Skagway to Emerald Lake. Driving.

Thinking of renting a car (mid May) and driving up to Emerald Lake.

I've heard stories of hairpin turns on the side of cliffs/ mountains in some places.

How dangerous is the road? Any thoughts?

Thanks

Thinking of renting a car (mid May) and driving up to Emerald Lake.

 

 

 

I've heard stories of hairpin turns on the side of cliffs/ mountains in some places.

 

 

 

How dangerous is the road? Any thoughts?

 

 

 

Thanks

Following as we are planning on doing the same thing in mid-May.

I’ve reserved the car and done some research, but did not read anything about hairpin turns. I watched a time lapse video on YouTube that didn’t appear to show anything like that, however it did make me a bit motion sick watching 8 hrs flash by in a few minutes [emoji1]

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I’m doing it the first week of May, by myself, it looks easier than the Hana Highway which I don’t mind doing. I do plan on taking a go pro timelapse of it which I will put in a live-ish review so you could check it out before you go.

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We rented a car and made the drive last year. I don't remember any "hairpin turns on the side of cliffs/mountains". DW and I drove (I drove, she was the passenger) up Pikes Peak two years ago and she was freaking out. very few guardrails and very steep drop-offs. She never said a word about being scared on our trip to Emerald Lake. If it was even the least bit scary, she would have said something. Rent the car and make the drive. It's great way to spend the day.

We drove a few years ago and there are no hairpin turns. We rented a car again for this June and will be doing the trip again. I highly recommend getting the Murray’s Guide to the Klondike Hwy. he was a tour bus driver and gives mile by mile what to see & do. It’s a great trip!

http://*****************

murraysguidedotcom

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Well, they ride bicycles down it, if that gives you any indication. It is a winding road but no hairpin turns. Nothing like Pikes Peak, which I consider slightly scary, mostly because of the optical illusion of the road dropping off into nowhere. It is also not as curvy as the Hana Highway.

We have driven our own vehicles from the Alaska Highway into Skagway, and also have rented a vehicle in Skagway when visiting during port calls. The South Klondike highway isn't difficult at all. Very interesting scenery and a nice drive.

Once we rented a vehicle in mid-May and while we didn't drive to Emerald Lake on that particular port call, the road was dry. Snow on the mountain tops, but the road was dry.

We’ve driven the Klondike Hwy numerous times and I highly recommend getting a copy of “Murray’s Guide” for the first drive. We’ve been to Skagway when it was raining and nasty, once we got to the summit it was beautiful. I remember one year when it was so foggy in the valley coming out of Skagway that I could barely see the front of the car that was the worse white knuckle drive I’ve ever done. A couple of times we’ve hit miles of road construction that delayed our drive. But for the most part it’s an enjoyable drive

Hi,

I rented a car in Skagway and drove up Emerald Lake last September. The road was really easy and there was no traffic!

I preferred to rent a car vs the bus or train to be free to stop anytime for pictures and to enjoy scenic.

My daytrip highlights were: the Emerald lake, Carcross, and Carcross’s desert (the smallest desert in the world).

If you’re interested I wrote an article to describe my DIY Yukon daytrip: daydreamunderthestars.com/2017/11/20/the-yukon/

Let me know if you have any questions

Enjoy your trip!

Marie

Hi,

 

I rented a car in Skagway and drove up Emerald Lake last September. The road was really easy and there was no traffic!

I preferred to rent a car vs the bus or train to be free to stop anytime for pictures and to enjoy scenic.

My daytrip highlights were: the Emerald lake, Carcross, and Carcross’s desert (the smallest desert in the world).

 

If you’re interested I wrote an article to describe my DIY Yukon daytrip: daydreamunderthestars.com/2017/11/20/the-yukon/

 

Let me know if you have any questions

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Marie

Fantastic article - thank you so much for sharing. I’ve rented the car already, but have gone back and forth on whether or not we will regret not doing the train. After reading your article I am no longer on the fence - I am excited to be able to stop and take our time.

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Fantastic article - thank you so much for sharing. I’ve rented the car already, but have gone back and forth on whether or not we will regret not doing the train. After reading your article I am no longer on the fence - I am excited to be able to stop and take our time.

 

 

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No hairpins BUT Spring/Summer is construction season on the highway so best be prepared for lane closures and flagmen which may impact your actual driving time.

Hi,

 

If you’re interested I wrote an article to describe my DIY Yukon daytrip: daydreamunderthestars.com/2017/11/20/the-yukon/

 

Marie

Nice story. We also did the drive and doing again in June.

For some reason, your link goes to the wrong page for me but this works. https://daydreamunderthestars.com/2017/11/20/the-yukon/

Is the Avis close to the dock and easy to find? I’m considering the drive to emerald lake in June.

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Is the Avis close to the dock and easy to find? I’m considering the drive to emerald lake in June.

 

 

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We're going to do the drive and I just rented. Looks like the Avis is a couple of blocks inland at Spring & 3rd (in or near the Westmark Inn.

Thanks for the report with the pictures.

We booked through Avis when we drove to Emerald Lake. Reservations definitely needed, unless there are very few ships in port the day you are there. We needed a mini-van, so I got there just before the office opened to make sure we got one! Was an easy, beautiful drive! I had downloaded a Murray's Guide - was a lot of great info.

Enjoy your trip!

I booked a car with avis for our june cruise. It did NOT ask me for credit information so I'm nervous they wont honor the reservation. Is it common with car rentals to not ask for a deposit to hold?

I booked a car with avis for our june cruise. It did NOT ask me for credit information so I'm nervous they wont honor the reservation. Is it common with car rentals to not ask for a deposit to hold?

We rented at 3 stops and no credit card was requested for any of them.

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I booked a car with avis for our june cruise. It did NOT ask me for credit information so I'm nervous they wont honor the reservation. Is it common with car rentals to not ask for a deposit to hold?

Same here ... did not require a credit card to hold the rez. I found it odd as well, but I have to trust that the car will be there for us since I have not read any complaints to the contrary.

Is the Avis close to the dock and easy to find? I’m considering the drive to emerald lake in June.

 

 

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Very easy to find, only one street over from the train station. Maybe a 10 minute walk from the ships. I always get there just before they open at 8am and get on the road before all the buses etc. Road is an easy drive with little traffic, most of the time I'm just cruising at about 45mph. The ability to stop anywhere for as long as you want is nice. Carcross seems to adding more shops etc every year and is a nice stop. From the summit to Carcross the scenery as you drive along side many lakes can be spectacular if there is no wind and you get reflections of the mountains in the water.

We’re in port on May 1 and I have AVIS Reservation to drive up to Emerald lake. I’m wondering if it’ll be thawed out? Thank you Marie for sharing your day trip!

You can "drive" the entire way on Google Maps using their Street View to get feel for the road. I did this the other night for large portions of the road to get an idea of the scenery we will see in June with our rental.

I've never need a credit card for rental when booked directly through the companies website. I'm not sure websites like Expedia, but the companies websites don't need a credit card to hold it. I've never had an issue of them not honoring the reservation and the car has always been there.

When I think of scary roads we've driven the road to Hana (once, never again) and the Amalfi Coast (many times) come to mind; not the road to/from the White Pass. That said, the day we came down the White Pass road at one point the fog was so thick that I couldn't believe the driver kept on driving! I had to keep telling myself that he must know the road like the back of his hand and he wouldn't drive us over the side. Thankfully we were out of the fog within minutes because I was holding my breath for most of that time!

We have a car reservation from AVIS and plan to buy a copy of Murray’s Guide online. Looked like it was $5/copy.

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We have a car reservation from AVIS and plan to buy a copy of Murray’s Guide online. Looked like it was $5/copy.

 

 

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There is a free version of his guide on his website, but I ponied up the $5 to get the photos that go along with the text.

Fantastic article - thank you so much for sharing. I’ve rented the car already, but have gone back and forth on whether or not we will regret not doing the train. After reading your article I am no longer on the fence - I am excited to be able to stop and take our time.

 

 

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I'm glad you liked it! This daytrip was really amazing, one of my favorite excursion during our Alaska Cruise.

Enjoy your trip!

Marie