Lower Reid Falls on your own (from Skagway cruise port) Things to do in Skagway 🏔 Alaska cruise tips

Hi there!

Lower Reid Falls is the easiest waterfalls to see when you go to Skagway, and you can get to the waterfalls on your own.

This makes Lower Reid Falls one of the waterfalls that you can see during your Alaska cruise!

While the trail itself is short, it is a “real” trail, meaning that it’s a rugged trail through the forest!

So, it’s best to be wearing proper footwear.

If you don’t mind walking longer, then you can even walk to the waterfalls directly from the cruise port.

Otherwise, there is a shuttle from downtown Skagway that goes to the start of the trail to Lower Reid Falls for $5 each way. This is the same shuttle that goes to the Gold Rush Cemetery.

Since you can walk to downtown Skagway from the cruise ship, you can say that the shuttle to Lower Reid Falls is near the cruise port!

You can very easily go to Lower Reid Falls and then also have time to explore downtown Skagway.

 

I did the trail to Lower Reid Falls on a pretty clear day in September 2023, having arrived to Skagway on a cruise ship.

See below for details on how to make Lower Reid Falls a part of your day in Skagway cruise port!

 

 

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Is Lower Reid Falls worth it?

Here are some reasons that you might think so!

 

You can walk from the cruise ship to the shuttle stop that goes to the Lower Reid Falls trailhead.

Lower Reid Falls is something you can do on your own when you’re in Skagway cruise port.

 

You can also go to the Gold Rush Cemetery while you’re at it.

The Gold Rush Cemetery is basically at the start of the Lower Reid Falls trail.

So you can see a bit of classic Skagway history (aka Klondike Gold Rush history!) by going to Lower Reid Falls.

There are some notable people from the Klondike Gold Rush days that are buried at the cemetery, along with unidentified people who died trying to make it rich during the gold rush days.

 

The trail to the waterfalls is a nice walk through the forest.

The majority of Southeast Alaska, where most Alaska cruises spend most of their time, is covered in forest.

So consider a forest hike to Lower Reid Falls is a so-very-Alaska thing you can do when you’re in Skagway!

 

👆 You can do a forest hike in Skagway… and basically every cruise port really!

 

 

The hike to the waterfalls is short.

The Lower Reid Falls trail is quite short. From the start of the trail to the waterfalls viewpoint will take you 5 to 10 minutes.

This means that going to Lower Reid Falls won’t take all day, or even half a day, and you will have time to do other things in Skagway too!

You can do a White Pass train excursion in the morning, get off the train in downtown Skagway (you’ll have the option to get off downtown or back at the cruise ship), and then head straight to Lower Reid Falls!

 

You can spend some time along the creek!

You can come and go from the waterfalls quickly… or stay awhile and listen to the sounds of the water flowing along the creek!

 

 

 

You can stop by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center on your way to the shuttle.

Since you will pass the visitor center on your way to the shuttle stop if you’re walking from the cruise ship, you can stop by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center to make note of any of the ranger program talks that are offered.

Then, based on those timings, you can decide to go to Lower Reid Falls first, or to do all the Klondike Gold Rush things first!

As long as the visitor center is open, you can watch the film in the theater to learn about basic Klondike Gold Rush history and Skagway’s place in this historic event!

The film is shown regularly throughout the day. (I don’t remember exactly how often, but maybe it was every 30 minutes or once an hour.)

For food and drink that’s so Skagway, then you can go to the Red Onion Saloon.

While you’re there, do the $10 tour to learn about a different side of the Klondike Gold Rush story.

 

You can walk from the cruise ship to Lower Reid Falls… if you want to walk several miles!

Most people will take the shuttle to Lower Reid Falls because it’s less effort.

If you don’t mind walking, it is possible to walk to Lower Reid Falls.

It will be around 2.4 miles one way from the cruise ship to the Lower Reid Falls trailhead, and you will walk the same road as the cars.

 

👆 Map. You can walk from Skagway cruise port to Lower Reid Falls. You can follow google maps to guide your way to the Gold Rush Cemetery. It’s an easy route to navigate and walk.

 

Likewise, you can always walk one way and take the $5 shuttle the other way!

 

 

 

Map: Skagway cruise port to Lower Reid Falls shuttle

Cruise ships basically dock in downtown Skagway.

You can take a shuttle from downtown Skagway to get to the Lower Reid Falls trailhead, which is more commonly referred to as the shuttle to the Gold Rush Cemetery.

Your walk from the cruise ship to the Lower Reid Falls shuttle will probably be around 10 to 15 minutes.

It will be longer or shorter depending on which specific dock your cruise ship is docked at.

 

👆 Map. How to get to Lower Reid Falls shuttle: Skagway cruise port to downtown Skagway walk. Your cruise ship may be in a different location than the one shown on the map. There is a shuttle stop in front of the Mascot Saloon. Explore the map.

 

 

Shuttle to Lower Reid Falls trailhead

The Lower Reid Falls shuttle is actually the Gold Rush Cemetery shuttle.

So if you’re asking the bus driver if you’re on the right bus, you can ask if it’s the bus to the Gold Rush Cemetery.

There is also a shuttle that loops around downtown Skagway and goes to the cruise ships. These are different buses, so you’ll want to make sure that you specifically get on the Gold Rush cemetery shuttle.

The shuttle to the Lower Reid Falls trailhead / cemetery costs $5 one way. It’s best to have exact change. The bus driver also accepts tips if you want to have dollar bills on hand.

If you need smaller bills, you can likely get some at the guest services desk on your cruise ship. (I did this on a Princess cruise ship.)

There is an ATM on the cruise ship if you’re already on the cruise ship with no cash, although I imagine the ATM fees are $$$. So if you haven’t left yet, bring cash from home!

 

How much time do you need?

If you’re on the cruise ship and see you have 2 hours before you need to be back on the ship, you can go to Lower Reid Falls!

If you walk straight from the cruise ship to the shuttle stop, it might be a 10 to 15 minute walk, although this will depend on where your cruise ship is docked.

And then based on your timing, you might wait 5 minutes or you might wait 25 minutes for the next shuttle to the Lower Reid Falls trailhead and cemetery.

Once you are at the Lower Reid Falls trailhead, you might spend 30 minutes walking to the waterfalls (and cemetery) and back.

And then once again based on your timing, you will wait more or less for the shuttle back to downtown Skagway.

 

I had been to Skagway before and I was in “take it easy” mode for this port stop, so my “mission” for this day was Lower Reid Falls and the Gold Rush Cemetery and that was it.

 

Here was my afternoon timeline going to Lower Reid Falls:

• 3:20pm: stepped off the cruise ship
• 3:30pm: walked to downtown skagway and arrived at gold rush cemetery shuttle stop
• 3:37pm: got on gold rush cemetery shuttle
• 3:45pm: arrived at gold rush cemetery shuttle stop (lower reid falls trailhead stop!) and got off the bus
• 3:50pm: started the paved trail and 1-2 minutes later, arrived at gold rush cemetery
• 3:53pm: started the dirt trail to lower reid falls from the cemetery
• 3:55pm: arrived at Martin Itjen bridge
• 3:56pm: got first glimpse of waterfalls from the trail, and basically you are there!

 

There was a tour group that was there at the time I arrived at the waterfalls, so I decided to wait around until they left. The tour groups are relatively quick to come and go since they need to make it back to their tour bus.

With no tour group, there were just a couple other people there so it was nice and peaceful!

 

Around 5:05pm I was back on the cruise ship.

At that time, the puppies in the piazza activity was going on so I hung around the atrium (aka piazza) for a bit to watch the cute little puppies aka the sled dogs in training!

If you are doing a Princess cruise to Alaska, this is an onboard activity to look for on the day you are in Skagway!

The onboard Alaska-related activities Princess does makes them one of the best cruise lines for Alaska!

 

So I was off of the cruise ship for around 1.5 hours, and that was basically just for Lower Reid Falls and the Gold Rush Cemetery.

This means that if you are just looking to do something because you have a couple of extra hours, you will have time to go to Lower Reid Falls by shuttle if you have 2 hours!

Because of the frequency of the shuttle (twice an hour) and since the trail is not that long, if you really wanted to, you can probably get dropped off, quickly go to the waterfalls, and be back by the time the next shuttle comes by.

It is just about how much time you want to spend on the trail and at the waterfalls!

 

If it’s your first time in Skagway, you’ll want to walk through downtown Skagway before or after you go to the waterfalls.

At the very least, be sure to stop by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center and watch the film in the theater to learn the basics of the Klondike Gold Rush! Also check the park ranger program board to see if any of the talks are of interest to you.

 

 

Cost

There is no entry fee for Lower Reid Falls (or the Gold Rush Cemetery), so there’s no cost there.

If you want to the start of the Lower Reid Falls trail from the cruise port, then your DIY Skagway excursion will be free.

If you want to save yourself from walking as much, the Gold Rush cemetery shuttle will be $10 round trip per person, and that will be your cost to go to Lower Reid Falls from Skagway cruise port!

 

 

What to wear hiking to Lower Reid Falls

As a trail through the forest, it’s a good idea to be wearing proper shoes to hike to Lower Reid Falls.

It’s even more important if you plan to get up closer to the waterfalls.

You’ll want shoes with good traction if you want to walk over the rocks.

Ideally, this means hiking shoes or trail running shoes.

One of the best waterproof shoes to have is Merrell hiking boots or Salomon trail running shoes. Goretex means that it’s waterproof so look for that.

You can go to your nearest REI to try on shoes to make sure you are getting shoes that fit your feet! Be sure to break them in at home before you wear them for long walks.

It’s also always a good idea to pack for rain.

Rain gear can include a proper rain jacket and rain pants, or if you want to keep it simple (and cheap), you can opt to wear a $5 poncho from Walmart for Lower Reid Falls!

Before you get off the ship, you can determine if you’ll need rain gear for the hike, and plan accordingly!

 

 

Reviews

Before doing any hiking in Skagway or any other Alaska cruise ports, it’s a good idea to read through the reviews so you can know what to expect.

Read the reviews for Lower Reid Falls:

• tripadvisor
• google maps
• National Park Service

 

 

More hikes in Skagway

Depending on how much time you want to spend hiking, how much effort you want to put forth, how much snow there is, and what the weather is like, here are more hikes for you to consider:

• Yakutania Point
• Smugglers Cove
• Lower Dewey Lake Trail
• AB Mountain Trail

 

More walks in Alaska cruise ports: Skagway | Juneau | Icy Strait Point

If you like the idea of Lower Reid Falls, you might also like the idea of the Rainbird Trail in Ketchikan!

 

HAPPY HIKING TO LOWER REID FALLS!

 

I did the Lower Reid Falls Trail on September 19, 2023, coming off a Princess cruise ship. Your experience may vary!