3 walks to do in Skagway (free + easy!) on a cruise ship visit 🏔 Alaska cruise port tips

Hi there!

Skagway is not that big of a town, and there are a few walks you can do directly from the cruise ship.

The cruise ship basically docks in downtown Skagway, so in some cases you can walk directly off the cruise ship and straight to downtown.

In some cases, cruise ships are docked at a spot that requires a shuttle. (I will also talk a bit about that below!)

If you do need a shuttle from the cruise ship, then you’ll be able to walk into downtown from the shuttle drop-off spot!

 

So if you find yourself with a little bit of extra time before your back-on-board time in Skagway, or if you just want to make Skagway an easy-going day during your Alaska cruise, then here are ideas for easy walks to do in Skagway from the cruise ship!

I have been to Skagway by cruise ship 6 times (mostly on Princess but also NCL), and these are my picks for easy walks to do!

These are easy walks you can do with an hour or 2 of time in Skagway. If your cruise ship doesn’t require a shuttle, then you can walk straight from the cruise ship to do these walks.

Since the time and distance of each walk will depend on where exactly your cruise ship is docked, for reference on a map, I will start at the Small Boat Harbor.

 

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1. Skagway footbridge

The Skagway footbridge can be an easy spot to get some nice views.

You can go just for the views from the bridge, or even better if you continue walking further to Yakutania Point and/or Smugglers Cove! It will be a walk through the forest if you do continue past the bridge.

Once you’ve crossed the bridge, you can go in either direction!

The walk to the bridge itself from the cruise ship is just a walk along a regular road, and as you get closer to the bridge, it feels like you’re in an industrial area.

If you do end up going to Yakutania Point or Smugglers Cove, what can make the Skagway footbridge fun is the noticeable difference in the tide! Alaska is known for big tidal swings, and you can witness it!

So if you are going to hike further past the bridge, make a note of the water level at the bridge before you start your hike. Then, when you return to the bridge, you might see a significant difference in the water level!

This bridge is also where you can find a Skagway welcome sign!

 

👆 After you cross the Skagway footbridge, you can continue walking to Yakutania Point or Smugglers Cove! AB Mountain is a solid day hike.

 

👆 Trail towards the pet cemetery.

 

👆 Trail towards Yakutania Point.

 

It might be a 15-20 minute walk one-way to get to the Skagway footbridge from the cruise ship. (map)

 

 

2. Pullen Creek Streamwalk and Dewey Creek

Pullen Creek and Dewey Creek can be fun if you’ll be in Skagway during salmon season, which generally starts mid-summer. You can go to the creek to see salmon swimming!

The super clear and shallow water will allow you to see the salmon swimming as you’re standing along the creek!

Depending on where your cruise ship is docked, you might walk right past the sign that says “Pullen Creek Streamwalk” on your way to downtown. (map)

From the streamwalk, you can naturally end up walking along Dewey Creek.

I was on my way to the Lower Dewey Lake Trail and the creeks were along the way. So you can make the Dewey Lake trailhead your destination to see various spots along the creek.

I went to Dewey Creek in early September, and the salmon were still there.

 

👆 Walking from the cruise ship to the creek. Your walk may vary depending on where you cruise ship is docked!

 

 

It might be a 5-10 minute walk one-way to get to Pullen Creek from the cruise ship… and then keep walking in the direction of the Dewey Lake trailhead, which will be a few more minutes of walking along the creek! (map – don’t use the map’s walking directions, as it seems that it doesn’t recognize all of the Skagway’s walking paths, but you can get the visual of where Pullen Creek, Dewey Creek, and the Dewey Lake trailhead are located. Basically, don’t go through downtown to get to the trailhead or else you will miss out on the creek!)

 

To see more salmon swimming during your Alaska cruise, be sure to stop by the salmon ladder in Ketchikan, and then continue the Ketchikan salmon walk and walk down to the creek near the Harris Street bridge! To EAT salmon, there are salmon bake tours, including the epic Taku Lodge excursion in Juneau!

 

 

3. Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park

Well, just by being in downtown Skagway, you will be in the Klondike Gold Rush historic district.

The best way to start your exploration of Klondike Gold Rush history in Skagway is to go to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park visitor center.

When you get there, first you can get a national park passport stamp. 😄

Then, you can grab a free brochure from the ranger desk, which will include a map of the historic buildings of downtown Skagway. You can then go for a walk around downtown Skagway using the map.

Also look for the park ranger program schedule board at the visitor center!

There are ranger talks held throughout the day, and some of them are held at other historic buildings.

The topics of the talks will be on different aspects of the Gold Rush participants. There might be more than 1 talk you want to go to.

I went to one that was at the Moore Homestead and I thought it was really interesting. Not as many people go to the Moore Homestead, so even if there’s no talk there, you can go and check it out! The ranger will be happy to talk to you. 😄

Also at the visitor center, you’ll also want to be sure to check out of the short introductory film that will give you the basics of the Klondike Gold Rush history, including Skagway’s role, so you can better appreciate your Skagway port stop! This film repeats frequently throughout the day, so you won’t have to wait long for the next showing.

 

 

It might be a 10 minute walk one-way to get to the Klondike Gold Rush national park visitor center from the cruise ship. (map)

 

For more Gold Rush history in Skagway, you might also be interested in the Red Onion Saloon walking tour. (There’s a fee for that.)

There is also the Gold Rush cemetery that you can go to on your own. You can walk there if you want, but it’s a long walk. So you may prefer the paid shuttle that you can take from downtown. This is the same place you would go for Lower Reid Falls. (I explain about the shuttle there.)

 

 

To better plan your day of walking, see my post with the Skagway cruise port map with where cruise ships dock. This also includes how to find out where your specific cruise ship will dock.

 

 

Will your cruise ship require a shuttle to get to downtown Skagway?

Cruise ships docked at some piers in Skagway require a land shuttle or tender boat (“water shuttle”), because there was a rockfall a couple years ago in which a massive rock came sliding down the hill and damaged a cruise ship. They are still monitoring the situation out of concern for another rockfall.

In 2023, if you were docked alongside the pier closest to the hill, it required a shuttle, since they didn’t want people walking the pier in the potential path of another rockfall. This is continuing in 2024.

This hill-side pier is the Railroad Dock. You can see if your cruise ship will be docking at the railroad dock by checking the Alaska cruise ship calendar for 2024. Look for Skagway SKG and that will take you to a calendar with location of where cruise ships will be docking. While this is the schedule, things can also change.

The railroad dock is listed as RRF (railroad forward) and RRA (railroad aft).

Similar to cruise ship terms, “aft” means back, while forward… yes is the front. So 2 cruise ships can dock at the railroad dock, at the front and back.

If you see your cruise ship is listed as docking at RRA, you’ll take a land shuttle to get you from the ship to the end of the pier.

If you see your cruise ship listed as docking at RRF, then you’ll take a water shuttle (tender boat) to get you to land at the Small Boat Harbor. (If you don’t have a morning excursion through the cruise line, look for instructions delivered to your stateroom for the water shuttle the night before! This probably will require going somewhere to get a ticket in the morning. And the sooner you get your ticket, the quicker you’ll get off the ship!)

In 2023, I was on cruise ships that were docked at both railroad forward and railroad aft (and others that required no shuttle!), and this was my experience!

 

 

More easy walks: Ketchikan | Juneau | Icy Strait Point | Sitka | Victoria | Vancouver

More walking: Hiking in Alaska cruise ports

More for your cruise ship visit: All things Skagway on the blog

 

HAPPY WALKING IN SKAGWAY!