SCENIC TRAIN RIDE! 4.8…read more The construction of this 110-mile narrow-gauge railroad began in May 1898 to help gold prospectors traverse the treacherous mountain terrain. Construction began in Skagway and, remarkably, the route to Whitehorse, Yukon, was completed in July 1900. Once our cruise ship docked, we headed directly to the White Pass station, selected a boarding time, and purchased our train tickets. Tickets can also be purchased online if you want to guarantee your preferred departure time. As we boarded, we chose seats on the left side of the train, which offered the more scenic views. However, don't worry if you sit on the opposite side; on the return journey, you'll have an entirely different perspective, so you won't miss out on the breathtaking scenery. The landscape is spectacular from beginning to end. From the gradual ascent at the start, winding alongside riverbeds and dramatic gorges, past cascading waterfalls and across historic wooden bridges, the scenery becomes increasingly impressive as the train makes its steep 3,000-foot climb toward the summit. The round-trip journey takes just under three hours. It may sound like a long ride, but the time passes quickly. Along the way, our train attendant provided a fascinating and vivid narration of what life was like during the Klondike Gold Rush, while pointing out significant landmarks, historical details, and intriguing sights along the route. There are restrooms aboard, and you're welcome to stand up and stretch your legs whenever you like. We especially enjoyed stepping out of our train car onto the open-air platform between the cars. Feeling the crisp mountain air rush around us was incredibly invigorating and made the experience even more memorable. Although we were fortunate to experience the journey on a nice and sunny day, it wasn't until I became a passenger on the White Pass & Yukon Route that I could truly appreciate the formidable challenges faced by the gold miners. Looking out at the rugged mountains, sheer cliffs, and unforgiving terrain, it was easy to imagine how daunting this landscape must have been, especially during the brutal winter months. If you love breathtaking mountain scenery combined with a fascinating glimpse into Klondike Gold Rush history, this is a wonderful excursion to experience. It's not just a train ride; it's a beautiful journey through history and some truly spectacular wilderness.

Recently on an Alaskan cruise we took the 2 3/4 hour scenic train ride out of Skagway and back…read more White Pass Summit excursion. Built during the Klondike Gold Rush to support the miners attempting to strike gold. I purchased the tickets directly from the website rather than Celebrity shore excursions. It was under 10 minutes from the pier to the ticket office where we redeemed our order confirmation for train tickets. We boarded the 8am train. We sat on the left side of the train but were told both sides offered nice views. Upon our return the area was swarming with more passengers.

We booked a tour at the cruise dock and had a great day exploring the summit. Our driver made…read moreseveral stops for photos and offered to take photos of us so we could all be in the picture. The price was very reasonable. We spent less than the cruise excursion and had an hour longer tour. Our kids really enjoyed the stop at the graveyard and waterfall.

Absolutely amazing! Andrew, (red head) our driver, was very informative and funny at the same time…read more We did the white pass summit and Beyond tour. We Had done the train on a previous visit, but found this to be more fun with a smaller group (28) , and making several stops along the way to enjoy the beauty and to take photos.

We chose Chilkoot Charters for our White Pass and Yukon Rail excursion…read more The tour guides and bus driver were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They definitely kept us entertained during the various segments of our excursion. The train ride is a must when you are in Skagway. The views are incredible, indescribable, breathtaking! We learned much about the history of the areas we drove through on both the bus and train. We took so many photos and videos! The best part of our trip was that we were allowed to stand on the platform during nearly the entire train ride. We were in the caboose so nothing was behind us besides the incredible scenery. Highly recommend Chilkoot Charters.

We recently hired Chilkoot Charters for our White Pass Train…read more& Yukon tour to Fraser, while returning by bus and we would highly recommend this company & tour. Initially, my family was upset that I booked the bus ride instead of returning by train, however afterwards they were extremely pleased with this tour. We met one of their employees on the dock after disembarkation and driver arrived shortly afterwards. Both were friendly and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. We would definitely recommend them.

This is just one of the tours you can do…read more We had a great time. The driver was very informative about the area. We learned a lot that we didn't know. This is a good tour company.

Seals, Bears, Eagles and a Whale ! Captain Robert and Indra…read morewere great guides and we really enjoyed the waterfalls and the wildlife.

Visited Alaska Sled Dogs and Musher's Camp in May of 2025 during the 'shoulder season'. We decided…read moreto do this day excursion on our own and booked it through Alaska Shore Excursions for $598.47 for the 3 of us, saving $300 if we would have booked it through our cruise line (Norwegian). It was really nice because our group was really small, unlike going with the cruise ship excursion with a massive group. We got off at Skagway and the directions in the email said 'walk to the end of the pier' to meet an associate for Alaska Shore Excursions, not sure how we met up, I think we saw a van and headed for it. We were driven to another van, where Sarah took over as our guide and drove us to the middle of Skagway town so we could wait for another family, which showed up late. From there it was a 35 min drive to Musher's camp and we got some really great history from Sarah, who gave us the low-down on Skagway with fascinating facts such as: most of the wood used in Skagway came from a now-defunct town called Dyea that thrived over a 100 years ago, it was the size of SFO, but petered out for some reason. There are no MDs in Skagway, only 2 nurse practitioners. The high school graduating class only had 2 girls and 1 boy. Grocery shopping is limited to only 1x a week, on Wednesdays. The camp parking lot has a shop, but we didn't have much time to shop there. We had to get on a "unimog"; a monster truck Mercedes van outfitted with large wheels and low gears to take us up to a higher elevation (cooler temps for the dogs and less noise from yapping dogs for the Skagway residents). Once we got there we broke up into groups of 6 and we were led to our musher, Alex. We got onto a thing that looked like a super-large golf cart but it was pulled by Alaskan Husky dogs (fascinating history about them also). Alex's dogs had funny names like 'sushi' 'nori' 'wonton' 'fried rice' 'Charmander' 'Diglet' and 'Squirtle'. The dogs ages were 1.5 yrs old to 10 yrs old. The dogs did a great job pulling the 'sled', which was over 2,000 pounds. The ride lasted 10 mins and after we got to take photos with the dogs. We attended a talk at the end of the ride, led by a musher (too bad I forgot his name) about the Iditarod and how these dogs are training during the off-season and staying in shape pulling the land sleds. We saw a dog running in a giant "hamster wheel" and it was hard to concentrate on the lecture because the dog was stealing the show; the dog's name was Goodway. We got to pet Goodway soon after then go to the puppy pen and hold these baby dogs. It was a way to 'socialize' these puppies as well. I really enjoyed that. After our Musher's camp activities came to an end, we got back on the Unimog and back down to the lower parking lot area w/ the gift shop (again, not a lot of time to shop), and Sarah drove us back to the town of Skagway. I gave her a really nice tip because she contributed a lot to the total experience with her stories about Skagway and her expertly refined storytelling about a woman named Martha Black and Harriet Pullen, both influential women in Skagway/Alaska history. Would totally recommend you booking this tour directly with the dog camp or through Alaska Shore Excursions to save some money and also have a smaller, more intimate group.

This experience was amazing! All the staff at the camp, and the one getting us to the camp, were…read morevery helpful, knowledgeable and kind. It was a unique and great experience to meet people who actually have their own sled dogs and do races with them. I learned allot and had every question answered with happily :) A must do! The dogs, obviously, are amazing! You can see their want to work and run and how happy it makes them. It really shows how well taken care of and trained they are, the staff also loved all the dogs equally as well as they care for them. They helped get good pictures and we got to meet and pet all the dogs too! Best day ever really.

Daniel was amazing and knowledgeable about the area. I loved his personality this tour is well…read moreworth it

Second time in Skagway during a cruise. I highly suggest taking the train going up to the mountains…read moreinstead of this stuffed bus. It's more memorable and scenic and most importantly you can switch carts to get away from obnoxious people which you can't get on this school bus option. Figured to try this tour and was quite disappointed with the people on the bus. Big group who yelled and let kids act wild ruined for it and we couldn't wait to get off. Couldn't even hear the tour guide or enjoy a minute as they yelled back and forth constantly. I asked the driver on this old school bus if we could move away and he said at your risk that then upset the another person. Great. We couldn't wait for the tour to end and get off that stuffed school bus, it was a huge waste of time and wish we just took the train up like the first time which was amazing. Don't recommend

Jay was our guide, and he was beyond good. He had given us a tour for 5 of us, and it was…read moreAMAZING!!! We booked with Kate by email, and she helped us adjust the tour so we didn't go to the suspension bridge since I am afraid of heights. He took us up to Canada, the same route the train takes. He stopped a few times for us to take pictures and wander around at the waterfalls and lake. On the way home, Jay found a bear along side the road eating the dandelions and turned around - the bear crossed the road, but it was so much fun to see him up close and just loved it!! He also took us up to see the sled dog mushing camp, which was wonderful. We pet the puppies and saw them pulling a sled. It is run by a sledder, and we learned a lot about it from a professional. We also saw mountain goats and eagles. AND it did take more than 4 hours, which should have cost more, but we were having so much fun and I think he enjoyed our group too, and he didn't ask for more money, but should have if we had known ahead. We were having so much fun that I didn't realize it had been 5 hours instead of 4 until it was nearly over - so we tipped him more to try to make up for it, - but it was amazing and fun, and we loved every minute!! I can't praise this company enough. They were wonderful and flexible, and so much fun!!

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!! Anna our tour guide was such a…read moredelight to work with. She knew everything to do and guided us every step of the way. She stopped for bears took us to a beach plus I got to play with puppy's!! It was only me and my husband and we paid the price of having 5 people with us. But it was worth every penny!! We didn't have to wait for an entire bus to take a picture. We took as long as we wanted at each stop!! It was truly our best day in Alaska!!

I took the 6 hour tour which included a 2.5 hr train ride, panning for gold and sled dogs. What an…read moreamazing time w my mother who uses a rolling walker. As long as you can do a few steps you can do this tour. We had wild Jessie and he dresses the part. He's very knowledgeable about the history of Skagway. Since he lives in the town all year-round he gives great suggestions on places to eat and go. The sled dog demonstration was fun to watch. We got to meet the dogs and hold puppies. Plenty of dogs to go around. We then learned how to pan for gold. You get to keep it! They measure your gold and tell you what it's worth. Very fun. The water is warm so you don't freeze when panning for gold.

Our tour included the scenic White Pass Railway, Dredge Town gold panning experience, and slep dog…read moreexperience. Klondike Mike was our tour guide and really made the railway experience over the top. Incredibly informative, personable, and fun tour guide. Enjoyed how he interacted with the group individuals, especially when he spoke engaging our 8 year old daughter when talking how these experiences will last a life time, the importance of memories, etc. Dredge Town gold panning was corny, but fun fun. The only downside was how the actors let you know multiple times before you ever start panning to expect miniscule amounts which really breaks the illusion of the gold rush and panning. The sled talk was great and the dogs were fun to watch. They dogs only ran one lap around the track, it would have been nice to see them go a bit more since there is not a lot of space to view them run the view is likely to be obstructed for many in the group. Lots of cuddle time with the puppies and a lot of interaction with the adult dogs.

We booked this tour through shore excursion group and had a fantastic time! This tour really takes…read moreyou around to all the gorgeous spots in Skagway. We even got to visit the cemetery to see soapy! Many picture opportunities and our tour guide Jodie was extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We would recommend this tour to anyone coming into town, 100% worth it. BRING YOUR PASSPORT, it's required!

Raymond our tour guide was super friendly. We were debating on going on the Skagway Train ride, but…read morethis was so much less! Unless you want that train experience, this was so much more cost effective. Great views of the mountains and you get glimpse of the Gold Rush historic places. TIP: bring your passport, and ensure you use the restroom prior to your tour. There's only remote outhouses on the stops.

An amazing experience. Mish was an awesome musher and she made everyone feel incredibly…read morecomfortable. Even though the experience had to end slightly early due to weather, she made sure everyone had the opportunity to have the full experience. Could not recommend more! 10/10!

This experience was incredible and truly once in a lifetime for the two of us and our 4-year-old!…read moreYou could tell all the dogs were well cared for and excited about any additional loving they got. The staff on hand were all exceptionally kind and informative. Of course, meeting the puppies was great too! They also did everything they could with the time alloted to put the trip way above the bar! SIDE NOTE: They take an optional photo during the ride that you can buy for $30. The white balance on ours was a little off, but I was still more than willing to pay the $30 to this wonderful organization.