Skagway to Emerald Lake

[marysb]

Should we take the train tour or rent a car?

 

We are a party of 4 so it would be cheaper to take a car. But would we miss out on the tour and by not traveling by rail??

[PugLuvr]

We would recomened that you take the car. MY DW and I just come back on 6/25 after spending a wonderful week in AK. While in Skagway we rented a car and drove to Emerald Lake. The train goes up one side of the valley and the highway goes up the other. You can stop at any point and take pictures and admire the scenery if you have a car, where as if you are on the train there is no stopping. Also, I am fairly certain that the train does not provide you with a view of Emerlad Lake.

[clarencebyer]

We also rented a car in Skagway and drove up to Emerald Lake. There are some options that include one direction train and the other bus, and some of them go to Emerald Lake. But, there were 4 of us and it cost us about 1/8 what it would have cost us to do a train/bus tour. We really enjoyed doing this on our own and it was a rather nice break in the week to be on our own and away from the crowds, taking our time and calling the shots as to when, where, and how long. I know those that have taken the train enjoyed it, but I'm not sure it is worth the major extra bucks. Just my thoughts...and those of the other people with us. Either way, be sure you make the trip up to the Yukon!

[qiangf2]

we rented a car for $130 with gas. It will costs over $1000+ if we had chosen train option. But the decision was easy for us since train will not go to carcross after mid of August. That leaves rental car as the only option

[4ever voyager]

We also rented two cars for our group of nine. I made that decision because the cost savings was huge. The trips are not exactly the same and I think everyone loves the train trip- so you can't go wrong here. The route is a little different. We really enjoyed being able to stop when we wanted to, and the topper of that were the three stops we made to watch bears that were right in front of us or beside us along the road. There are so many wonderful but expensive excursions in Alaska- this was one that I saved money on so I could spend more on other excursions. Be sure to get Murray's guide and leave some time to walk around Skagway- it was my favorite port town on our cruise- just seemed less touristy.

[CruisinJul]

For those of you who have driven to Emerald Lake, what is the approximate drive time round-trip from Skagway. I was also wondering if cell phones would work to call for assistance if we should have car trouble.

[MercedMike]

For those of you who have driven to Emerald Lake, what is the approximate drive time round-trip from Skagway. I was also wondering if cell phones would work to call for assistance if we should have car trouble.

 

Driving straight through it is about one and a half hours Skagway to Emerald Lake. Your cell phone will probably not work on most of the road. There are pretty frequent buses and vans going by, though, who usually have radio contact with town.

 

What we did was to pick up the car about 8:30A, stop at the Gold Rush Cemetary on the way out of town, then turn off to the Dyea spur for a great picture from the overlook, then come back to the main road and stop frequently along the way for pictures. Doing it that way it took about three and a half hours to Emerald Lake. Then we stopped at Spirit Lake Inn for lunch, and got to Caribou Crossing for a 1 PM reservation for the dog cart rides. We left Caribou Crossing a bit after 3 PM and got back to Skagway a bit before 5 PM, leaving the ladies just a little time to shop!

 

Check our pics at

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html

 

Be sure to get Murray's guide to the highway. There are lots of links to it on this board.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

The trips are not exactly the same and I think everyone loves the train trip- so you can't go wrong here.

 

No, not everyone loves the train!:eek: We were bored after about 30 minutes and couldn't wait for it to end! Our narrator was very young and told corny joke after corny joke--the history was mixed in between the jokes. The train trip is not something we'd do again.

 

We're renting a car this time and very much looking forward to driving at our own pace and having the freedom to stop any time we want. :) We've got Murray's guide and we're ready to go!

 

Cheers!

Jayne

[Whitnee1]

Can anyone advise if there is rental car availability without a prior reservation? Also any links to rental cars on site would be helpful. We have ours but others in our group do not.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Can anyone advise if there is rental car availability without a prior reservation? Also any links to rental cars on site would be helpful. We have ours but others in our group do not.

 

If you're talking about Avis, I don't think you have much of a prayer of getting a car without a reservation. :(

 

Jayne

[fman]

We returned from a cruise a few weeks ago (6/17-23).. I had reserved the car in November, but had checked if there were any other carss available a few weeks before our cruise and the website said there were none. When I arrived, I was able to upgrade to a larger car and there were a few folks who had just walked up to the Avis office and were able to rent cars without prior reservations.

 

I would suggest to call the office directly and/or check when you arrive into town.

[pushing50]

Can anyone advise if there is rental car availability without a prior reservation? Also any links to rental cars on site would be helpful. We have ours but others in our group do not.

 

I just reserved a car for Skagway Aug 9 fom ww.avis.com. Only the compacts were sold out for that day. You can also call 907-983-2247.

 

As an aside, is the road to Dyea really that bad that Avis forbids their rentals to go there? Do people tend to go anyway?

[Travel-Bug]

Then we stopped at Spirit Lake Inn for lunch, and got to Caribou Crossing for a 1 PM reservation for the dog cart rides. We left Caribou Crossing a bit after 3 PM and got back to Skagway a bit before 5 PM, leaving the ladies just a little time to shop!

 

Do I need to make a reservation for the dog cart rides? My teenagers are very interested in doing this. If we can't get a tour can we just go and visit the puppies? Would 1pm be a good time when the tour buses are not there? We dock at 7am. What do you like about Spirit Lake Inn for lunch? Thanks

[CruisinJul]

I reserved a car from Avis for the second week of August. I did not even have to give them my credit card. If you think you may want the car, reserve it now. You can always cancel with no penalty. From these boards, it seems this is a popular alternative to the train.

 

Thanks MercedMike for the info on the drive time.

[MercedMike]

Do I need to make a reservation for the dog cart rides? My teenagers are very interested in doing this. If we can't get a tour can we just go and visit the puppies? Would 1pm be a good time when the tour buses are not there? We dock at 7am. What do you like about Spirit Lake Inn for lunch? Thanks

 

We made an advance reservation for shortly after the buses left - I think it was about 1:30. When you email for the reservation they will give you good advice on timing. You can visit the puppies along with a visit to Caribou Crossing -- I think the museum and dog camp ticket is like $7.

 

There aren't many lunch choices. Spirit Lake Inn was a whim as we drove by. Nice family little place with good soup and sandwiches, and great blueberry pie! You can also eat at Caribou Crossing.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[luvavacation]

We really enjoyed our car drive out to Emerald Lake, and would not want to do the train at all. It was so nice to stop where we wanted and take pictures, although it would be neat to someday ride the Alaskan rails somewhere, we would just rather go at our own pace and see what we desire when we desire to.

 

As to eating, if you go into Carcross, across from the visitor center (a neat place to stop in and of itself!) there is an ice cream shop next the general store. If you like good ice cream, go in and get a scoop or two. The servings are huge, the guy makes his own waffles for waffle cones right there in the ice cream shop, and after eating our ice creams, we were full for hours! No need for lunch!

[sijid]

There will be four of us, so we're leaning toward renting a car, but one of our party is VERY frightened of mountain driving (pretty ironic, since we live in Colorado!), and it doesn't matter that she won't be doing the actual driving herself.

[luvavacation]

Well, I have a fear of everything, and I was not afraid of the mountain driving at all! In fact, we have driven through Colorado (DH's sister lives in Southwest Colorado, so we have driven out there to see her a few times). One thing Alaskan/BC/Yukon highways have that I did not see much of in Colorado - guardrails! Plus, no one speeds! So if the speed limit is 60, everyone goes 60 or less! Going slower helps with the mountain driving, tell her not to worry, from one worrier to another.

[sijid]

I forwarded your response--hope it soothes!

[MercedMike]

There will be four of us, so we're leaning toward renting a car, but one of our party is VERY frightened of mountain driving (pretty ironic, since we live in Colorado!), and it doesn't matter that she won't be doing the actual driving herself.

 

Well, the first part of the drive is definitely mountain driving. There are a few miles which are sheer wall on left, guardrail on right. Usually though the road is wider. After you get down from the pass, the next 2/3 of the trip is beautiful winding road along side many lakes, with lots of wide spots to pull out.

 

Also -- on the way up the pass there is one bridge which is a doozy. It is narrow and goes over quite a gap.

 

If she is really that frightened ... I don't know. Would hate to have her freak out after the first 10 miles.

 

Good luck.

[leahsdad]

If Spirit Lake Lodge is closed for the day--the gas statin/c-store/laundrymat/resturant/r.v. park has suprisingly great cook to order burgers---sparce atmosphere but xcellent food

 

my first pick would be Spirit Lake lodge----Cariboo Crossing has tons of tour busses from the cruise ships---didn't look appealing--jmho

 

Paul

[sailrnav]

I would skip lunch at Spirit Lodge and eat at the Native American Community Center behind the Vistor's Center. The food was excellent when we visited in June and very reasonable. We had a huge bowl of soup, half sandwich

and drink for less than $8 a person. All of the desserts were home baked, but we were too full from lunch to have any!

[tee_harbor]

As an aside, is the road to Dyea really that bad that Avis forbids their rentals to go there? Do people tend to go anyway?

 

I have no idea why they have that policy. I've driven my junker Subaru down it a couple of times with no problems. Yes, it's gravel, but it's well-maintained. This is AK for goodness sakes; half the roads here are gravel.

 

My only guess is that it's narrow with blind corners at some points. I stayed at a B&B out on the Dyea road, and when we arrived, an RV had just gone over the edge and was hanging onto a tree. So if someone miscalculates, Avis is out a car.

[qiangf2]

There will be four of us, so we're leaning toward renting a car, but one of our party is VERY frightened of mountain driving (pretty ironic, since we live in Colorado!), and it doesn't matter that she won't be doing the actual driving herself.

 

It is very easy drive. Road is well maintained and marked, just most of the state highways in lower 48. Just follow the speed limit and you (and she) will be fine.

[marysb]

Interesting that everyone has raved about the drive, but have had no real positives about the train ride.

Looking forward to the drive. Thanks everyone for the interesting posts.

Mary