Reccomendation

Definitely the Skagway Train ride. The one we took stopped at the border and then returned. There is another one that goes further in Canada. We could not go out of train at the border. We went in May 2018.

Just as an aside, if you take the train (and if you don't, shame on you) bring your passport. it actually crosses the border into Canada, you'll see the flags.and Customs types wander around checking, sometimes...Im convinced they do it more for show than anything else. Its really in the middle of nowhere.

Yankee was smart. He took his pictures between cars, I was lazy and shot out the window, got gla

The White Pass railroad tour is a must. During the Klondike stampede there were two primary routes over the coastal summits, each of which eventually led over the mountains and onto the Yukon River, which the stampeders used to make their way on down river to the diggings near Dawson City. The shortest and most famous of these routes was out of nearby Dyea (adjacent to Skagway but about 8 gravel road miles to the northwest) called the Chilkoot Pass Trail, the other was the White Pass or Skagway Trail. The White Pass was longer than the one out of Dyea but summited at a lower elevation. The railroad was built pretty much along the White Pass Trail. Today there is a paved main highway access into Skagway but it does not follow the railroad route. The railroad originally ran between Skagway and Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, today it doesn't go all the way to Whitehorse.

By traveling on the train you get a much better perspective of what the stampeders were up against than if you take the highway, which is on the opposite, north, side of the Skagway River Valley. Every time I get to Skagway I take that railroad roundtrip, mostly for the nostalgia of it all. One time we drove down to Skagway just to ride the railroad and another time we were on a cruise ship which ported in Skagway, I certainly did the railroad then as well.

rish Mike Heney, was the principal builder behind construction of the White Pass/Yukon Railroad. “Give me enough snoose and dynamite and I’ll build a railroad to hell.” Very popular man with his workers, the railroad laborers. Mike Heney is one of my heroes, after completing the White Pass-Yukon narrow gauge railroad he turned his attention further north to where huge copper discoveries had been found in June at the turn of the century. The richest copper ore ever found on earth. A 200 mile standard gauge railroad was necessary (The Copper River and Northwestern Railway, closed down in 1938) over a route much longer than the White Pass and more difficult in spots, (which is hard to believe once you have taken the train at Skagway up to the White Pass.)

That's an understatement...it was the highlight of the trip....rode the whole thing between the cars...mustve shot 200 pics...

The train is nice.

You can check this out too...

https://cruiseline.com/advice/destinations/6-hours-in/6-hours-in-skagway-alaska

We did the Kroschel Wildlife Refuge. It was amazing. There were so many animal encounters and the staff there was GREAT. Way beyond my expectations. I would do it again! If you are an animal lover, I highly recommend it!