We booked a wonderful hike to the Laughton Glacier through Carnival Cruise Lines. These guys blew it out of the water! They exceeded my expectations and it was amazing! Prepare for a long review of a very long day! So our day started on a very windy day where we were greeted by 2 of our three guides. From there we walked to the train. It was right through town and we got a mini walking tour of the history. It was super cool because they also pointed out the fun places to try on the way back afterwards! We then arrived to the white pass railroad train. This is where we met up with our final guide. Now comes a memorable moment, the infamous train ride. We road it for about 14 miles till our trailhead. It becomes real when you get off the train and then the train just leaves you there. Once we arrive our three guides prepared sandwiches for us all for the journey. This is when a mind blowing part hit me. All three of them were carrying 60+ pound full backpacks filled with extra water, snacks, rain gear, medical equipment, and so much more. Like you legitimately could choose to do a hike and bring honestly nothing and these guys will carry it all. Throughout the hike when it got hotter they even offered to carry peoples jackets. Honestly mind blowing because it was a fun and challenging hike. Overall the hike was fun! They stopped several times to point out plants and teach us things about the area. They also made sure to stop at all the fun photo spots! The next thing was at every stopping point they encouraged everyone to go as far as they personally can go. Meaning if you can't make it to the glacier, totally fine! They had three guides and one will always stay back with you. Honestly the views are unreal! Overall I'm so happy this company partners with all the cruise lines. I experienced some of the best hospitality and also a handful of dad jokes throughout the trip. Some of the most incredible people work here who are beyond proud of the wonderful city of Skagway. It's fun learning about the city from them! I can't wait to return and do another excursion with these guys. read more

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Heli, Hike and White Pass Train Expedition - We did this excursion through Princess. Two words: Awesome Autumn! There were four of us and Autumn was our Guide. She was incredible. She has an extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna and history of the area. Our group consisted of active 55-60 year olds. We boarded a helicopter that took us on a 20 minute scenic tour and then stopped us off about 18 miles outside of town. We did a 5-6 mile hike along a glacial river. We ate ripe blueberries all along the way. I had to of eaten a pint easy. We poured out our bottled water and filled our bottles in a crystal clear snow melt stream that is tested for purity several times a year. OMG the water was so awesome! The hike was pretty easy, nothing technical. You definitely felt like you got a workout but like I said we are very active. The finally was a 45 minute train ride back to Skagway. Autumn, our guide was an absolute delight. She really made the experience. I would go so far to say (and our whole group agrees) we would do a tour we were less interested in just because Autumn was the guide. We didn't see a lot of wildlife on the trail but that's just luck of the draw. You might see eagles, mountain goats or black bears. We loved this hike. When you get back to town check out the Klondike brewery for some local beers. You earned it! read more

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The most amazing excursion on our Alaskan cruise! Definitely a bucket list experience that we will never forget. Our fantastic guides, Dylan and Ryan, picked us up outside the ship and we walked together to board the White Pass Train. We were provided with waterproof shoes to wear over our hiking boots and waterproof pants, along with a "fanny" pack full of goodies and water to wear during our hike. Arriving at our stop, we made sandwiches and snacks to take with us for lunch, then got our snowshoes on. After a brief lesson on how to walk with snowshoes and what to do in case we ran into any wildlife, we set off. The hike through the forest, alongside a creek, was incredible! At various times during our hike it started to snow and it was quite beautiful in the quiet forest. Our guides taught us many interesting facts about wildlife and plants around us. After two rather strenuous hours we stopped for lunch and Dylan cut a bench in the ice for us to sit on. We had sandwiches, veggies and hot tea with Tang - what a throwback to when we were kids with "friendship tea." Another two hours snowshoeing back and we were ready to board the train again for our ride back, exhausted, exhilarated and full of memories that will last a lifetime. We couldn't have asked for better guides. both Dylan and Ryan were funny, knowledgable, easy to talk to, and so helpful picking us up when we fell in the snow and helping us with whatever we needed. Full of funny and interesting stories about Skagway, the gold rush, Alaska, and living in such a rugged town. Can't say enough about this excursion or our two wonderful guides. We would highly recommend this excursion to anyone coming to Skagway. So unique - a once in a lifetime experience for us that we thoroughly enjoyed and will remember forever! Thank you Dylan and Ryan!!!! read more

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What an amazing hike! Josh, Ben and Shane were excellent guides! They were encouraging, sweet and a wealth of information. They also had a great sense of humor and were very kind. We had such an amazing hike to the glacier. I'm speechless trying to speak of the beauty we saw on our hike, and we got to touch a glacier to boot! Beautiful beautiful beautiful! I'd recommend this to anyone who wants an exhilarating hike! read more

Did the heli-hike-rail tour with Ben booked through princess everything was really excellent. Would recommend the package and this agency to anyone. read more

I took their hike on Denver Glacial Trail and what wonderful experience! They took very good care of us. There were 16 of us in the group with 3 guides. The guides were very knowledgeable, well equipped and took excellent care of us and made the hike loads of fun. I would highly recommend this expedition company. Shane, Scott and Paige were our guides - excellent! read more

Amazing tour company! My Husband and I chose their "Laughton Glacier Train and Snow Shoe Expedition" as our excursion while we were in Skagway from our Celebrity Cruise itinerary. It consisted of a 45 minute train ride halfway up into the hills to a trail through the woods to the Laughton Glacier. About a 2.5 mile hike there and 2.5 mile hike back to the train for another 45 minute ride to town. It was listed as a "strenuous" physical activity and boy was it ever! First we hiked through the trees on a small path over bridges and up hills that our tour guides (I don't remember their names, but pictures are included!) had snow shoveled clean the day before. We hiked about a mile and a half through the woods and past streams until we reached the end of the trail that they shoveled and we put on our snowshoes for an even more intense hike through the snow! We snowshoed up into the valley where we ate lunch (sandwiches, veggies, candy bars, nuts) while gazing at the impressive Laughton Glacier at the end of the valley. After lunch we hiked about another half a mile closer to the glacier for some photo ops! I was completely mentally and physically exhausted by then, but we still had to do the whole thing over again on the way back down! Fortunately going back was a lot easier because we were going down the mountain instead of up. Thank god! We finally made it back to the train stop for our train ride back. The entire excursion lasted from about 7:30 to 4:00. Can you say exhausting?! I was more tired than I have ever been in my life. Can you tell I don't exercise? Enough cannot be said for our four amazing tour guides. They had endless amounts of energy (and information!) and even helped carry our extra coats after we got too hot (don't dress too warm!). They were all definitely the highlight of the trip and provided boots, rain pants, boot snow chains, walking poles, food and snowshoes for our expedition. A+ but when they say strenuous activity, they mean it. read more

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While my mister and I enjoy cruising, we typically avoid booking excursions with the cruise company and try to book directly with local businesses. However, we ended up booking the White Pass Rail and Laughton Glacier Hike excursion through Norwegian Cruise Lines, and weren't really sure what to expect. This excursion was by far the highlight of my vacation! We had an amazing time, and would absolutely seek out Packer Expeditions if our travels ever take us back to Alaska. We first met up with one of our guides, Amy, at the trains directly by the cruise port. We took a short walk over to a different train depot, and had a front car just for our excursion group. There ended up being 20 people on this excursion. That seems like a large group, but there were 4 cruise ships in port that day. The large group definitely didn't impede on our experience. Our other guides, Pete, John, and CJ met up with us at the train. Our guides were an amazingly hilarious and upbeat case of characters. They were all incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. We truly enjoyed meeting them and hanging out with them for the day. They took the safety of the group very seriously and were extremely well prepared. Their hiking packs were literally like Mary Poppins' bag with extra clothing for layers, extra gear, snacks, drinks, bug spray, sunscreen, you name it! Our guides even had a snack spread with cheese, salmon pate, and crackers during the train ride back. Once we boarded the train, we were asked to prep our sandwiches for lunch. Make sure to pack a hearty one if you go on this trip because you will burn a lot of calories on the hike. Each person was given a bum bag, which although worked for the purposes of the hike, I wished I had a regular backpack for my center of gravity. The bum packs had water and snacks in them, but the guides definitely had extras if needed. If possible, try to sit on the left side of the train car on the way there and the right side of the train car on the way back for the best view. Another tip is that you can hang outside on the platforms, which is great if you want to get some good pictures of the scenery. The hike starts out really easy, but don't let that fool you because it gets strenuous when you are ascending the rocky cliffs to the glacier. Save up your energy because it is the same trek round trip! By having so many guides, you are not rushed or slowed down, and can go at whatever pace works for you. Recognize though that you will need a decent level of fitness because you will need to walk on nothing but icy rocks for a good half mile round trip. You are given trail crampons for that portion of the hike, which were immensely helpful. Some of the highlights of our trip were drinking water straight from a glacial stream source and having lunch on the glacier. Our guides surprised everyone with thermoses with hot water for tea, hot chocolate, or apple cider. We even got to watch the glacier calve right in front of us during lunch. Amazing, right? read more

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They were our tour company for our Denver Valley Wilderness Hike excursion via Celebrity Cruises. Our tour guides Nita, Ben & Kellan picked us up at the dock. You could tell right off the bat that we were gonna have an awesome day. The 11 or so of us boarded a motor coach for a 30 minute ride into British Columbia territory. Along the way we were lucky enough to see a mama black bear with her two cubs just walking through the terrain. Super cool! We got to the White Pass rail station and had about 35 minutes to enjoy the majestic, cool & crisp scenery. The mountains are gorgeous with their high, ice-capped peaks. The pine trees are beautiful. There are restrooms and a cool stamp for your passport. We boarded the train for our 45-minute ride to the hike site. We got the caboose car which was awesome because of unobstructed views and the spacious deck on the back. The guides set up a sandwich making station, with fresh breads, ham, turkey, cheese, hummus, and PB&J. They had hiking packs for us filled with water, peanuts, almonds, Snickers and Kit Kat. The views along the way were so awesome and picturesque. Amazingly beautiful! We arrived at our hike site where there was an outhouse, and a lockable box to put belongings in. The hike was about 5 miles in total and took about 4.5 hours including a 15 min lunch break with a view of the raging river. The hike I'd say was semi-strenuous. We never had to cross the river and never saw bears or moose. The Tongass forest was beautiful. The hike trail was very spongy and easy on the feet & knees. The guides explained about the parts of the forest we were in, and the history of the area, what happened in the past and what will happen for the future. We got to eat 2 varieties of berries, including a delicious blueberry. I wanted to try a mushroom but nothing in edible condition could be found. Unknowingly, my partner found the toy alligator that was hidden by the wildlife preserve guys. We re-hid it for the next group of people to find. We didn't find the gnome though. It's a game in conjunction with the tour guides. Fun stuff! We emerged from the hike about 10 minutes before the last train of the day. The ride into town too about 15 minutes. We had a brief 10 minute stop at the border. We were back in Skagway and had about 45 minutes to spare, so we walked into town and had some beer at the Red Onion Saloon. OVERALL: Drop dead gorgeous scenery, awesome tour guides and a great hike. Highly recommended! read more

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We went on the Sawtooth Hike and Train Ride with Packer Expeditions and had a fantastic time! Our guides were so kind, helpful, and knowledgeable about the area. The train ride was brief and dropped us off at the beginning of the Denver Valley hiking trail. We were provided with water, snacks, and walking sticks (take one....you'll regret it if you don't). The hike was an in and out hike meaning you go in and out on the same route. The trail takes you right to an area of the river that is entirely fed by glacier melt! I would HIGHLY recommend using Packer Expeditions for excursions in Skagway! read more

I just returned from a 5 day/4 night Chilkoot Trail backpacking trip with Packer Expeditions and I can't say enough about how amazing the trip was, thanks to Packer Expeditions. I'd originally inquired about the trip back in February - prompted by the "Klondike" miniseries - and Wade (the overall manager) and I exchanged no less than 30 emails about trip logistics, travel tips, gear, etc. Wade's replies were always prompt and informative. Wade even went above and beyond keeping an eye out on airfare and letting me know when he saw a good deal (he helped me find a $450 RT fare from Washington DC to Juneau!). I was concerned about having to check my backpack and gear for fear it would get lost and arranged to send the items I couldn't carry on the plane to Packer Expeditions in advance (i.e. trekking poles, tent poles/stakes, etc.) and Wade sent me an email once they were safely in Packer's possession. Once I arrived in Skagway via ferry, I was surprised to have Wade greet us at the ferry terminal and he drove us directly to the Trail Center to go through the Chilkoot Trail orientation and secure permits. Next, he dropped us off at our hotels and we met up later that evening to go through a pack check with the guides (they review your gear and make suggestions of what to add/remove) and pack our snack bags for the trip (Packer provided beef/turkey jerky, trail mix, nuts, various candy bars, etc.). The guides -- Shane and Kellen -- were very welcoming and made me feel at home immediately. We went through my gear and even though I was well-prepared, Packer had plenty of gear to loan to those who weren't as well-outfitted. You could tell immediately that Packer is a company whose first priority is making sure you have a great experience. The next morning, we all reunited at the Packer office to head out to the trail. Wade stowed any luggage or gear we weren't taking on the trail with us and then drove us to the trail head. Tim, the owner, drove the truck I was in and got very excited when we spied a bear on the Dyea Flats and we took a detour to get a closer look. This was another reminder of how Packer is a company that wants to provide the best experience as possible for their clients. From there, we drove to the trailhead and off we went! I do a fair bit of camping and backpacking and I know how challenging it is to arrange trips for groups of varying abilities and preferences (the last family camping trip I arranged involved meal-planning for someone with a gluten-allergy and a diabetic!), but the Chilkoot presents an additional challenge as there are really no side trails or "shortcuts" in or out, meaning that either the guides needed to pack in our food with us, or other Packer staff would hike in food and drop it off at each campsite. Our guides' packs weighed closed to 90lbs and when they laid out our first day's lunch and dinner, I realized why: We were not eating freeze-dried backpacking fare -- these guys treated us to lunches of various cheeses, sausage, smoked salmon, hummus, fresh fruit, etc. and our first night they served up chicken and veggie curry, complete with rice and Naan bread...all washed down with a 5L bag of wine (I kid you not -- they even brought along little boxes of wine for a customer that preferred a particular brand!). Overall, the meals were FANTASTIC and ranged from breakfast burritos with potatoes and eggs to freshly prepared halibut chowder to chicken fajitas (complete with veggies and all the fixings). This was no ordinary backpacking trip and we were the envy of all the other hikers! The hiking was great and the guides were very accommodating to each of our hiking styles -- letting those of us who hiked faster than others go ahead of the group and meeting up later for lunch. On summit day, Packer sent out an additional 4 guides to assist us over the pass and although I was physically prepared for the climb, psychologically, I was a bit anxious about it. But thanks to the patience and assistance of Trina and John, I made it up and over with no problem. The guides even offered to carry some of our gear for us to make the summit climb easier on us! Packer Expeditions and our fabulous guides Shane and Kellen took care of everything down to the tiniest detail. They even arranged to pick up a cooler of snacks on our train ride back from Bennett Lake to Skagway and we really rode back in style, nibbling on fancy cheeses, crackers, and salmon pate. The staff even met up with us at a pub in Skagway to have goodbye drinks with us. I was said to say goodbye to the fabulous Packer staff -- I felt like I had gained a new set of friends and I am already looking into other trips I can take with Packer in the future. read more

Excellent tour guides! We did the 6 mile hike in the forest with the train ride, white pass Yukon trail way. It was strenuous and really enjoyable. Jack and Josh and Alyssa were awesome! I highly recommend this company for any of their tours! read more

The Packer Expedition crew, and especially Ken were very accommodating and helpful. Our excursion was cancelled due to weather, but the packer expedition willingly had a back up plan ready. My mom needed quite a bit of help with our hike, and Ken was wonderful!! I will definitely be looking them up next time we are in the area! Thanks for saving the day, Packer Expedition!! read more

I have used Packer Expeditions twice, once in Aug 2010 and again in Aug 2018. Both times they made sure I had the best and safest experience. I will use them again the next time I am in Skagway and will definitely recommend them to friends. Thanks to our guide Jack! My Family and I had a great time on Laughton Glacier! read more

Packer Expeditions - Tours Near Me - Skagway, Alaska

I want to keep this short, but I also want to make sure I do justice to this company and the guides that took care of us. We did the (up to) 8 mile hike to Laughton Glacier and railway adventure. Our guides were Andre, Wyatt, and Curt, and Ruth got us safely back to our ship at the end of the adventure. First, these guys are genuinely funny people and obviously love every moment of what they do. They're personable, they go above and beyond to get to know the people they're spending the day with and they work hard to make sure the group they're guiding are having the time of their lives. We didn't get to interact as much with Curt because he was helping out the people that might have underestimated the physical capability required for the excursion. It's not super hard, but you should be able to navigate forest paths, climb safely over rocks, and handle yourself walking on a glacier. Wyatt and Andre spent the day pointing out and explaining all the local plants, what you can and can't eat, the history of the area, and did it in a way that had everyone laughing and retaining information. Once we got through the forest, we navigated over some pretty rocky terrain and loose stones, and then got fitted with our "creepers". They're slips on that have metal hooking at the bottom that help your shoes get a better grip on the ice. We got to explore all over the glacier, got to look into crevasses, drink glacier water, and after all that activity, eat one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Hunger is the best seasoning! These guys also came packed for everything. They provided plenty of snacks, hot beverages at lunch time and also gave us hot hand warmers for the wimps in the group who were chilly (me). Not going to lie, you need to make sure you pack in layers for this trip. It's boiling hot one minute from hiking around and freezing cold on the glacier. The glacier was beautiful and not something I'll ever forget. And Andre and Wyatt are a font of information about it. They made the entire experience a memorable one and it was awesome to watch people that do this every week still go so excited when they find something new or point something out to us. On the way back, my husband turned an every day trip into one I'm sure the guides and other cruise goers will never forget. We stopped at a section of river to get pictures and rest, and he got on a slippery section of rock. He started slipping in, the group started yelling, and Wyatt sprung into action. His training for just this eventuality was obvious with how quickly and professionally he got down there to help my husband. Thankfully, the water wasn't deep and he was able to stand back up and get back on the rock fairly quickly, but it's just another testament to the fact that this company puts their customers first, and they take safety and our lives very seriously. I'm 100% confident that if the situation had been more serious it would have been handled swiftly and we were in great hands. You can't go wrong with this company. This whole experience and these guys made it so incredible that we were actually sad to be leaving the city and would have happily spent the rest of our cruise there in Skagway. We ran into them afterward in the town too and they were just as genuine and friendly as they were on the excursion. I would not change a single thing about this excursion and this group of guys except one. WE NEED BELLA!! Andre has a beautiful husky named Bella and we miss our fur critters back home so much it would have been awesome to have another (Furry) guide on the trip :D read more

Packer Expeditions - Us and the incomparable Wyatt! Check out that background!! - Tours Near Me - Skagway, Alaska

Loved this tour! We were on a Holland America cruise to Alaska and chose the Denver Pass and White Yukon rail tour. Our guides Jack, John and Avi were the best! Funny, knowledgeable and friendly! We hiked with Jack and got out to see the waterfall and the Denver Glacier. Beautiful old forest. Lunch was provided as well as plenty of snacks. Highly recommend this tour!!!! read more

Did the Laughton glacier hike - beautiful hike and fantastic guides - great time

These guys were great. A class act.

Regarding the White Rail & Glacier Lake Kayak excursion: Tip 1: Regardless of the weather in Skagway, bring along clothes for cold & wet weather. Tip 2: This is strenuous, especially if you are not used to this type of exercise. I would not recommend this for young children or people who are generally not in shape. Tip 3: Bring your passport. The lake is in Canada and you will be required to present it. We booked the White Pass Railway and Glacier Lake Kayak excursion through our cruise line. The railway was scenic and fun, but I'll focus here on the kayak experience. The train dropped us off at our location. It was 68 & sunny in Skagway, but mid-50's and raining at the glacier lake. Our guides had some spare rain slickers for those who did not dress appropriately. They also provided kayak skirts and proper flotation devices. We had a professional briefing on how to use the oars. I kayaked in Boy Scouts, but that was in the summer heat on a smaller lake -- these were different. We could only go as fast as the slowest kayaker, which meant that we were sometimes slowed down by people not able to kayak well, i.e. children under 8 with their parents. They got caught in the light (level 1) rapids, making it difficult for people behind them to get by. But our tour guides calmly helped them through. The scenery as we kayaked was fantastic. The guides were always friendly & professional. The hot chocolate and tea at the end of the excursion was a nice touch before our bus ride back to Skagway. read more

My husband and I went kayaking with these guys through our cruise (Princess). They were great! Our guides, Sunny and Steve, were pleasant, knowledgeable, and fun, not to mention positive! It was raining and nasty, but they remained excited about kayaking, reassuring everyone that we'd stay warm and dry with the gear they provided (rain pants, rain jacket, neoprene hand warmers). They were absolutely right, and it stopped raining! The area was gorgeous; the guides were great. No complaints here! read more

We did the kayaking excursion with the white pass train ride and had the best experience with this company! The activities themselves were very fun (and not too intense physically), but the people leading the outings were even better. Everyone we met was so friendly and knowledgeable about Skagway. The train ride across the Canadian border was gorgeous, and we saw quite a few glaciers during our kayaking outing. They even provided snacks after we kayaked for the bus ride home, and offered to drop people off anywhere they wanted in town on the way back. By far one of the best excursions we have done in all of Alaska! read more

We did the White Pass train with the Kayaking..the train ride was great..and kayaking was great. All of the sites were beautiful and the guides were all friendly and helpful. They had snacks and warm drinks for us when we finished kayaking and they drove us back into town. read more