Skagway to Emerald Lake

[hogwildcruzers]

We have done both ...the train and drive....the drive by far was the best way to go..got to stop when we wanted and loved the time we spent at the smallest desert in the world...beautiful drive and comes out cheaper than the train...check out the road and the scenery by looking at our photos....click on the webshots link below and look at the Skagway album.

[diz148]

Someone have a url for Murray's guide to the highway? THanks.

 

 

 

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

[NancyIL]

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

 

I'm just now seeing this thread, but we loved our rail/bus excursion to the Yukon! We were supposed to take the train all the way to Carcross, but a section of the track washed out before we got there. We ended up with the shorter train ride to Fraser, BC, then bus to Carcross and back. I stood on the platform between rail cars and heard very little of the narration, and didn't feel I missed anything. The scenery was spectacular via train, and our tour bus stopped several times to take photos.

 

There was a section of the highway that was pretty torn up - just past the Fraser train station. I was glad we weren't driving a rental car through there.

[RalphC]

Here is the URL for Murray's Guide

 

http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html

 

I plan on doing this drive the 26th on the northbound leg of our B2B cruise on the Ryndam.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ralph

[nekolover]

Has anyone rented from them in Skagway and was it successful. Were the cars in good repair?

[DEBCAT65]

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!

MercedMike,

 

I have followed your posts and you seem to be a very kowledgable traveler. We did the motorcoach up and the train back thru RCL the beginning of July. We stopped at Caribu Crossing for lunch and to check out the museum and the puppies.

 

I was very alarmed to see a long chain, about 15 ft long with several dogs chained with chains about 1 1/2 - 2 ft long coming off the main chain. One dog, who appeared to be more on the mischevious side, could not even reach his water. He tipped the bowl with his paw, but he could not reach it with his mouth. I do not know much about the training of these wonderful dogs, however, it did not seem to be very humane to me.

 

Is this normal, or could we have hit at a bad time?

 

Debbi

[qiangf2]

Has anyone rented from them in Skagway and was it successful. Were the cars in good repair?

 

Their cars are poorly maintained, although we didn't have any problem getting back to Skagway. I was annoyed that they never called me back before I was able to make a reservation. Then, there was another incident after we returned the car, which i had to call my cc company to resolve.

[Roxilla]

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?

 

We just returned from there and the Avis representative told me that there can be some rock damage to the car if you go off the paved area going to Dyea and they didn't "recommend" it. She did not go as far as to state that it was not allowed but I wouldn't want to take the risk of damaging the car. We drove as far as the overlook and took pictures then continued on our way to Whitehorse.

[MercedMike]

MercedMike,

 

I have followed your posts and you seem to be a very kowledgable traveler. We did the motorcoach up and the train back thru RCL the beginning of July. We stopped at Caribu Crossing for lunch and to check out the museum and the puppies.

 

I was very alarmed to see a long chain, about 15 ft long with several dogs chained with chains about 1 1/2 - 2 ft long coming off the main chain. One dog, who appeared to be more on the mischevious side, could not even reach his water. He tipped the bowl with his paw, but he could not reach it with his mouth. I do not know much about the training of these wonderful dogs, however, it did not seem to be very humane to me.

 

Is this normal, or could we have hit at a bad time?

 

Debbi

 

Debbi --

 

These are working dogs, not pets. Anytime you have a large number of dogs to maintain, they are sometimes temporarily put in accomodations that a pampered pet might not get. But these dogs are so important to the mushers, and so valuable, that I am sure none of them are mistreated!

 

The dogs I saw were mostly in their own individual kennels. Putting a bunch of dogs on a long chain for a short period does not seem inhumane to me. The dogs are rotated in and out of sled pulling duties. I know when we finished our cart ride, the dogs headed right for the cooling hoses, and then were returned to their spots as other dogs were brought out and hitched to the cart. It is possible that the ones you saw were the ones scheduled for the next duty. That is the way they are hitched to the cart, attached by short harnesses to the main long harness.

[Yukon]

Someone have a url for Murray's guide to the highway? THanks.

 

The guide is now at a very simple URL - http://***** :D

 

Murray

[MercedMike]

The guide is now at a very simple URL - http://***** :D

 

Murray

 

You are a gentleman of the old school and a benefactor of mankind, Murray!

 

Thanks!

[cp556]

A quick OT note to wish you good luck with your knee surgery Monday. Hope you're back online quickly ... you'll be missed.....

[ElginEve]

I know this is a very old thread, but I wanted to thank everyone who posted for all the great information! (and maybe the 'bump' will help others like me who were looking for alternate plans/excursions for Skagway)

 

We are headed to Skagway this August & I honestly was not too excited about the stop ~ now we have plans to rent a car and I'm finding myself more excited about this stop than the others :p

 

Thanks again,

Eve

[Ashley8053]

I have to agree with ElginEve and say Thank you to everyone for posting this thread, even if it was from a while back. I have been searching the internet for things to do in Skagway to no avail. I really wanted to see Emerald Lake but the only tours that offer it was a full day, which we didn't want to do. We also didn't want to take a train since after the cruise we would be doing a full day's train trek into Denali. Renting a car sounds like the perfect option, and I am now looking forward to arriving in Skagway (8/24/2011) and being able to explore on our own. Thanks again! :)

 

I know this is a very old thread, but I wanted to thank everyone who posted for all the great information! (and maybe the 'bump' will help others like me who were looking for alternate plans/excursions for Skagway)

 

We are headed to Skagway this August & I honestly was not too excited about the stop ~ now we have plans to rent a car and I'm finding myself more excited about this stop than the others :p

 

Thanks again,

Eve

[mr green]

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??

 

It looks as if you are Canadian, so you may not be able to rent a car, since you would be leaving the United States.

You might do worse than go with Dyea Dave, at $70.00 each.

[Yukon]

It looks as if you are Canadian, so you may not be able to rent a car, since you would be leaving the United States.

 

The post that you replied to was made on July 4th, 2007!

 

"Bumping" these very old threads is very counter-productive to getting people current and accurate information.

 

Murray

[travelfr33k]

We are going on the first Disney cruise on May 3. I just checked and the car rental companies are not open yet. Any ideas how we can experience this drive?

[Great Sky Girl]

I would say to keep trying. We have reserved our car for Skagway already. Remember the time period and try to call midday. I understand they often reserve all their cars, so I would continue to call.

[Yukon]

We are going on the first Disney cruise on May 3. I just checked and the car rental companies are not open yet. Any ideas how we can experience this drive?

 

Sourdough is open year-round and you can book Avis online.

[travelfr33k]

What I meant was that when I typed it in for Skagway, for example, it came up saying "this rental facility is seasonal and isn't open to rent vehicles at this time".

 

Ugh!! Do you think it is worth a call to AVIS to see if they will open a week early for us?

 

Disney is the first cruise - and a week before any others are set to sail.

[ladyjane]

You can call the Avis in Anchorage and they will reserve a car for you. That's what we did - I've received my confirmation as well.

[Yukon]

What I meant was that when I typed it in for Skagway, for example, it came up saying "this rental facility is seasonal and isn't open to rent vehicles at this time".

 

Ugh!! Do you think it is worth a call to AVIS to see if they will open a week early for us?

 

Disney is the first cruise - and a week before any others are set to sail.

 

Call Sourdough - they'll rent you a car, even coming in Late Winter as you are ! ( http://www.sourdoughrentals.com/ ) Be aware, though, that you may well be driving on snow for a few miles over the summit.

[Yukon]

You can call the Avis in Anchorage and they will reserve a car for you. That's what we did - I've received my confirmation as well.

 

Not for May 3rd they won't.

[travelfr33k]

What is Sourdough? A car rental company? We are wanting to rent to go to Emerald Lake. How far of a drive it is (time and distance)? How long does it take to get all out of Emerald Lake that there is? We don't sail until 7pm, so when would you be sure to leave to get back to the boat?

 

Sorry for all the questions. I'm an ultra planner!

[travelfr33k]

Never mind the questions about Sourdough & prices. If I had opened your link, it would have answered it.

 

It says "first come, first serve" - does that mean they don't take reservations?

 

Still curious about the time & distance involved. Would we need to plan to bring a lunch?