Drive from Skagway to Emerald Lake... have you done it?

[DeborahQ]

We rented from Avis last August in Skagway. The sign says they open at 7a.m. We got there at 645am.Had a 7a.m.reservation. Waited til 730am before someone came too work. Things are a little slower in Alaska.Was a great drive. Plan on doing it again next month. Deb

[bayman]

Hello Yukon ,when doing the drive up to Emerald lake ,is it worth taking a detour to Atlin -saw it on a map and am always curious.What;s there? how's the road? etc. We have 12 hours ,but we move at a leisurely pace .Is getting to Whitehorse too far? Are there places to rent canoes ,horses,kayaks at Emerald Lake? Thanks,Bayman

[gpearce]

I called Avis to confirm my reservation and they said they opened at 8 a.m.

[Yukon]

bayman - Whitehorse, and even more so Atlin, are too far unless you want to drive and nothing else. Emerald Lake is too small for canoeing, but you can go on a horse trip there - [url="http://www.yukonhorses.com"]http://www.yukonhorses.com[/url]
If the weather is calm, you can rent a canoe right in Carcross - just ask at the Visitor Center.

Murray

[artfem]

Plenty of time. It was a great ride. Tough to get lost, I remeber only one road. You drive along the gorge on the opposite side from the railroad excursion. You basically go out of town and turn right as I remember. You should get a map from the car rental place. If you go the opposite way you will go along a meandering river. We saw scores of eagles here and some spinner dolphins.

[Budget Queen]

I think Atlin way too far- and you may also not have permission to drive the gravel road. Spinner dolphins???????

[augie]

We're doing a hike/float tour in the morning, and would be able to pick up a car around 2:00PM. It looks that would still leave plenty of time for a drive to see Emerald Lake.

Is there someplace near Avis that we could buy sandwhiches or something suitable for a lakeside picnic?

Thanks!

[Yukon]

The Sweet Tooth Cafe just around the corner on Broadway makes good take-out lunches.

Murray

[bayman]

Hello Murray ,thanks for all the helpful info.I did print out your guide and we will take it w/ us . We'll save Atlin and Whitehorse for another trip. We'd rather see a "portion " well then see it all badly.Don't want to spend all dy in the car. We may try horses(did contact Toni) or canoeing . Do you have a favorite hike along the way that you don't mind disclosing? 1 to 5 miles is doable. Thanks again . Bayman

[augie]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Yukon:
The Sweet Tooth Cafe just around the corner on Broadway makes good take-out lunches.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Murray - what a great name for a cafe!

[Sandy R]

Just thought I'd bump this up in case there are some that haven't read it... so much good information provided by Yukon!

Sandy R

[TracyQ]

I rented a van from Sourdough for our trip in June. There are 8 of us - so this is by far the least expensive excursion we will do in Alaska, but the reviews have assured me that it will be one of the best! Thanks so much to all who have contributed - and a special thanks to Murray for the web site. The time and care you put into it shows. Please know it is very appreciated!

Tracy

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;6;26;16;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]
DIAMOND ALASKA

[columbus]

Hi Sandy;

I you are ging to Emerald Lake, you should go around the corner and take a Yukon Horseback tour. There tour rides up behind the hills of Emerald Lake which is so beautiful. If you go to [url="http://www.yukonhorses.com"]www.yukonhorses.com[/url] you can pick up their site.

They are a great company and sell a truely 5 star tour... You wouldn't have to book with a travel agent or throught a tour company but go directly with them. The ranch is like a little western town.

Good luck...

[Sandy R]

I've been reading a few posts asking about the Skagway to Emerald Lake drive so thought I'd bump the thread up for those that might not have read all the information here - especially Yukon's Milepost Guide... priceless!

Sandy

[RCT]

[quote name='mooshele']We are sailing May 29th on the Radiance of the Seas and have already reserved a car through Avis. I found a website which has a breakdown of sites to see by milepost (and km for the Yukon!) along the Klondike Hwy between Skagway and Whitehorse and even includes general parking areas for waterfalls, view the Whitepass RR, etc....:
[URL=http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klondikehwy2.html]

Plan on bringing this with us and going as far as Emerald Lake. Can't wait!!! Hope this is helpful [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[url="http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klondikehwy2.html"]http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/klondikehwy2.html[/url]

NCL 11/96
Windjammer 6/98
Splendour of the Seas 8/02
Radiance of the Seas 5/04[/QUOTE]
So how was your trip? Did you enjoy the road trip from Skagway? We are going in September and are considering this side trip also.

[Sandy R]

We'll be doing the drive in August but if you search the Alaska section, you'll find lots of people that have done the drive and have posted when they returned. Everyone said it was wonderful, some said it was the highlight of their cruise stops. I think everyone brought Murray's Milespost Guide. And most stopped at the Cinnimone Bun Cafe and had lunch.

Sandy

[whenzuc]

we rented a car, went horse back riding with Joni, and stopped at Cinnamon Cache- they were out of chicken sandwiches- and we opted to eat back in town. The place didn't seem to exciting to us...

[ute_fan]

We stopped at Cinnamon Cache in June and had cinnamon buns. After reading the great comments, we were a little disappointed. They were good enough, but nothing spectacular, and seemed a little dry.

[RoseD]

Hi Yukon,

My whole family sends a huge thanks for all the information. We just got back from the Sun Princess cruise and we rented a Ford Explorer from Avis (great car) and took the incredible ride to Emerald Lake. The kids went with Joanie horseback riding and had the time of their lives while we just toured around Carcross - GREAT visitors section - loads of information. My son felt we should have personally thanked you (had NOTHING to do with your gorgeous husky :))
I just sent out 14 rolls of film and luckily every night we downloaded the digital cameras and I named each picture so I wouldn't forget! The Yukon was definitely one of my favorite spots!

Thanks!
Rose

[swannie]

Can someone give me a rough idea about cost per person for the horseback tour if we drive to the ranch ourselves? I can't find it on their website.

[M&KKruisin']

We will be doing the drive next week for the second time but this time will have Murray's Guide with us. We loved the Cinnamon Cache 2 years ago - we were the only customers at the time so we had a very nice visit with Gail and Bobo.

Question - Will we be greeted by mosquitos next week?

[SNOWEY]

Sandy:

Thanks for all your great questions! We are fist time cruisers from Texas. Sure hope it gets colder up there! It was 100 degrees a couple of days ago. We are now having unseasonably cool weather--low 80's. Don't ever remember it being this cool ever this time of the year! Nice! We will be in Alaska on the 13th of August. I am trying to convince DH to do the car. Cheaper and more fun. Looks like we will be going before you :> I am starting to get excited.

[Yukon]

I'm back home in Carcross after spending most of the last 4 weeks touring Alaska and the Yukon. It's 54 degrees at the moment (8:50 a.m.) and there is neither smoke nor mosqitoes anymore - a very pretty morning.

Some of the highlights of the trip - a section of the Taylor Highway south of Chicken that looked like the whole world was on fire, another Riverboat Discovery cruise in Fairbanks (always great), a fabulous Nenana Gorge raft trip in Denali (followed by the worst Eielson shuttle trip ever - lots of smoke, little wildlife), a couple of hours in the spectacular Alaska Sealife Center in Seward, and seeing 3 grizzlies within an hour right alongside the Alaska Highway near Haines Junction the day before yesterday.

I'm off to meet some folks on the Celebrity Summit in Skagway this morning - if you see a guy near the dock with a couple of huskies and a crowd of people, that'll be me :)

Murray

ExploreNorth
[url]http://www.explorenorth.com[/url]

[mitzijoh]

The drive was awesome -- a real highlight. We visited William Kleedhan's kennel just pass Carcross (we had called ahead) and while he was at work elsewhere we had a nice time talking to his youngest son and a couple who lived on the grounds. They had just moved to Canada from Vermont and were also in to mushing. We petted all 70 or so dogs and my daughter played with the puppies. Very relaxed, nothing formal, fancy or organized, but a nice diversion from all the hustle and bustle elsewhere.

Stopped at the Cinnamon Cache later. Sandwiches were very good, but the owners seemed to be in a really bad mood. It was lunchtime, but we all had the feeling that we had intruded or something. My in-laws who are older felt uncomfortable and actually went and sat in the car while the rest of us ate. I think I'd go for a place that was more comfortable next time even if the food was mediocre.

[bayman]

We rented from Avis w/ no problems.Started out at 11am ,returned at 7pm .We stopped frequently, took walks ,had lunch on a small hill w/ Mts and lakes all around us .We would wander off whenever we had the chance.Walked across the carcross desert.The cinnamon cache was closed when we went by.Scenery was gorgeous.Our day was bright and sunny and warm ,cool at the summit. Made it to Emerald Lake ,and by then it was time to turn around.Customs were no problem coming or going.I would hate to "rush " this trip,it was spectacular the whole way.We used Yukon's guide/map as well as a map we picked up in town . Very helpful.