Lake Emerald near Skagway

[cocos]

I've just read some info about Lake Emerald near Skagway. I've some photos and they look good. I'm planing to rent a car (Avis?) and go there, make some scenic stops, stroll around, take some photos, enjoy the scenery. But I still have some questions. Hope you can help me:

1. In a Google map it looks like 60 miles away from Skagway. Someone has the exact distance?

2. How's the road? Safe? Easy?

3. Why everyone's talking about Avis? Is it the only car rental agency at Skagway?

4. Do you think Lake Emerald is a good option?

5. Do you suggest some middle stops?

6. Does the road get you to the lake or you have to walk by yourself?

[mdeane]

I will try to answer a bit of your questions.

 

Avis is good and reliable. It is very easy to access from the ship. Get there early. I was first in line at 8 am.

 

The road is very safe and easy to drive. Lovely scenery. It will take you to the lake or at least where you can look down on the lake.

 

Caribou crossing is a real tourist trap on the way.

 

We hoped to see some wildlife on the way. Saw zero. Not a good day for the wild.

 

Would I do it again. No. I would enjoy Skagway in other ways.

[Lanaki]

From what I have found through this forum the best way to find out about the drive from Skagway to Emerald Lake is to get Murray's Guide. You can buy it and download it here: http://www.murraysguide dot com

 

It is only $5 and seems well worth it. Also, his page is a WONDERFUL resource for all of this area. Including the rental car companies in the area you were asking about. Murry is a great resource on this forum as well. If you post a question for "Yukon" I am sure he will try to help you out.

 

Good luck!

[JudithLynne]

It is a drive well worth taking. It is so scenic and very interesting. Take a camera. We are doing it for the second time in May. You can find a lot of useful information by doing a search on this website. A must have is the Yukon Murray guide, which will detail everything to see along the way, it is worth every penney:

 

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

 

Last time, we had to stop because of bears on the highway.

 

Avis is the place to rent a car. There is another car rental but CC’ers have not given it good reviews. You can rent using their website. Do it now, because cars go fast. You do not need to put money down to reserve a car.

 

Hope this helps….

 

Judith

[SnorkelFool]

Is the Lake Emerald drive good to do in late May? Will the lake still be frozen at this time?

[vivian02]

I will be doing Alaska Cruise number 2 this year. Back in May of 2003 we did the rental car drive to Emerald Lake. Attached is a picture of Emerald Lake and on the way back to Skagway we saw 6 different bears along the road. Beautiful drive. Tim

[Budget Queen]

It is 75 miles from Skagway. A must- Murray's Guide, be certain to take one with you. Road is a NORMAL well maintained, paved, 2 lane road. Completely safe to drive.

 

Allow 4 -5 hours for the round trip drive. In May, Emerald Lake can indeed be frozen. Later May, will have some thawing.

 

Avis is the ONLY major car rental company. I do not rent from the independent, Did business with them twice with complaints. Even though they certainly may now be on track, I won't use them.

 

Emerald Lake is a turn around point. You have no access to the lake. You pull off the road, take a look/photo and move on.

[MercedMike]

As others have said, this is a great trip!

 

Murray's guide will give you all the points of interest along the way. It will depend on how often you stop, but allow three hours or better to get to Emerald Lake.

 

My suggestion would be to drive to Emerald Lake for a photo. Then turn back and have lunch at Spirit Lake Inn. After lunch you can go on to Caribou Crossing and the tour buses will have departed. You can visit the museum and sled dog camp and even take a dog cart ride. If you like you can even rent an ATV.

 

From Caribou Crossing back to Skagway driving straight through is about an hour and a half or a little more. Don't forget your passports! The Immigration stop is very easy and usually no lines at all.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/alaskaZ.html

 

and our pic of Emerald Lake at

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

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[jmezmom]

This is EVERYTHING you need to know for the drive.

 

murraysguide dot com

[qiangf2]

I have recommended many of friends who did Alaska cruise after my trip to book a horseback riding with Joni at Emerald Lake ranch.

 

http://www.yukonhorses.com/

 

The view was gorgeous, the hostess was very friendly and trip was amazing.

[JC in CA]

And if you have a sweet tooth- make sure you stop at Cinnamon Cache for a cinnamon (or rhubarb or strawberry!) roll- yummmm! You will see the signs- "If you don't stop here we will both starve" and "Get your buns in here"

We stopped last year- had a wonderful conversation with the owner and some really good cinnamon buns as well.

Cinnamon Cache is near Spirit Lake. Seems to me she also serves sandwiches and home made soup.

-JC in CA

[BigAl_7]

We did the drive up to Emerald Lake as well several years ago. It is a beautiful drive and as everyone as already said it is a very good road, no issues. Along the way, you will likely want to stop at some of the signs like at the top of White Pass, The Welcome to the Yukon sign, maybe near Tutshi, we pulled down by the lake and skipped stones with the kids. It was so still, it was almost like glass.

 

You can actually get closer to Emerald Lake, than the overlook, but the mosquitoes were about to eat us alive, so I recommend saying up at the overlook. Besides the fact that the lake is beautiful to look at, the bottom and the area surrounding the lake is actually a very thick white chalky substance and is not really something you can walk on as you just start to sink into it. But, that is what gives the very deep emerald color of the lake.

 

We also stopped at the "Carcross Desert" which is called the "World's Smallest Desert" but it is not really a desert, it is a lot of sand left behind when a glacier receded and left the stone ground into fine sand. In Carcross itself there isn't much, but a small museum in the rail station, an interesting general store, and the Barracks, which is a small tourist trap.

 

I do recommend that you take this trip and stop anyplace that looks interesting to you. We had a lot of fun when we pulled over to the side of the road near the summit of White Pass where there was a huge snow pack and the kids used a plastic bag to make their own "slide" area. Of course, they did it away from the roadway and in a spot where they would get to the bottom of the slide with another hill between them and the road. They had a blast!

 

I'm going to Alaska again this year, but this time am doing the bus and train back so I can get our friends up to Emerald Lake, but I really wanted to get a chance to do the train.

 

Alan

[blackerbys17]

We did the drive up to Emerald Lake as well several years ago. It is a beautiful drive and as everyone as already said it is a very good road, no issues. Along the way, you will likely want to stop at some of the signs like at the top of White Pass, The Welcome to the Yukon sign, maybe near Tutshi, we pulled down by the lake and skipped stones with the kids. It was so still, it was almost like glass.

 

You can actually get closer to Emerald Lake, than the overlook, but the mosquitoes were about to eat us alive, so I recommend saying up at the overlook. Besides the fact that the lake is beautiful to look at, the bottom and the area surrounding the lake is actually a very thick white chalky substance and is not really something you can walk on as you just start to sink into it. But, that is what gives the very deep emerald color of the lake.

 

We also stopped at the "Carcross Desert" which is called the "World's Smallest Desert" but it is not really a desert, it is a lot of sand left behind when a glacier receded and left the stone ground into fine sand. In Carcross itself there isn't much, but a small museum in the rail station, an interesting general store, and the Barracks, which is a small tourist trap.

 

I do recommend that you take this trip and stop anyplace that looks interesting to you. We had a lot of fun when we pulled over to the side of the road near the summit of White Pass where there was a huge snow pack and the kids used a plastic bag to make their own "slide" area. Of course, they did it away from the roadway and in a spot where they would get to the bottom of the slide with another hill between them and the road. They had a blast!

 

I'm going to Alaska again this year, but this time am doing the bus and train back so I can get our friends up to Emerald Lake, but I really wanted to get a chance to do the train.

 

Alan

 

Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun! We'll be doing the car rental as well as the train. They both sounded so fun I couldn't decide!