Skagway

Skagway exploded into existence during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898, when tens of thousands of fortune-seekers poured through this narrow valley at the head of the Lynn Canal — the deepest fjord in North America — en route to the goldfields of Canada's Yukon Territory. At its frenetic peak, Skagway was a lawless boomtown of over ten thousand souls, presided over by the notorious conman Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, who ran an empire of rigged card games and protection rackets until he was shot dead in a duel in 1898. The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway, an engineering marvel completed in 1900, climbed nearly three thousand feet through tunnels and across dizzying trestles to connect the port with the interior — and it still operates today as one of the world's great scenic railways.

Modern Skagway has preserved its Gold Rush heritage with remarkable fidelity. Broadway, the main street, is a living museum of restored 1890s wooden facades — false fronts, saloons, and outfitters' shops that now house galleries, jewellery stores, and tour operators. The entire downtown is a unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, managed by the National Park Service. The Mascot Saloon, the Moore Homestead (Skagway's oldest building, predating the gold rush), and the Arctic Brotherhood Hall, with its facade of more than eight thousand pieces of driftwood, transport visitors to an era when this isolated valley hummed with ambition, desperation, and improbable dreams.

Skagway's culinary offerings lean into its frontier heritage and Alaskan bounty. Smoked salmon, halibut tacos, and Dungeness crab rolls are staples of the waterfront eateries. The Red Onion Saloon, a faithfully restored 1898 bordello turned restaurant and bar, serves craft beers alongside Alaskan king crab legs and reindeer sausage. For a true Gold Rush experience, the Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp offers an outdoor salmon bake — wild-caught fish grilled over alder wood in the forest — combined with gold panning and frontier storytelling. Local breweries, including the Skagway Brewing Company, offer seasonal ales that pair well with the cool mountain air.

The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway excursion is Skagway's signature experience — a three-hour round trip that climbs through tunnels carved from granite, past Bridal Veil Falls, across vertiginous bridges, and over the summit of White Pass at 2,865 feet. The views of glaciated valleys, waterfalls, and the distant peaks of the Coast Mountains are extraordinary. For the more adventurous, helicopter tours to the Denver Glacier offer guided glacier walks, while the Chilkoot Trail — the historic "Golden Stairs" route over the mountains to Lake Bennett — remains one of North America's premier long-distance hiking trails.

Skagway's cruise ship dock, set against a backdrop of snow-capped peaks, welcomes Azamara, Carnival Cruise Line, Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Disney Cruise Line, Explora Journeys, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Silversea, Viking, and Virgin Voyages. Nearby ports include Juneau, Ketchikan, and Haines (gateway to Glacier Bay). The Alaska season runs from May through September, with June and July offering the longest days and warmest weather.