Zaandam in Skagway
Temperatures in Skagway, Alaska range from wintertime lows in the 20’s Fahrenheit to summertime highs in the 60’s Fahrenheit. It averages about a week’s worth of rain per month with the least rainy months from February to June and the rainiest in September and October. July is generally the warmest month and January the coldest. Annual rainfall averages about 27 inches and snowfall about 54, which must be mostly fluff since the average annual precipitation is only about 31 inches. Currency is of course the American dollar since Alaska is part of the USA.
Grand Princess at the Railroad Dock
Skagway cruise port can hold 4 ships at the same time at its cruise ship docks, the Broadway Dock, Railroad Dock, and Ore Dock. The railroad dock can hold two ships at the same time. There is a ferry dock between the Broadway and Railroad docks, which has ferries going to Haines. Smaller cruise ships sometimes dock at the ferry dock.
train by the dock in front of the Zaandam
In Skagway, the White Pass Railroad is the most popular excursion and some docks have tracks running to that individual dock where a train will park to take just people from that particular ship on excursions up the mountain. Most people opt for the one that goes up to the top of the mountain and back, but there are options that go on into Canada taking the train one direction and a bus the other.
landslide by the railroad dock
There was a visible scar on the hillside next to the railroad dock, where Grand Princess happened to be. Last year that dock was closed due to a landslide blocking it. It’s open now, but you can definitely see where the landslide occurred. The hillside is very steep next to the Railroad Dock.
Zaandam gangway in Skagway
From the docks in Skagway it’s a pretty short walk to town. There’s also a train station there where people who book the train through sources other than cruise ships board the train. Trains from cruise ship excursions will give people the choice of disembarking in town or back at their ship.
train ready to load passengers at the Broadway Dock in Skagway
At some docks the train has tracks going down the pier, but the Broadway dock where Holland America Zaandam docked had a very short distance down the dock from the ship to shore so the train stopped on shore in front of the ship rather than on the pier next to it. That pier did not have tracks.
booth for booking last minute tours
When first stepping off the dock onto shore, there was a parking area with tracks for the train to park on as well as pavement for busses and other land transportation.
the sign offered quite a variety of tours
A little booth had a sign offering quite a variety of last-minute excursions people could book there.
rainy day shelters for waiting for excursions
Next to that sat two shelters so people waiting for excursions have shelter on rainy days or shade on hot ones.
stream walk sign
There was also a sign there about a stream walk that people can take as they walk into town.
Skagway salmon creek by the cruise dock
You might see salmon in the stream if it’s the right time of year.
steam engines like this one once pulled the trains
In town there’s an old steam engine on display. That one and others like it were the first train engines on the railway. It’s mostly diesel engines now, though there is at least one steam engine still running. Next to the old steam engine there’s a giant rotary snowplow that once kept the tracks clear in winter. I think they just shut the train down in the winter since it’s mostly a tourist thing rather than a working railway now and no cruise ships go there in the winter. All the summer help leaves and the tourist shops all shut down in the winter, which is true for all the main Alaska cruise ports since there are no winter cruises to Alaska.
tugboat at the next dock
Stories you’ll hear on pretty much any Skagway excursion include the tale of Soapy Smith, an all-round bad guy and leader of a gang that would rather rob other people of their gold than go mine their own. The tale goes that he got the name by selling cheap soap for a high price, enticing people to buy it by wrapping a bar in a $50 bill – which would have been a lot of money back then. They thought they had a chance to win it, but only members of his gang ever actually got the money. While trying to crash a meeting about how to get rid of him, he ended up in a shootout with Frank Reid. Soapy died instantly from a bullet straight to the heart, whereas Frank took a couple weeks to die slowly, the town hero for getting rid of Soapy for them.
Skagway street car
Things to Do in Skagway
The red onion salon besides being a historic place in its own right has a prostitute museum upstairs. There are a lot of historic buildings in Skagway. Many of them are shops now. There are also plenty of restaurants and a bakery where you can buy some real Alaska sourdough bread. There’s also a National Parks Visitor’s Center in town. The Gold Rush Cemetary and Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp are within walking distance of the ship.
Excursions in Skagway include taking a helicopter out to a glacier for dogsledding, a streetcar tour around town, various train excursions, bus tours to the Yukon, river floats, kayaking, wildlife tours, scenic tours, dog musher camps, gold panning, waterfall tours, bike tours, ziplining, various tours to White Pass, and wilderness hikes. You can pre-book excursions through the cruise ship or through various outside sources or book one of the many last-minute tours from the booth at the port.
footbridge in Carcross, Yukon
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