We spent a nice day in the nearby town of Skagway, AK and would highly recommend it. There are two ways to get from Haines to Skagway: drive 450 miles each way with two border crossings or take a 45 minute pedestrian ferry ride. The ferry is reasonably priced at $71/person round trip and can easily be booked online. We visited at an off time, meaning a more limited schedule than during the summer. We still found a day with a 9 am departure and 4 pm return trip, allowing for a fairly long day while in Skagway. During the busier months you can stretch your stay to almost 12 hours.
One of the fast ferries
We met a nice couple on the ferry from York, England, a beautiful walled city with a history dating back to pre medieval times that I’ve been fortunate enough to visit. They’ve been traveling around North America for almost 6 months and will soon be arriving back home. When asked what he will enjoy most upon arrival, the gentlemen stated, like a true Brit, “a proper cup of tea”.
View of Haines, AK flanked by mountains from the fast ferry
After a pleasant ride up the fjord over glassy smooth water with stunning views of snow capped peaks, we arrived to the sight of three hulking cruise ships, true behemoths of the sea and not an ideal omen for independent travelers who want peace and quiet. After disembarking we beat a hasty retreat to the nearest hiking trail, which proved the perfect respite from the throng of tourists. We hiked about 1.5 miles and 500 feet of elevation gain each way to Lower Dewey lake, passing through a northern coastal forest with dense stands of alder, cottonwood, hemlock and Sitka spruce, with an understory of mosses, ferns and the dreaded Devils Club. Our reward was a pristine mountain lake surrounded by great views of the Twin Dewey peaks.
Two of the three cruise ships docked in Skagway
Skagway from the Dewey Lakes trail
Dewey Lake
Back in town we joined in with everyone else and bought some souvenirs from a few tourist traps. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Bites on Broadway, a deli and coffee shop that rated well on Yelp and Tripadvisor. I had turkey roast (think pot roast but with turkey) on a Cheddar Jalapeño bagel with a nice assortment of fresh veggies. Karla and I shared a dark chocolate lava cake. Everything was fresh and tasty and seemed like the owner/employees care about their food, a sentiment that is not readily shared by many seasonal restaurants throughout Alaska.
The Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park Visitor Center in Skagway
After strolling around the “historic” town (pick up the Skagway Historic Walking Tour brochure and you’ll see why I used quotes here) and visiting a few more shops, we caught the 4 pm ferry back to Haines. In comparing the two small coastal towns of Haines and Skagway, the former has more activities (hiking, rafting, fishing, flight seeing, wildlife watching) and the latter has more services (restaurants and shops). For this reason I think our choice of Haines as the home base and Skagway as the day tour worked out perfectly.
The Arctic Brotherhood Hall was built in 1899
Downtown Skagway, Alaska
Mountains and downtown Skagway
