Skagway Car Rental to Emerald Lake

[Dave & Julie]

How long does the roundtrip take? We've booked other shore excursions through 12:30 p.m. I'm wondering if we can do lunch at the Red Onion and then make the drive to Emerald Lake and back in a rental. Our ship leaves at 8:00 p.m. Do we have enough time? I think yes and my wife thinks no.

 

I'm from Mars and she's from Venus. Does anyone from Earth have experience here?:confused:

[lakerboy1]

We did this same thing. We rented from Avis and drove to Emerald Lake. We had lunch at the Cinnabun Cafe in Carcross. We also stopped at least 15 times to take photos and look for wildlife.

We left Skagway at 11am and got back by 4pm. It will probably take 30=45 minutes to rent the car as there is only one employee at Avis. You will also have to stop at customs on the way back. This is the only point there is traffic. Also you have to put gas in the vehicle when you return.

We went to the Red Onion after we drove so we could down a few beers.

This is a great trip. Don't miss it and be sure to take binoculars and a picture i.d. for customs

[yukoner]

You will have plenty of time as if you drive strait through, it will take about an hour and half each way. Customs both ways does not take long and you will have plenty to see. You must go to explorenorth.com this site has a mile post with all the info along the highway. Lots of wildlife and history. Good days to you.

Wayne

[Budget Queen]

It is 75 miles each way on a well maintained 2 lane road. The problem will be all the stopping. :) I would skip your lunch at the Red Onion and head out as soon as possible after your tour and eat in Carcross.

[bsla11]

We did it in 5 hours excluding rental pickup and drop off. That’s with lots of stops and lunch at Cinnabun Café. It would have been the highlight of out trip but was edged out by a Glacier walk we did in Juneau.

 

I will say it was difficult to rush back to Skagway as the drive was so scenic.

[Dave & Julie]

OK, my wife says we'll go on the trip, and she said to say thanks to all you earthlings who took time to answer.

 

I think we'll call in advance to rent from Avis and then skip lunch in Scagway and eat in Carcross. Our cruise begins 7-18 so I'm calling Avis today. I'm hoping for good weather but the forcast is for rain all week.

 

I read somewhere that the weather usually gets better the farther you drive into the Yukon, even if Scagway has rain. Is this true?

 

I'll post a review of the experience after we return home.

[patar]

We did this trip last week. We also ate at the Bakery and it was really good. The scenery is beautiful. When you firsts get to the town there are a couple of shops there. There was some really pretty handmade sterling jewely very reasonably priced. I bought some handmade soap. There's also a country store that has many interesting items. Enjoy your cruise!

Pat

[chavala]

It was a great trip. And yes, it started out all foggy and gloomy and the weather broke just as we came over the mountain. Ditto to the Bakery. We got to carcross and I couldn't remember the name- we drove all around the town. Finally asked at the visitor center "there is someplace around here who is famous for their delicious ham sandwiches?".

She knew immediatly and gave me directions. It's about 8 miles PAST the town on the side of the road, just before Emerald Lake. The owners were delighted with my tales of how they are so famous on the cruise critic site and how people smuggle their cinnimon buns across the border and onto the ships, so make sure you tell them you heard about them from this board.

[taxatty]

Go to http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html for Murray Lundberg's wonderful mile by mile log of the Skagway to Emerald Lake drive--it was a wonderful guide for our recent trip. If you like natural beauty at all, the drive is great, and easy for a mountain road.

 

Les

[LeeLeesCruisin]

We're doing this trip. I rented a car in Skagway through the Avis web site. Should I have called direct? Will the reservation go through? I'm worried about showing up and not having a car waiting.

 

LeeLee

[maggie909]

BEWARE!! Driving back into Skagway the speed limit goes from 60 mph to 35 mph and Barney Fyffe is there with his radar gun. We got a speeding ticket that was quite steep. It was also due to be paid before we got home so we had to stop in Anchorage and get money order from post office, express mail it, etc. The drive was great and very doable in the time frame you mention as long as you don't make too many stops. The scenery is very beautiful most of the way. The last 20 miles or so were uneventful, however, and Emerald Lake was not as magnificent as I expected. But definitely worth it.

[taxatty]

I booked with Avis through its website months in advance. I called a week before we left for Skagway and the reservation was there. Avis did seem to have plenty of cars for rent when we were there.

 

Les

[phoenixlady]

We rented a compact car (Chevy Lumina) from Soudough Car Rentals- $50.00-The owner told me to go the earlier the better to get out before the tour bus traffic. (907) 983-2523. He also told me that it's a 3 hour r/t drive (without stopping to take photos along the way)