Any and all info about Caribou Crossing please!

[NightRN]

So, we've decided to checkout Caribou Crossing on our cruise. We were looking at the dog cart ride & the wildlife museum. Has anyone been there? Any tips you can give me? Getting there? Any other great activities to do there? Anything to avoid?

[jdblakeslee]

I hope I'm giving you advice about the place that you are asking for...

 

When we rode the White Pass Railroad up into the Yukon, we were met at the rail station by our tour guide and they took us to Caribou Crossing for lunch. We had BBQ, cole slaw, potato salad, coffee, tea, water, and they had platters of the best cake donuts everywhere for the taking.

 

Although lunch was fine, there really wasn't much else to do there. We saw the huskies, and one group did a little "sled" ride, but I didn't really think it was a "destination". The museum is a steel building off the gift shop with all sorts of animals, it was interesting, but we came to Alaska to see the real thing! Our ride back to Scagway was very beautiful and we saw lots of wildlife. We also drove through the town of Carcross and it was like going back in time. The town had suffered greatly from flooding and many of the little buildings were in need of repair.

 

Forgive me if I'm handing out the wrong information, but there are so many other things to do at the Scagway port, I wanted you to know what to expect.

 

Jennifer

[GORDONCHICK]

It depends on your fascination with wildlife. DH is a hunter, and he loved the museum. I was okay with it, but DS who was 5 at the time thought Daddy took too much time at each exhibit. We spent a lot of time outside with the puppies - DS loved them and wanted to bring one home for a buddy for our dog. I also took cute photos of DS in the igloo. We didn't do the sled ride. We thought it was a fine stop on our excursion, but I wouldn't drive up there just for that. Stop at Emerald Lake for photos, go to the Carcross Desert, stop in the little town of Carcross, get your passport stamped at the post office and walk around town. The scenery up and back is incredible.

[FlightMedic555]

We did this last month with Chilkoot tours. We took the train to Frasier and they met us there with a mini bus. Very comfortable and only about 14 of us on the bus. We went into the Yukon stopping at about 6 places for pictures and went as far as Emerald Lake. This is about 10 minutes, at most, past Caribou Crossing.

 

We then went back to Caribou Crossing and had the included barbecue lunch, not bad. The museum would appeal to those that like to see many, many stuffed large (and obviously dead) animals. I wanted to stop here to play/hold the puppies. They had about 5 puppies that were really, really cute that we could hold and pet for a few minutes as well as some adult sled dogs that also wanted out attention. I did not do the dog sled ride (on wheels) but it was available.

 

For me it was a great stop as the ride into the Yukon allowed us to see a lot of the countryside. The tour drives back to Skagway, we did not take the train back. When we got back to Skagway they allowed us to either be dropped off in town or at the dock. We went into town but the town has tons of shops and we were there for the scenery and wildlife, not to purchase shirts that were made in Taiwan.

 

I would recommend Chilkoot Tours highly.

[sdfamily]

Definitely go in combination with the train ride. It's not really a destination. More of something to do once you take the train.

 

We took the train and then went to see Emerald Lake the desert and then stopped in Carcross for lunch (I picked up lunch in Skagway) and ice cream.

 

We blew right by the Caribou Crossing. It seemed very touristy. Carcross was charming and not overrun with tour busses.

[Budget Queen]

Think of Caribou Crossing as "part" of your day adventures. IF you can drive yourself, you can schedule this as you like. It's right on the Klondike Highway, before Emerald Lake. In the past, you had to do the museum fee, to get to the dogs. Verify current policy. With your interests, it would be a worthwhile stop. http://www.cariboucrossing.ca/

 

The above's poster reference to "lots of wildlife" is definately not typical, they were extremely lucky.

[NightRN]

Thanks for all the info everyone!!!!

[furlong]

I enjoyed the time at Cariboo crossing, but we were there before the tour buses and had the place to ourselves. Took the dog cart ride and it was very interesting, and cheap compared to other excusions, only $30/pp. I consider the museum a waste. I was not impressed with the stuff animals. The puppies were cute and would be of interest to many people.

 

Cheapest way for the excusion is to rent a car and drive there and on to emerald lake. However, if you are a Canadian resident, you are not allowed to do that as customs will not allow you to enter Canada with an American rental car. Alternative is to hire someone to take you there, price vary from $50-$100pp if you go by bus, if you want the rail experience, that adds about another $130 to the cost.

 

I agree that it should be part of the excusion, not the sole excusion. The rail is highly rated if the weather is nice, on the day I went, the summit was covered in fog so we skipped the rail part of the trip.

 

Hope that helps.

[NightRN]

What is there to do at Emerald Lake? I tried looking it up online, but couldn't find much.

 

Thanks for the $ of the dog cart ride. That's very helpful information.

[Yukon]

What is there to do at Emerald Lake? I tried looking it up online, but couldn't find much.

 

There's nothing to do (there are no tourist services) - it's merely a viewpoint.

[robinsegg]

I agree about Caribou Crossing - it's not something you should plan as the main part of an excursion. It is, in MHO, a real "tourist trap". The best part - truly - is getting there. A beautiful drive and lots of history on the way.

 

As for Emerald Lake - it is exactly what you see - a beautiful spot in the middle, almost, of nowhere!

 

Our favourite place to spend time on that trip was at the Carcross Desert - we stopped on our way back and spent over an hour - could easily have spent 2 hours or more there. If you aren't into plants, or walking - you will be happy with just 20 minutes or so there.