You can also stroll the boardwalk and check out the many buildings in the Historic District, take one of many hikes in the area, or take in a vaudeville skit about one of the most notorious characters in Skagway history, Soapy Smith.

In winter, there area activities such as cross-country skiing, Northern Lights viewing, or snowmobiling.

Average temperatures range from 30F (Dec, Jan, Feb) up to 55F (July, August) and annual hours of daylight range from 19 hours (July) to 6 hours (Dec, Jan).

They have 5 churches, 1 library, 1 bank; over 250 hotel/motel rooms, including 4 B & B’s.  They also have parking for 324 RV plus tent camping sites.

My impression of Skagway?  It’s nice … lots of cool buildings … but a bit too commercialized for me.  To my way of thinking … any place that has thousands of tourists crowding the streets and shops takes away the charm and replaces it with a ‘Disneyland’ version of itself.