Susan Casler Posted August 15, 2007 #1 Share Posted August 15, 2007 I rented a car from Avis for $100. Is there anywhere to drive to? I was thinking that we could drive the same route as the train with a stop at Laughton (sp?) Glacier. It seems as though those two places are through the woods and you are not abbe to drive to them. Any other recs? TIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catl331 Posted August 15, 2007 #2 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Only road I see is Rte 2 north. We are taking it on a bus tour from our ship. It is a parallel rte to the Chilkoot trail. At the 99 mile marker it joins the Alaska Hwy. Considered one of the most spectacular drives in Alaska it is well maintained with wide shoulders. Views are equivalent to the Railway ones but you need clear weather. I see a side road 2 miles north of Skagway on Rte 2 that goes to the ghost town of Dyea but the road turns to gravel for 8 miles. Could be an adventure! The book I am looking at suggests riding a bike to Dyea. Now that would be an adventure. I would guess that gas stations and restaurants are few but there may be something when you get up to White Pass. I am sure your car company can give you a good idea of the trip. One doesn't need a car in Skagway at all though. If you want to make a real day of it, keep going north into Canada and Emerald Lake. Don't know what documents you would need but passport always sounds good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gg3 Posted August 15, 2007 #3 Share Posted August 15, 2007 All you need is the famous "Murray's Guide"......our expert on Alaska and the Yukon, known as "Yukon". It is a mile by mile detailed description of the trip to Emerald Lake.......a fantastic drive full of incredible scenery and often, wildlife. Scroll on down to some of the posts on Skagway or Emerald Lake and you will see the web site or you can just wait a bit and someone with more cut and paste experience than me can put it up for you........better yet, Murray himself may hop on board and give you the site. :D gg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Posted August 15, 2007 #4 Share Posted August 15, 2007 My guide to the only route that Avis cas are allowed on is at http://***** Most folks use Emerald Lake as the turn-around point - figure on 5 hours to travel that 150 miles (75 each way) with lots of stops. Murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duranee Posted August 15, 2007 #5 Share Posted August 15, 2007 I don't think I'll be able to download all that "stuff" from Murray's guide (printer problems) ... I also have a car rental in Skagway (from Avis); I imagine they sell Murray's guide at the Rental agencies ...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Posted August 15, 2007 #6 Share Posted August 15, 2007 I imagine they sell Murray's guide at the Rental agencies ...? Nope, nobody sells it - or at least they better not be or the Copyright Cops will be after them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fti Posted August 15, 2007 #7 Share Posted August 15, 2007 I don't think I'll be able to download all that "stuff" from Murray's guide (printer problems) ... I also have a car rental in Skagway (from Avis); I imagine they sell Murray's guide at the Rental agencies ...? Murray lets us download it for free, out of the graciousness of his heart. He does have a possibility to make a donation through his site to help defray some of his costs (website hosting, obtaining a domain name, etc is not free). John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyz711 Posted August 15, 2007 #8 Share Posted August 15, 2007 if you have printer problems, find a friend with a working printer. from the reviews of his guide, it will be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Posted August 15, 2007 #9 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Murray lets us download it for free, out of the graciousness of his heart. He does have a possibility to make a donation through his site to help defray some of his costs (website hosting, obtaining a domain name, etc is not free). Since you brought it up, John - I talked to someone early this summer who thought that a substantial amount of money is raised that way. Last year the donation box gathered $32, this year is almost $80. Just so people know that $,$$$ is not why I do it. Murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fti Posted August 15, 2007 #10 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Since you brought it up, John - I talked to someone early this summer who thought that a substantial amount of money is raised that way. Last year the donation box gathered $32, this year is almost $80. Just so people know that $,$$$ is not why I do it. Murray $80 and your domain name costs $15-$50/year not to mention web hosting. You are still losing money. All I can say at this point is "thanks" for sharing both the guide and your wisdom & insight to all of us who love Alaska. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyz711 Posted August 15, 2007 #11 Share Posted August 15, 2007 how many hits? i figure it gets printed any where from 500 times and up (a year)? even though i didn't use it (did the train), i spend time reading it..it's great reading to just get to know the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Posted August 15, 2007 #12 Share Posted August 15, 2007 how many hits? i figure it gets printed any where from 500 times and up (a year)? even though i didn't use it (did the train), i spend time reading it..it's great reading to just get to know the area. I have no way of knowing how many people print the guide, but in July alone, that single page got 2,185 hits. In June it was 2,439 and May was 1,651. Winter is quieter, of course, but even in January it got 988 hits. Murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toyz711 Posted August 15, 2007 #13 Share Posted August 15, 2007 WOW!! some business wish they could get hits like that. congrats...just shows how well done it is. i had i it printed up for the family as a "just in case". even had it on the train...since the early part of the guide does talk of the gold history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Posted August 15, 2007 #14 Share Posted August 15, 2007 WOW!! some business wish they could get hits like that. congrats...just shows how well done it is. Thanks - I've been doing this for a very long time (opened my first site about Yukon & Alaska History in February 1997). The ExploreNorth site that the guide is part of averages just over 5,000 visits per day now (unique visits, not hits or page views - a total of 163,000 visits last month, half a million "hits"). I'm pretty pleased with the way it's received :) Murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJJ Posted August 17, 2007 #15 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I did the drive from Skagway to Emerald Lake last week. We rented a car from Avis. I used Murray's guide, which was extremely useful and helpful (Thank you Murray). I have driven through many U.S. national parks including the Tetons and Yellowstone, and the drive from Skagway to the Yukon was some of the prettiest scenery I have ever seen. A bit north of Emerald Lake at Emerald Lake Ranch my wife and I took a 2 hour trail ride around Emerald Lake with Joni (www.yukonhorses.com). A fantastic experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedMike Posted August 17, 2007 #16 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Shortly before you get to Emerald Lake is Caribou Crossing, a great tourist attraction. They have a wildlife museum that is very interesting, but to us the big fun was at the Dog Musher's Camp and the dog cart rides! You can make reservations at http://cariboucrossing.ca Check out our trip report and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html Have a GREAT cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roothy123 Posted August 17, 2007 #17 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I checked out your pictures - great! I laughed when I saw that ATV - my husband and I rented one in Santorini. Not so comfortable but certainly a lot of fun! Anyway, my name is Ruth, so please give senior Ruth a hearty hello from me! I was curious if you could just stop at the dog sled camp and look around for a short while. We won't have time to do the tour but being dog lovers (and having owned a Siberian husky) we'd like to do that if that's possible (and not tacky!) Also, just out of curiosity, about what time did you hit the Peace Arch, and did the wait going south look as bad as the northbound wait? We have to drive from Seattle to Vancouver, and I've been stressing a little about the timing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee77 Posted August 17, 2007 #18 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I have printed stuff at our local library when our printer was on the fritz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agabbymama Posted August 17, 2007 #19 Share Posted August 17, 2007 My guide to the only route that Avis cas are allowed on is at http://***** Most folks use Emerald Lake as the turn-around point - figure on 5 hours to travel that 150 miles (75 each way) with lots of stops. Murray I couldn't find where it said to donate? I didn't print the guide, as I will be on a HAL tour, but I did read your guide. Better than the Milepost in my opinion. Yours is easy to read and understand. The Milepost was just too big and daunting. I've also enjoyed many of your posts on this board. Thanks for being the friendly, helpful person you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercedMike Posted August 17, 2007 #20 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I checked out your pictures - great! I laughed when I saw that ATV - my husband and I rented one in Santorini. Not so comfortable but certainly a lot of fun! Anyway, my name is Ruth, so please give senior Ruth a hearty hello from me! I was curious if you could just stop at the dog sled camp and look around for a short while. We won't have time to do the tour but being dog lovers (and having owned a Siberian husky) we'd like to do that if that's possible (and not tacky!) Also, just out of curiosity, about what time did you hit the Peace Arch, and did the wait going south look as bad as the northbound wait? We have to drive from Seattle to Vancouver, and I've been stressing a little about the timing. Yes, you can visit the dog camp and pet the puppies. I think in theory your museum ticket entitles you to do the dog camp too, but I didn't notice them checking tix. They have a 15 minute cart ride. Surely you could fit that into your schedule! The wait both ways at the Peace Arch was about an hour. AIRC we probably got there between 9 and 10 AM. Allow plenty of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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