Skagway excursions

[amyj23]

So we're sailing on the Carnival Miracle. I want an excursion that includes hiking, Emerald Lake AND Canada. I couldn't find one on our ship. I was going to do a hiking excursion (through Carnival) that had hiking and Canada. But I saw pics of Emerald and it looked stunning! Anyone know of a tour company that does all of this?

[amyj23]

After further research, I found that the drive to Emerald Lake is about 2 1/2 hours away! So unless there really is an excursion that includes all of the items I'm looking for, I think I'll forget Emerald Lake.

[sherryf]

Well, Emerald Lake is in Canada, so that solves 2. Rent a car and drive there yourself, then stop at one of the trails and go hiking on your own. Assuming that you have a typical long day in Skagway (12 hours or so) you should have plenty of time to do this. You don't need a tour company.

[amyj23]

Yeah, we're not avid hikers so I'd prefer not to do that... I wanted something organized! I want someone who can protect us from bears. :D

[wishIwascruising]

We rented 2 minivans for our family and drove to Emerald Lake. We had a wonderful time & saw bears along the road eating berries. We planned on going horseback riding near Emerald Lake but so few of our grandchildren were old enough to go by themselves. It was wonderful to be in the Canadian Yukon and off the boat for part of the day enjoying nature on our own.

 

We are planning a repeat trip in 2014 and will definitely do the horseback riding this time.

[HeatherC430]

I plan on booking the Laughton Glacier Hike & White Pass Rail excursion while in Skagway through Carnival.

[gatorsfam]

So we're sailing on the Carnival Miracle. I want an excursion that includes hiking, Emerald Lake AND Canada. I couldn't find one on our ship. I was going to do a hiking excursion (through Carnival) that had hiking and Canada. But I saw pics of Emerald and it looked stunning! Anyone know of a tour company that does all of this?

 

agree with others about renting a car.. make the drive out there.. get Murray's guide.. as for the bears, they'll ask you about bear spray at the border crossing into Canada (illegal) so just make sure you can out run at least one person in your hiking group :) BTW, we made this drive last week - beautiful - only saw one bear along the road but he was nice enough to wander around at one of the pull off spots along the road so we were able to get some good photos and enjoy the moment.

[ann95665]

Yeah, we're not avid hikers so I'd prefer not to do that... I wanted something organized! I want someone who can protect us from bears. :D

 

We were in Skagway last July and used a private company, Froniter Excursions (http://www.frontierexcursions.com ). We took their Yukon Discovery Tour which took us up to the Yukon Territory in Canada, to Emerald Lake, Carcross for a great lunch, and to the World's smallest desert. I think it was $99 per person and was 6 hours or so. Brooke was our tour guide and was fabulous. We made several stops and saw a bear along the side of the road. Have a look at their website as they have other tours as well. Have a great cruise to Alaska!

[bonvoyagie]

We rented 2 minivans for our family and drove to Emerald Lake. We had a wonderful time & saw bears along the road eating berries. We planned on going horseback riding near Emerald Lake but so few of our grandchildren were old enough to go by themselves. It was wonderful to be in the Canadian Yukon and off the boat for part of the day enjoying nature on our own.

 

We are planning a repeat trip in 2014 and will definitely do the horseback riding this time.

 

Just read on this board about the horseback tour at Emerald Lake is closed- for good.

 

As for the OP there are some short hikes in Skagway. You can also take a quick bus tour using someone like Chilkoot Tours or Dyea Dave that will take you to Emerald Lake and back - plan on 7-8 hours. Do this first then when you get back to Skagway you can see if you still want to take a hike. A favorite is up to Dewey Lake - here is a link to others http://www.skagway.com/skagwaytrailmap.pdf

[huskyguy]

Just read on this board about the horseback tour at Emerald Lake is closed- for good.

 

The horse trail rides next door at Spirit Lake are also closed forever. The highway sign still says that they have horses, canoes and lakeshore cabins, but they have none of them anymore.