Skagway

Skagway was know to thousands of hopeful gold rushers as the gateway to the gold fields. Although it boasted the shortest route to the Klondike, it was far from being the easiest. Over a hundred years ago, the White Pass route through the Coast Mountains and the shorter, but steeper, Chilkoot Trail were used by countless stampeders. The treacherous Chilkoot Trail, combined with the area’s cruel elements, left scores dead. The gold rush was a boon to Skagway – by 1891 it was Alaska’s largest town with a population of about 20,000. The town’s hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses prospered, drawing Skagway residents as well as the 10,000 people living in the tent city of nearby Dyea. But when the gold yield dwindled in 1900, so did the population as the miners quickly shifted to new finds in Nome.

Today Skagway retains the flavor of the gold rush era. Located in the Taiya Inlet the town has a year round population of 862 residents , 5.5% of the residents are Native Alaskans of mostly Tlingit origin. Skagway is located in a classic U-shaped glacier valley. Elevation ranges from sea level on the coast to nearly 7,000’ in the mountain ranges. The municipality, which stretches from the Canadian border, encompasses 452.4 square miles of land and 11.9 miles of water. On average the summer temperatures range from 45-67F. Yesterday they had 19 hours of daylight. Average winter temperatures are 18-27F. The city receives 26” of rain per year and 39” of snow, although snow fall can exceed 20’ in the White Pass.

The Skagway Alaska Streetcar Company

The town has about a mile of roads but somehow they manage to entertain you for two hours.












Since the first boat landed in Skagway in the 1800's it has been tradition that each paint their logo or a message on the wall opposite the harbor. It is quite a site to behold.










Thee photos are a bit out of order. This is overlooking the commerical and working harbor. After the massive 1962 earthquake the entire town was destroyed by a massive tsunami.









One of the town's main drags.