rental car in Skagway to Emerald Lake

[South Side Mo]

Has anyone rented a car in Skagway for a trip to Emerald Lake? If so, how long does this take and where do you get a map? I'm a little nervous about getting lost or taking too long, plus I was kind of interested in also taking the train, in addition to the car trip. The ship tour would cost us about $200 more, and I have a feeling my husband would much rather drive himself than be on a bus. And I'm sure he wouldn't be worried about any of the things that concern me.....

[B J]

We haven't rented a car yet, but we are making the trip in Sept. and have contacted Sourdough Rentals and Avis and are going to use Sourdough for our car. They are about the same price but sounds like Sourdough has a better car selection and we like to use local businesses when possible.

 

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

 

Vision of the Sea/ Alaska Northbound 9/3/04

[markanderinsmom]

we rented for June from Avis and it was around $59 for the day. Yukon has some great postings on this and he has a web site with detailed mile marker maps!

[Yukon]

There's a huge thread about this at http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=927093444&f=268097554&m=574109211&p=1 (as well as other recent threads) but the direct answer(s) to your question: figure on at least 5 hours for the drive, there's only 1 road, and I have maps and loads of other information about the drive at http://www.explorenorth.com/library/roads/sklondike-photos1.html

 

Murray

[alaskamaiden]

Just to let everyone know Avis in skagway is a seasonal office and they run things a little different. They have no computers and do everything manually but are pretty good. They do have trouble with internet bookings but 800 and local bookings are ok.I would check to comfirm your reservation just to be on the safe side.The only time they take a credit card is if you reserve a van or suv which are not listed with central or on the web site.You need to call locally for availibilty on them.Names are used as confirmation because they have no computers.The people that work there are friendly and helpful with directions and things to do.Hope this explains some things and eases some worries.Have a great trip.P.S. They do have a large variety of vehicles to chose from.

[Budget Queen]

NO WAY to get lost, only one road. It is 150 miles round trip to Emerald Lake, plenty of time with an all day port. Consider heading to the Park Service visitor center before you go, all the free stuff there will enhance your trip. BE CERTAIN to print out Yukon's travel log. http://www.nps.gov/klgo/schedule.htm

[tadjr]

Just did the drive about 2 weeks ago. We were at the Avis office at 810am, in the car by 820am heading out of town. We stopped at many of the stops on Murrays list. Several waterfalls, the bridge, at the Alaska sign, at the summit we stopped for about 10 minutes to play in the snow. Continuing on we stopped at several of the lake shots, the silver mine, the Yukon sign and finally in Carcross for about 30 minutes. Ate lunch at the Cinnamon Cache for about 30 mins and talked to Gail and then out to Emerald Lake. On the way back we stopped at the cemetary and falls in Skagway and stopped to fill up. Made it back to the docks by 330pm (drove the car back there, let everyone out to unpack and get changed and parked it in the marina lot), then went to change myself into shorts. Got back into the car and drove back into town to turn the car in by 4pm.

Had a great day and some beautiful pictures to remember the trip by. Be sure the driver reads the printout and knows somewhat what they are looking for on the drive. My reader was too busy looking at things and was often behind on the commentary, but since I had read and marked what I wanted to see, I knew what to be looking for.

[columbus]

If you are in the area of Emerald Lake and want the best view, get a hold of the Yukon Horseback tour which rides up behind Emeald Lake. The vistas are breath taking and well worth the extra time.

 

Good luck.

[whenzuc]

i am set for horsebacking riding at 10:30 skagway time. are we leaving ourselves enough time to get there? I figure that we have two hours. should I add some more time and move horseback riding out, or is it just as easy to stop off on the way back to see things? we have a one hour horse back ride set up.

[Yukon]

whenzuc - 2 hours is ample to get there and do some sightseeing. As you say, you can stop on the way back to see the spots you missed or want more of.

 

Murray