Skagway tour suggestion - what to do when Westerdam docks in Haines-

Westerdam docks in Haines and we want to spend some time in Skagway. Waitlisted on the HAL White Pass Summit Railroad excursion, and 6 pm Fast ferry ride from Skagway to Haines at end of Chilkoot Rail/Van tour unavailable. Thinking of reserving R/T fast ferry and spend 4 hours in Skagway. Welcome suggestions on what to do!?

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Westerdam docks in Haines and we want to spend some time in Skagway. Waitlisted on the HAL White Pass Summit Railroad excursion, and 6 pm Fast ferry ride from Skagway to Haines at end of Chilkoot Rail/Van tour unavailable. Thinking of reserving R/T fast ferry and spend 4 hours in Skagway. Welcome suggestions on what to do!?

 

 

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We always enjoy touring the Jewels Garden with the glassblowing experience. We have visited several times and enjoyed each one. One time on the Railroad cured me of trying that again. Whew!

Do you like wildlife? I say stay in Haines and go to Kroschel Films Wildlife Center. I have no idea if HAL offers it as an excursion. It was awesome and I still have photos on my phone from our visit. It was a true highlight of our time in Alaska. If you do it yourself, I think it would involve renting a car in order to get to them. That was also an “only in Haines experience”. Maybe these days they have a regular car rental place?

http://www.kroschelfilms.com/

Years ago we docked in Skagway and had to make extra effort to get guaranteed ferry tickets over to Haines because the cruise lines had already “booked” all the ferry tickets despite the fact that I was trying to buy them the same day that the Ferry company was opening up their ticket sales for that season.

The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park might have a ranger-led tour while you’re there. We took one and it was fascinating. Here’s the link at the National Park website: https://www.nps.gov/klgo/index.htm

I would call them for activities and more info.

I would stay in Haines and do Kroschel or Eagle Preserve....We did the Eagle Preserve raft trip a few years ago in August and had a good time but saw only a few eagles. We did Kroschel last year in June as a ship excursion and enjoyed it...although I wish the group had been smaller. Just meeting Steve Kroschel is an experience you won’t forget! There is also a native cultural center which sounds interesting. Explore the little town. Not many ships go there. If you go to Skagway you will need to take a ship excursion or watch your times very carefully.