Let’s say your cruise ship is this close to the historic gold rush town of Skagway…
…and you still don’t have anything planned. You might be panicking like I do on the eve of every special occasion in my life when I receive a text from my mother something to the effect of: “don’t forget it’s [so and so’s] birthday tomorrow.” Oh crap!
Well have no fear, because unlike the important milestones of my loved ones, I take cruising very seriously and I’m here to offer an interesting, beautiful and possibly, uh hum, last minute plan for Skagway: Reid Falls and the Gold Rush Cemetery!
First, a brief introduction to each…
Once you recover from the initial surprise and delight at how beautiful Reid Falls is you’ll almost feel guilty, like you didn’t do enough to earn it. Locate a couple of boulders to plank across or just enjoy the spoils of your easy 10 minute forest hike from the parking lot. Feel the mist on your face and close your eyes for a moment to appreciate the sound of water thundering more forcefully toward the Skagway river than bargain shoppers bumper caring their way to your ship’s $10 and under sale.
The short hike to Lower Reid Falls is rated “easy” and is appropriate for all ages. However, due to some rocky areas and uneven surfaces, it may not be safe for those with mobility or balance challenges and is not stroller or wheelchair friendly. Here are a few photos from our last visit there to give you a sense of what to expect:
Sometimes it feels like I’m playing dodgeball with questions of mortality regularly hurled at me by my 7 year-old teaching/travel assistant and son, “H.” Upon further reflection, it occurs to me that there might be a correlation between his curiosity about death and the number of cemeteries I’ve dragged him to on cruises. Seriously, if you were to go through all my port lectures, you’d probably find photos of cemeteries in at least half of them. Cemeteries and churches – I like to keep things light on vacation.
And while I can’t claim the Gold Rush Cemetery in Skagway as my favorite (that honor goes to the Old San Juan Cemetery), the stories of those resting here (at least between the diesel locomotives of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad grinding by on rails located mere feet away: “where can a frontier con man get some peace and quiet around these parts!”) are hard to top.
To maximize your experience at the cemetery, read up on it’s history and residents in advance. This book is a good place to start:
If you’ll have children or a chair hog (the evil villains of cruising) with you, come prepared with a brief biography on each of the cemetery’s two most famous occupants, Frank Reid and Jefferson “Soapy” Smith. End your excursion to Reid Falls and the Gold Rush Cemetery with a dramatic oration on good versus evil, pointing out that the good guy in this case (Reid) had a waterfall named after him and resides under a most impressive headstone, while the bad guy (Smith) is memorialized by the late 1800’s version of a generic grave marker most likely found on a low shelf at Walmart. You could also point out that, despite having been involved in the same shootout, Reid lived 12 days longer than Smith. I’m not sure how well that particular point strengthens your case though. Or how appropriate it is for children. You decide.
You have five options depending on your fitness level and how much money you want to spend: on foot, by bus, on a bike, in a Jeep, or as part of a tour.
If you decide to venture there on foot, you’re looking at about 4 miles round trip (if you elect to do the hike up to Lower Reid Falls, that will add on a bit). Wear comfy sneakers and stop by the Alaskan Fudge Company first to fuel up on a slice of “Gold Rush” fudge.
Make your way from your cruise pier to State Street. Follow State Street through town for approximately 1.3 miles until State Street veers off to the left and turns into 23rd Street.
Keep walking for another two blocks (or so) until you see this red White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad building:
Follow the arrow on the “Gold Rush Cemetery” sign onto a gravel road to the right of the building (this is Alaska St – though you may not see any signs identifying it as such).
After walking roughly .5 miles on Alaska St, you’ll see another sign for the “Gold Rush Cemetery” with an arrow directing you across the train tracks. Be sure to look both ways and listen before you cross or risk spending a lot longer at the cemetery than you intended.
Keep going another .2 or so miles until you reach the parking lot of the Gold Rush Cemetery. You made it! Hit the restroom (there are public restrooms available in the parking area) and bust out another slice of fudge! Go with the “Fools Gold” flavor if your feet hurt and you wish you had taken the bus!
If you’ve become attached to the extra layer of cushioning “all you can eat” cruise dining has gifted to your rear, “this makes lounging around by the pool with a cocktail so much more comfortable!,” consider taking the bus to shave over one mile (each way) of calorie burning potential from your journey to/from the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls trailhead.
Skagway Municipal And Regional Transit (S.M.A.R.T.) buses are available to take you from near the cruise piers or downtown Skagway to 23rd Street, near the red White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad building noted in my walking directions. The cost is $2 one way or $5 for an all-day pass. Go here for additional information and for a map of stops. Be sure to mention where you’re going to your driver as a transfer may be necessary (especially if you catch it from your cruise pier).
Note that a .7 mile walk is still required from the bus stop on 23rd Street to the parking lot of the Gold Rush Cemetery, so be sure to factor that in when determining how many desserts to order at dinner the night before. “H” recommends a minimum of five.
The first and last time I biked in Alaska was eight years ago on my honeymoon. A lot has changed since then. It turns out the physical prowess Mr. Cruise and I displayed during the earliest days of wedded bliss lasted about as long as the cupcake from our reception, flown home from Vegas to store in the freezer until our one-year anniversary: roughly two weeks. Plus, now we have ride shares.
That would be me in the photo above, on my phone having abandoned my bike, checking to see if Uber is operating in Skagway (it is, but I’d have a backup plan in anticipation of the probable lack of available drivers).
But for the coordinated and fit among us, renting a bike can be a great way to get around Skagway and to transport you to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls trailhead. There are standard, fat tire, and e-bikes available as well as scooters. Here are a few highly rated shops:
Sockeye Cycle (for standard and e-bikes)
ALCAN Outfitters (for fat tire bikes)
A visit to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls alone doesn’t justify the expense of renting a Jeep unless you’re looking to burn through some of your big casino win: “yes, I’m returning this $375 Jeep after just 45 minutes with no complaints, because…I CAN!” However, if you plan on doing a DIY driving tour of the Yukon anyway, you can easily add this on toward the beginning or end – it’s right on the way as you head out of town. You can also rent a regular car in Skagway through Avis.
If I’ve led you astray with my subpar directions before (in the spirit of full disclosure, I thought north was whichever way you were facing well into adulthood) or you’re just not the “go it alone” type, you can also take an organized tour. From a quick drive-by of the cemetery from the train to a tour touting the cemetery and falls as main attractions, there are many ways to visit while clinging to the reassuring arm of a professional. Go here for some great options available through Viator (owned by Trip Advisor).
When it comes to American politics or handedness, I’m not lightly grazing that one with a mile-long feather duster (all cruise lovers, whether right handed donkeys or left handed elephants, are equally welcome here), but I can tell you which way to veer from the parking lot depending on whether you want to see the cemetery first or the falls.
To see the cemetery first – which I’d recommend so you’ll already be acquainted just in case you end up back there after accidentally plunging into the falls in pursuit of the perfect selfie (don’t fret, you can get a much better one than I did without crushing your children when they find out you’re dead and that you spent all their inheritance on cruising) – keep to the left past this informational sign:
To hike to Lower Reid Falls first, keep to the right and follow this sign…
…near this mammoth gold nugget that is actually a gold painted rock worth zippo (but don’t tell your husband that until after he tries to hoist it into your purse in order to fund a world cruise):
Later in the day, after your visit to Reid Falls and the Gold Rush Cemetery, watch from an open deck as your ship sails though a narrow glaciated valley away from Skagway toward the Chilcat Inlet and take a moment to marvel at the stunning power of nature and the sometimes heartbreaking fragility of life. Then go grab your favorite cruise cocktail and raise it to Frank Reid and “Soapy” Smith for offering you, through their stories and namesakes and memorials “a profound experience of humanness and a perfect short excursion that required no pre-planning in Skagway!” And with that…
Class Dismissed.
Homework (5 points): Looking for other things to do on your cruise to Skagway? See my review of the White Pass Scenic Railway (my top recommendation for first-time cruisers there) here, my review of The Sled Dog Adventure And Pan For Gold Excursion (perfect for kids) here, and my guide to hiking Lower Dewey Lake (for those looking for a longer hike easily accessible from the cruise piers) here. You can also check out all my other Alaska port posts here.
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