From Whitehorse, YK to Skagway, Alaska by Train

See White Pass, Carcross and the Chilkoot Trail in the Yukon, Canada

Sep 8, 2009

Hop on the White Pass & Yukon Rail Route for remnants of the Klondike Gold Rush, whether from an Alaskan cruise vacation or various pick up points.

It’s possible to traverse portions of a territory, province and state in one daytime train ride. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway does just that, much to the delight of Alaskan cruise passengers, who jump on in Skagway, or folks coming from Carcross, Yukon and Bennett, BC.

Start in the hub city of Whitehorse, where most flights to the Yukon arrive. Visits to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre (Alaska Highway, 867-667-8855), S.S. Klondike National Historic Site of Canada (300 Main Street, 867-667-3917) and a walk down the Klondike Gold Rush era Main Street give a small taste of the city.

After an overnight at the comfortably simple High Country Inn (4051 4th Avenue, 1-800-554-4471), hit the road in the morning for the Yukon train.

Whether it’s by steam locomotive, diesel-electric or restored and replica parlour cars, the White Pass railway route was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush and is filled with history and personal stories. It took 35,000 men over 26 months to forge their way for a railway track, sometimes in temperatures plummeting to minus 60 degrees.

Men had to be suspended from rock cliffs by rope because of the steep inclines, while black powder was used for blasting (dynamite was still a thing of the future).

Now, the 110-mile route includes an incline of almost 3,000 feet in 20 miles, 16-degree turns, steep grades up to 3.9%, the 1901 steel cantilever bridge (the tallest in the world in its days) and many tunnels, bridges and trestles.

Klondike Gold Rush, Chilkoot Trail and Historic Landmarks

Choose from the window views from the train seats or head to the vintage observation car for open air landscapes. The train goes through walls of rock and above untouched canyons, past trickling streams and calm lakes, all the while being looked over by the immense snow capped mountains.

White Pass rail staff give Klondike Gold Rush history, point out historical landmarks and make sure everyone knows of the upcoming photo op. Travellers also get a glimpse of the Trail of ’98 remnants, a tiny path once used as a main route to reach the goldfields; White Pass Summit, 873 metres (2,865 feet) high where stampeders passed with their supplies; and Dead Horse Gulch, the site of 3,000 pack animals’ death during the stampede of 1898.

Yukon Train

From May to September, the White Pass & Yukon Route chugs along the historic railway. A really neat complementary service is for hikers: be picked up at Denver Glacier, Laughton and Chilkoot Trail hiking trails after a day out. Note that passports are required for most of the routes because of the Canada/USA border crossings.

Train Travel

Like other Canadian train travel, this Yukon train is a superb way to see the unparalleled Yukon topography while travelling right on top of history. For assistance booking further Yukon adventures, contact Yukon Tourism (1-800-661-0494).

The copyright of the article From Whitehorse, YK to Skagway, Alaska by Train in Yukon Travel is owned by Lori Henry. Permission to republish From Whitehorse, YK to Skagway, Alaska by Train in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.