Gold rush? (Skagway (Alaska))

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Skagway (Alaska)
Date:	04/11/08 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quaint Alaskan town with lots to do

Disadvantages: Lots of tourists

Whilst on a cruise to Alaska I was lucky enough to visit Skagway.

Skagway is from the Tlingit name for the area Skagua meaning a windy place with white caps on the water. It is situated at the north end of the Lynn Canal in Alaska at the head of the Taiya Inlet and is 90miles northwest of Juneau the capital city which has the nearest major airport. The flight in a small plane takes about 45 minutes, weather permitting. Skagway is the northern terminal for the Alaska marine Highway system and carrys cars and passengers from Canada. There are only about 800-900 inhabitants but the numbers increase in the summer when the cruise ships are in port. The tourist trade is very important and the White pass and Yukon route narrow guage railway is only run for tourists now.

Skagway played a major role in the Klondyke Gold rush of 1897-1898, thousands poured thgrough the streets on their way north, but less than half reached their destination 500 miles north as the conditions were very difficult. At this time Skagway was very rough, it had more than 80 salons and the crack of a gun was common. By the time the railway was completed the Gold rush was over, and things calmed down, except when thousands of troops were stationed here during World War II.
We docked at Skagway early one morning on our cruise to Alaska. First impressions were that it was a lot bigger than Icy Strait Point, and there were hundreds of people milling around waiting for coach trips, with a few "ladies of the night" in fantastic costumes trying to encourage you to visit the musuems and see what life was like in the good old days! Lovely names like the Red Onion Saloon! We had booked a tour of Skagway and the surroundings. We were treated to a little bit more as well as our lady driver asked if we had anything else booked and if not we could go a bit further along the Highway into Canada and see a few more sights. We readily agreed and had an extra hour for free! We had to cross back into the USA and stopped at the Customs, which is lower down than the actual border as it would be impossible to reach during the winter because of snow. We didn't see any bears here, but they do come down into the town and people are asked not to feed them and be careful with their rubbish. The scenery is fantastic, mountains, waterfalls, lakes, alpine flowers and tiny trees all just on the doorstep.

Skagway is a lovely little town, really quaint and had the traditional board walks. I wouldn't have been surprised if a few cowboys had galloped down the street firing guns! There were musuems to visit, a lovely old building covered with driftwood, shops with local food, crafts, and lots of jewellers. Outside some buildings were totem poles, and the houses were built in neat blocks so you couldn't get lost. Several musuem type buildings were bars originally and frequented by the gold miners. I enjoyed looking at the craft shops and around galleries and the many gift shops which had lovely wooden animals, knitted goods and local crafts. The little cafes soon were busy, but sampling a lovely ice cream we found it wasn't far to walk back to the ship. We enjoyed the walk along by the railway and river, the sunshine had brought people out and it seemed a popular place for people in motor homes. It was amazing seeing these huge fish trying to get up the river and and we watched some salmon fishing, the salmon was the winner! We were lucky the day we were there as the sun was warm, but Alaska doesn't have a lot of months of sun, in fact snow is the norm for many months and we saw the huge snow plough train which clears the rail road. You can drive into Skagway along the Highway, arrive by boat or by plane from Whitehorse, Juneau and Haines in small planes.
Although cruise ships dock most days, and keep the people of Skagway busy, there is still fishing going on and ferries dock here too. There are a few hotels, hostels and bed and breakfast accomaodation for people wanting to saty longer who don't arrive by cruise ship. The dramatic scenery of the White Pass route and Yukon route is a popular trip for visitors especially as they use some old carriages. Some are also accessible by wheelchair users. The railway has been extended to make it close to the dock for the cruise ships, an important source of revenue.

It was easy to walk around Skagway as the avenues numbered 1- 15 branch out from the central road called State Street and are connected also by main Street and Alaska street forming a grid system.

I would have loved to have been able to stay behind and enjoy the peace once all the cruise ships had departed, but unfortunately I had to leave too and continue on my cruise.

Summary: Small town in Alaska with scenic railway and coach trips