Hi there!
Many cruise ships have all day in Skagway cruise port.
This is quite nice, because you can do something in the morning, go back to the ship for lunch, and then go out and do something again in the afternoon and/or evening!
I have been to Skagway 6 times by cruise ship, and here are the things to do in Skagway cruise port that you need to know about so you can plan your one day in Skagway!
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1. White Pass and the Yukon (excursion)
Skagway was the gateway town for the Klondike Gold Rush. It’s one town where people hoping to find gold would start their journey to the Yukon in Canada. One route to get there was over the White Pass summit.
The White Pass train is Skagway’s most famous excursion, and one of the best train rides in Alaska.
The train ride starts near the cruise port, and you’ll ride through mountains to the White Pass summit and beyond into Canada. Depending on the time of year you go, you might get views of snow-covered mountains!
There are many different ways to make the White Pass train a part of your time in Skagway cruise port.
The most basic way is to do a round-trip train from Skagway. You’ll be on the train the whole time.
There are also tours where you can take the train one way and a narrated shuttle on the Klondike Highway the other way. There are longer and shorter shuttle rides depending on how far you want to go. There are tours that go all the way to the Yukon, making stops at the Emerald Lake and Carcross Desert among other worthy spots.
You can also make the White Pass summit and/or Yukon a part of your time in Skagway without the train ride.
One of the cheapest ways to experience the White Pass summit is a shorter drive along the Klondike Highway that doesn’t go all the way to the Yukon. You can do this through the Skagway city and summit tour. It’s cheaper since it’s shorter, but it’s still memorable!
Otherwise, for a bigger experience, you want to go all the way to the Yukon! The top ways to do this without the train is the Yukon suspension bridge tour or the full-day Yukon tour.
There is also a sled dog camp in the Yukon that you can visit. (Note this is not dog sledding on a glacier since you aren’t flying there. In the summer, if you’re not flying there, it won’t be a sled dog camp on a glacier! That’s how you’ll know.)
How to book the White Pass train
Most people book a White Pass excursion through the cruise line. The cruise line also offers various combination tours that include the train. By booking through the cruise line, you’ll board the train the closest it can get to the cruise port.
Some people book directly through the White Pass Yukon Route website, saying that it is cheaper. You can compare the price to see if that’s what you find. Train tickets through the website are limited, so if you find that it’s sold out for your date, it’s possible that the cruise line still has tickets available.
If you book direct, you will need to board the train at the Skagway train depot in town. This is not that big of a deal as long as you don’t mind an extra 10-15 minutes of walking. The same train that everyone boards near the cruise port will make a stop at the Skagway depot before really getting started to go to the White Pass summit!
Do you need your passport for the White Pass train?
The train goes into Canada. If you are doing the train-only excursion, then you don’t need a passport. Otherwise, if you will be on an excursion that will require you to literally step foot on the ground in Canada, you must bring your passport. It will be checked by border agents. (Check your booking confirmation details to confirm!)
White Pass combo tours without a train ride
You won’t get the same views as the train, but there are also White Pass combo tours that will take you up high to the White Pass summit without the train ride.
These both require passports since you’ll be going into Canada.
- Wild Adventure Yukon and White Pass summit tour (This goes to Emerald Lake)
- White Pass and Yukon Suspension Bridge tour
Can you drive the Klondike Highway on your own?
There are people who rent cars when they are in Skagway to drive the Klondike Highway on their own. You can even do a DIY self-drive jeep tour in Skagway!
Skagway tours I think you should know about!
Aside from the White Pass train excursion (which is easiest to book through the cruise line), the White Pass summit experience and Yukon suspension bridge tour allows you see see the rugged wilderness with views you'll love. You can also do a fun gold panning in the Yukon and sled dog tour with Alaskan huskies! On my bucket list is the Laughton Glacier hike. This uses the famous White Pass train to get to the trailhead, where you'll start a hike to the glacier! It ends at a spot on rugged terrain that feels like you're hiking the remote wilderness!
👉 See more so-very-Alaska experiences I think you should know about in other ports!
2. Helicopter tour with glacier landing (epic excursion!)
One of the most epic Alaska excursions you can do in Skagway is a helicopter tour with a glacier landing.
You’ll fly across mountains for a flightseeing tour that is amazingly memorable (and see glaciers from above along the way!), and then the helicopter will do a wilderness landing on a glacier.
Then, you’ll have a chance to walk around on the glacier to see blue ice and maybe even blue ice waterfalls!
How to book a glacier helicopter tour in Skagway
You can book your Skagway glacier helicopter tour independently through Temsco by looking for the Glacier Discovery by Helicopter, or you can look for this excursion through your cruise line.
You can read the Princess cruise excursion reviews and the Temsco reviews on google maps.
Glacier Discovery by Helicopter: Check the availability
Is Skagway the only cruise port to do a helicopter tour with glacier landing?
No, Skagway is not the only cruise port to do a helicopter tour with glacier landing. You can also do a helicopter tour in Juneau. If your cruise goes to or from Whittier or Seward and you’re spending a few days on land, you can also look for helicopter tours in Anchorage.
3. Sled dog camp on a glacier (epic excursion!)
Another one of the most epic Alaska excursions you can do in Skagway is a different type of flightseeing tour.
It’s a flightseeing tour to visit a sled dog camp on a glacier. And that glacier part is important!
You can do a sled dog tour on snow even in the summer. But you need to fly to get to the snow-covered glacier in the summer.
This means that as a part of your glacier sled dog tour, it’s also a flightseeing tour! You will fly across mountains to get to the glacier, and that part is epic all on its own.
So you’ll fly by helicopter to the sled dog camp on a glacier, and you’ll get to meet sled dogs and training and their trainer (aka musher).
As the musher explained, you’ll be helping them train for a sled dog race! Socializing with strangers is part of the important training!
The sled dog camp season in Skagway is from mid-May to early August.
How to book a glacier sled dog tour in Skagway
You can book your Skagway glacier sled dog tour independently through Temsco by looking for the Glacier Sled Dog Experience by Helicopter, or you can look for this excursion through your cruise line.
You can read the Temsco reviews on google maps.
It’s important to note that when I did this excursion by booking through Princess, it had the name of Dog Sledding and Glacier Helicopter Flightseeing. It seems there’s been a slight change (or not-so-slight, depending on your priorities) to the tour, with the new name being Glacier Sled Dog Experience by Helicopter.
The new “Glacier Sled Dog Experience by Helicopter” does not include a sled ride being pulled by dogs. (You can read the description for confirmation. It’s more clear and direct on the Temsco description: “Please note: Guests do not ride on the sled for this excursion.” Read your cruise excursion carefully too so you understand what you’re getting!)
If booking through the cruise line, you’ll receive shore excursion tickets in your stateroom (cabin) on the first day of your cruise with specific instructions on where to meet.
If booking independently, you’ll want to read your booking e-mail for specific meeting point instructions, but you can expect it to be at the end of the pier where your cruise ship is docked. You will look for a sign for your dog sledding tour.
Glacier Sled Dog Experience by Helicopter: Check the availability
Is Skagway the only cruise port to do dog sledding?
No, Skagway is not the only cruise port to do dog sledding on a glacier.
You can also do a dog sledding tour in Juneau. (But I feel that you have a better chance for better weather in Skagway, so I think Skagway is the port to do it in compared to Juneau!)
If your cruise goes to or from Whittier or Seward and you’re spending a few days on land, you can also look for dog sledding tours in Anchorage. (And the dog sledding season lasts a few weeks longer there too, through the beginning of September.)
Fun sled dog experience (without the cost)
While this is not dog sledding on snow, you can still have fun with sled dogs by going to a remote sled dog camp in the Yukon… and also do a Yukon tour!
Glacier sled dog tours are epic but expensive. If you want a cheaper way to have fun with sled dogs in training, then there are sled dog camps that can be accessed by road.
These types of dog sledding musher camps do not include a helicopter ride, they are not on a glacier, and they are not on snow… therefore they are cheaper!
4. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center (FREE + on your own)
The history of Skagway’s rise (and fall) can be linked to the American spirit of believing anything is possible and going after your dreams!
Skagway was a gateway town to the Yukon in Canada.
At the end of the 1800s, there was big news across the US that there was gold in the Yukon.
Suddenly, everyone wanted to find gold in the Yukon, and there was a “gold rush” in the Klondike, a region of the Yukon.
People arrived in Skagway to start their journey to the Yukon to search for gold. It was a very long and difficult journey to make it to the Yukon. Many people died. These people who went in search of gold were known as “stampeders.”
In the end, few people made it rich through gold in the Yukon.
And in fact, it’s said that the people who got rich were those who were “mining the miners.” (aka people who were provided goods and services to the stampeders throughout their journey.) There is actually a former president’s grandfather who saw success during the Klondike Gold Rush by mining the miners!
You can learn more about the Klondike Gold Rush while you are in a Klondike Gold Rush gateway town of Skagway!
At the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center, you can learn about the gold rush through a film in the theater.
Also check the park ranger program board to see the schedule of ranger talks for the day. (Make this your first stop in downtown Skagway so you can decide if you want to stop by later! There may be a talk at another historic building in Skagway.)
In addition to the visitor center there are several other historic buildings and informational signs throughout downtown Skagway that you can go to as part of your own Skagway walking tour. For example, you can go to the Moore Homestead!
How to go to the Klondike Gold Rush visitor center
The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center is located in downtown Skagway, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the cruise port.
It’s easy to go to on your own!
Gold panning tours in Skagway
- City Highlights E-bike Tour with Gold Panning combo tour
- Reviews and compare for e-bike and gold panning: viator | getyourguide
- Short and sweet gold panning experience
The dream for the stampeders was to use a pan in the creeks of the Yukon and resulting in lots of gold nuggets washing up in that pan. (Thus, “panning for gold.”)
You can get a hands-on experience and learn more about panning for gold in Skagway to get a bit of a Klondike Gold Rush experience through a Skagway gold panning tour.
There is also a Seattle Unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, if you want to get started on learning about gold rush history! Seattle was one of the ports that people set sail from in hopes of finding gold in the Yukon.
5. Yakutania Point (FREE + on your own)
The Yakutania Point Trail is a hiking trail that’s near Skagway cruise port and relatively easy. If you have a couple of hours, you can hike to Yakutania Point and you will get grand views of the waterway!
You can also keep hiking further to Smugglers Cove. Along the way, there’s a side trail that you can take that will lead to you the “hidden cove.”
On your way to the Yakutania Point Trail, you will walk across the Skagway footbridge. Make a note of the water level you see. If you decide to spend some time on the trail, then upon your return, you may notice the water level to be drastically different! The tidal swings are big in Alaska, so there can be a noticeable difference at high tide vs low tide.
How to do the Yakutania Point Trail
The Yakutania Point Trail is within walking distance of the cruise port. The cruise ship pier that’s furthest away might be about a 20 minute walk to the start of the trail.
So you can hike to Yakutania Point on your own!
More hiking in Skagway
If you are an experienced hiker with all day in Skagway, then you can also look up AB Mountain.
You’ll want to do this when there’s no snow at the top of the mountain, so it’s best as a summer hike.
To get to the AB Mountain trail, you’ll start off hiking the Yakutania Point Trail. You’ll see a sign pointing in the direction of the AB Mountain trail.
More outdoor adventures in Skagway
- Chilkoot Trail hike and float tour
- During the Klondike Gold Rush, the Chilkoot Trail was an important “highway” for stampeders in search of gold. Today, the Chilkoot Trail is a national historic trail. Read about the Chilkoot Trail gold rush history.
- Ocean raft wilderness tour
6. Lower Reid Falls + Gold Rush Cemetery (CHEAP + on your own)
You can go to Lower Reid Falls to get an up close view of waterfalls in Skagway! It can be a quick hike, or you can some some more time at the waterfalls and stream by sitting around and listening to the flow of the water!
The trail to the waterfalls starts from the Gold Rush Cemetery, which is a spot to visit if you want to see some more Klondike Gold Rush history.
From the Gold Rush Cemetery, you can take a short trail through the forest that will lead you to waterfalls.
How to go to Lower Reid Falls
If you want to get in your steps, then you can walk an hour to get to the Lower Reid Falls trailhead for free. (map)
Otherwise, you can take a shuttle to get to the Gold Rush Cemetery from downtown Skagway. The Gold Rush Cemetery shuttle is $5 one way.
See more about Lower Reid Falls.
More waterfalls in Skagway
For all things waterfalls and more Alaskan wilderness, you need to do the 3-hour waterfalls tour in Skagway!
7. Pullen Creek salmon (FREE + on your own)
Pullen Creek can be a great spot to see salmon swimming if you’re in Skagway during salmon season. You might have a chance to see the salmon if you’re in Skagway from mid-July to early August.
How to go to Pullen Creek
Pullen Creek is within walking distance of the cruise port. You can look for the Pullen Creek Streamwalk on google maps, and then you can continue walking towards the Dewey Lake trailhead. Along the way there will be more opportunities to get close to another creek and see the salmon swimming! (map)
Is Skagway the only cruise port to see salmon?
No, Skagway is not the only cruise port to see salmon swimming. In fact, the best cruise port to see salmon swimming in the creek is Ketchikan! If you’re there during salmon season, you will be able to see salmon jumping up the ladder!
8. Lower Dewey Lake + beyond (FREE + on your own)
If you want a longer hike in Skagway, then you might want to do the Lower Dewey Lake Trail, or another trail that’s a part of the Dewey Lake trail system. Depending on your time and ambition, you can hike to Lower Dewey Lake and more.
The Dewey Lake trail system hikes include:
- Lower Dewey Lake Loop
- Icy Lake + Upper Reid Falls
- Sturgill’s Landing
- Upper Dewey + Devil’s Punchbowl
If you would like to feel better about the conditions of the trail before you start your hike, it’s a good idea to stop by the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center and ask the park rangers about trail conditions!
How to go to Dewey Lake trailhead
Your hike to Lower Dewey Lake starts at the Dewey Lake trailhead.
The Dewey Lake trailhead is within walking distance of the cruise port!
9. Red Onion Saloon (on your own)
For more of Skagway’s Klondike Gold Rush history, you can walk to the Red Onion Saloon from the cruise ship!
The Red Onion Saloon exists because Skagway was a gateway town for the Klondike Gold Rush. During the gold rush, it was a part of the red light district of Skagway.
It’s still open today as a gold rush era historic site, and it now operates as a brothel museum, as well as bar and restaurant with Alaskan beers.
How to go to Red Onion Saloon
The Red Onion Saloon is a bar and restaurant so you can freely go to eat and/or order a drink as you would for any other restaurant. See the menu.
If tickets are still available, you can also just show up to do a 20 minute brothel museum tour for $20. Otherwise, if you really want to make sure you can go, you can book tickets through the Red Onion Saloon website.
You can also do Red Onion Saloon historic tours as part of a combination tour through the cruise line. Look for excursions named Ghosts & Goodtime Girls Walking Tour (which you can also book direct), Red Onion Saloon Breakfast and Historical City Tour, and Best of Skagway. (Check the descriptions to confirm!)
10. Puppies in the Piazza (Princess only)
This is only available on Princess cruise ships, so why does it make a list of things to do in Skagway?! Because this activity is only available when the cruise ship is docked in Skagway cruise port!
Puppies in the Piazza is one of the many Alaska-specific onboard experiences Princess offers on Alaska cruises!
The puppies are little sled dogs that are in training for big dog sledding races, including the 1,000 mile iditarod race. The piazza is the atrium of the cruise ship.
You can be a part of the training of sled dogs when you are on the cruise ship! You help to train the puppies by cuddling with them.
The training that you are helping out with is for the puppies to get used to socialization with strangers. During the iditarod race, the dogs need to be used to strangers handling them. So getting the puppies interacting with strangers while they are young helps them with that.
So by cuddling with the puppies, you are possibly helping to develop future iditarod champions!
What time is Puppies in the Piazza?
In the weeks leading up to your cruise, the Princess app will start populating with activities for your cruise. Look for journeyview on the app. Being so far in advance, it can change all the way up to the day you actually get to Skagway, but this is the earliest way you can know what time puppies in the piazza MIGHT be during your cruise.
Because the puppies come on (and leave) while the cruise ship is in port, it means that if puppies in the piazza is important to you, you’ll want to make sure you are on the ship and not out and about in Skagway.
Once your cruise has started, you can expect that the time you see in the Princess app for puppies in the piazza is set. (Although, all cruise activities can still change, but it’s the best way to know!) The night before you get to Skagway, you’ll also get a paper version of the onboard cruise activities, and you can look for the scheduled time for puppies in the piazza that way too.
I have only been on Princess cruise ships when Skagway is in port all day, and puppies in the piazza has always been in the late afternoon to early evening.
Northern lights in Skagway
If your Alaska cruise is in September or October, or possibly even late August, you might be able to see the northern lights from the cruise ship on the night you set sail from Skagway! If you’re like many people, Skagway is the northernmost cruise port that you’ll visit, so it can be your best chance to see them. The key is that skies need to be clear!
There is an aurora forecast which can tell you if there’s a better chance to see northern lights, but you might be able to see dim northern lights even if the aurora forecast shows low chance.
There are many aurora apps you can have fun with (free and paid), but you can check the free aurora forecast on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website. Note not only the obvious thick green band, but also the lower thin green line which indicates the lowest point (southernmost point) you might see a bit of northern lights. You can look for Juneau, and Skagway is just north of there.
Also, learn how to use the NIGHT MODE on your phone camera. You can sometimes see the northern lights through your phone even if you can’t see it yourself. You can play around with night mode tonight outside your house just to see the different types of pictures it takes with night mode vs regular. The difference is quite interesting!
Yes I’ve seen northern lights from a cruise ship! … from my phone 🤣
For a better visual of walking around from the cruise ship, see the Skagway cruise port map. (This also includes where your cruise ship will dock.)
Top 10 in more Alaska cruise ports: Ketchikan | Juneau
Things to do in other cruise ports: Icy Strait Point | Sitka | Victoria | Seattle | Vancouver
HAPPY ONE DAY IN SKAGWAY CRUISE PORT!
👉 My top picks: Alaska cruise excursions you need to know about!
I've picked out a theme for each port so you can experience different aspects of Alaska!
Explore Alaska cruise ports:
Juneau | Ketchikan | Skagway | Icy Strait Point | Sitka | Victoria
Seattle | Vancouver
Whittier | Seward
Things to know: Mendenhall Glacier on your own vs shuttle
👉 PACKING LIST: waterproof shoes | rain jacket or poncho | puffer jacket
👉 Before you book: First-timer's guide to Alaska cruises
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