Skagway Cruise Port: The Port, the Historic District and Excursions

A train whistle echoes between the mountains, and the wooden boardwalks of Broadway fill with people stepping off the ships and looking up at false-front buildings from the gold rush. Skagway is a small town that gets a very large number of visitors from cruise ships. The port puts the railroad, a national park and a historic main street in front of you, and this is how those pieces fit together for a day in town.

Where do cruise ships dock in Skagway?

Cruise ships call at the port of Skagway, a town in Southeastern Alaska, and it is the same port where the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad begins its run. Skagway is a popular stop for cruise ships, and the tourist trade is a big part of the town’s business. Everything a day visitor does here starts from that waterfront and the streets that lead up from it.

The town itself is small, with a year-round population of less than a thousand. In the summer season that number doubles, because extra people arrive to staff the shops, tours and restaurants that serve the ships. You feel the change in the streets: seasonal storefronts open, the railroad is running, and the whole place works at the pace of the ship schedule.

The railroad at the port

The White Pass and Yukon Route is a narrow gauge railroad that began as part of the area’s mining past. Today it operates purely for the tourist trade during the summer months, and its trains start at the port of Skagway. It is recognized as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which tells you something about the work of cutting a line through this kind of mountain country.

For a traveler, that means the railroad is not a side trip you have to reach. It begins where the ship’s gangway ends, and the historic railroad cars and the sound of the engine are part of the waterfront scene. Riding it is one of the ways to see the mountains that the gold seekers of the Klondike era had to cross on foot.

A town at the end of the line

Skagway is the northern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry network, so the town has long been a place where the water route meets the land route. The only road access from Skagway to the rest of the continent is Highway 98, which travels to Whitehorse, Yukon, by way of Carcross, Yukon.

That geography explains the feel of the place. Mountains close in around a small harbor town, one road leads out, and the gold rush story that built it is still the main thing people come to see. A cruise passenger stepping ashore is following, in a very comfortable way, the same route that stampeders took toward the goldfields.

What is within reach of the dock?

The heart of Skagway’s gold rush past is within reach of the port: a historic district of about 100 buildings from the gold rush era, a national park visitor center, shops, restaurants and evening shows. Visitors can explore on their own without a guide, which suits anyone who likes to wander at their own speed and stop where something catches the eye.

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

The park’s visitor center sits in the restored 1898 rail depot at 2nd & Broadway. Inside, a theater shows the park film Gold Fever: Race to the Klondike, which runs 24 minutes and sets the scene for everything outside. Ranger chats are offered daily with varying topics, and the staff at the visitor center can tell you what is on.

The park also covers the White Pass and Chilkoot Trails, the routes the gold seekers used. The park no longer offers any ranger-led walking tours, so the way to see the buildings is on foot with the self-guided route described next. The National Park Service in Skagway also offers a multi-media presentation of the Skagway story, a good fit for history buffs.

The self-guided walking tour

The self-guided walking tour of park buildings in the Skagway Historic District is .64 mile long. It passes the old storefronts, saloons and hotels that give Broadway its look, and you can stop in whichever one interests you. The pace is entirely yours, so it works as a quick look or as a long morning of reading plaques and peering into windows.

The free NPS App, available for iOS and Android devices, can be downloaded for the self-guided tour. It is the practical stand-in for a guide, putting the stories of the buildings in your hand as you walk.

Shops, tables and the evening stage

Skagway is promoted as having the best shopping in Alaska, and it offers fine dining options as well, so a stroll along the boardwalks naturally includes browsing and a meal. Jewelry stores, souvenir shops and cafés line the main street, tucked into the same historic buildings you are there to see.

Live performance is part of the town’s character. The Days of ’98 Show is performed in the Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall, and a full-scale stage show tells the story of Soapy Smith’s short but fiery reign. Theatrical renditions of the ballads of Robert Service are also performed, suitable for the whole family.

Which excursions leave from Skagway?

The excursion everyone associates with Skagway is the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad, and beyond it the town has a variety of commercial tours available. M & M Tours is the only tour brokerage contracted by the Municipality of Skagway, which makes it a name worth knowing when you look at what is on offer.

The White Pass and Yukon Route

The train starts at the port of Skagway and operates during the summer months. Its narrow gauge line was born of the area’s mining past, and the ride is now about the scenery and the history rather than freight. Seeing the mountains from a railcar is a way to appreciate the terrain the gold seekers faced.

Because the railroad is a landmark of civil engineering, many travelers treat it as the anchor of their day. Pair it with a walk through the historic district, and you have covered both the story of the route and the town it created.

Trails and the road to the Yukon

The park’s White Pass and Chilkoot Trails are places visitors can go, tied directly to the gold rush crossing. Highway 98 is the only road out of Skagway to the rest of the continent, running to Whitehorse, Yukon, via Carcross, Yukon. That single road is the line that tours heading into the Yukon follow.

If you prefer to stay in town, the commercial tours and the self-guided options sit side by side. The town is small enough that the choice is less about getting somewhere and more about what kind of history you want to take in: the mountain railroad, the park’s buildings and film, or a night at the theater.

Good to know before you go

Skagway is a seasonal town, and the railroad runs for the tourist trade during the summer months, so the busiest, most open version of the place is the cruise season. The Skagway Convention and Visitors Bureau is the official visitor department for the town, and the National Park Service visitor center in the old depot is the place to ask about the day’s ranger chats. Keep the self-guided tour on your phone through the free NPS App, and leave room in the day for an evening show if your ship’s schedule allows.