Overview
Our 6-month adventure continues with our journey from Juneau to Haines and Skagway, the end of our time in the area known as the inside passage of Alaska.
This post covers the Alaska Ferry trip from Juneau to Haines, the ferry to/from Skagway and time spent in both communities.
DAY 1 – Transitioning from Juneau to Skagway (day 33 of the overall trip)
Ferry From Juneau Alaska to Haines Alaska
We need to be at the ferry by 4:45am – yes that’s in the morning – for a 7am departure. This time of year, the sun is already up! While we ordered a to-go breakfast from our hotel, someone else either swiped it or they forgot to set it out for us and we find ourselves without breakfast. We know the cafeteria on the ferry will open at 7am, so we each eat a granola bar and drink our hotel room coffee.
We are traveling on the La Conte, a much smaller boat than the Kennicott – so loading goes very smoothly and we’re on our way at 7am. We will get off in Haines, park our vehicle and then catch the “fast ferry” to Skagway. Why aren’t we taking the Alaska Ferry to Skagway instead of taking 2 separate ferries? In a few days, we have to drive through Canada for 5-6 hours so we have to go through a Canadian border crossing. Back when we made all our reservations, we were going to be required to get a negative Covid test before crossing and the only testing site is in Haines (none in Skagway) and is only open Monday-Friday. Thankfully, that requirement was lifted about a month ago, but it was too late to change our reservations.
Waiting for Breakfast
Our ride to Haines is only 4 hours and 30 minutes. Most people aren’t taking their vehicles so by the time we got ours loaded, most of the “good viewing” seats are taken. We end up finding the last table with a view and wait patiently for the line to die down at the cafeteria so we can finally eat breakfast.
Sights from the Ferry
Although its overcast in the morning, we see a number of glaciers, waterfalls and light houses on our journey to Haines
Meeting People on the Ferry
We noticed a news film crew on board and watch them interview a couple out on the bow. Sure enough, Harrison manages to catch up with them about 30 minutes later and he comes to get Nancy so we too can be interviewed. The Alaska News Source is filming a segment on promoting the Alaska Marine Highway System so their questions focus on our experiences with that as opposed to our personal longer journey. A small part of our interview ends up in the published news reel and Nancy ended up getting quoted in the article too
Next we meet Scott, a solo traveler from Ohio. He sells and delivers ambulances and fire trucks all across North America. It gives him numerous opportunities for travel and as we talk, we’ve been to a LOT of the same places. He’s taking this ferry all the way to Skagway and staying there for 4 days. We learn he is also taking the White Pass & Yukon Train ride with us at 8am in the morning. We exchange contact info and promise to connect once we get to Skagway.
We also meet Elscaba, a biologist who is traveling back to Haines. She traveled from Haines to Juneau by kayaking with a group of 23 people for the Celebration festival the past weekend. We hear about the kayak journey challenges with all the rain. As a biologist, she mostly studies land mammals in Alaska – but her keen eye helps us to spot a whale as well as a pair of sea lions playing the water. She also tells us we are passing the convergence of the Chilkat River with the Chilkoot RIver – and people just call them “the Kat and the Koot”.
The Fast Ferry from Haines to Skagway
The Alaska Ferry lands in Haines at 11:45 and our vehicle is unloaded by noon. We have a 4 mile drive to the location of the Fast Ferry that will depart at 1pm, so we’re a little nervous about finding a parking place for the Brown Beast and not missing the boat. We drive to the GPS location but there’s just no signage, so we end up asking someone for directions. We pull into the ferry location, we are the only people there and can see the boat parked at the dock. All the parking we’ve seen so far says “no overnight parking” or “4 hour parking only”. The building at the ferry is being renovated and we finally get someone’s attention. Very laid back operation – as it turns out – because 95% of their customers are cruise ship tours who came earlier in the day from Skagway and will be travelling with us back to Skagway. The manager at the Fast Ferry ends up letting us park in one of four parking spots they have. While in Skagway, we’ll be without our car so we’ve had to strategically pack just what we need for our 2 night stay – and we have to be able to carry our things for about a mile from the Skagway boat dock to our hotel. We wait for boarding time with just 2 other locals (a cable repair person and a woman with her dog & fishing pole). We board the boat around 12:45 just as about 5 tour buses roll up and people roll out and onto the boat.
The ride is only 45 minutes and we chat it up with people around us. Its a beautiful clear day and we can observe snow capped mountains and waterfalls all around us. When we pull into the Skagway harbor, we see the La Conte, which we have just debarked in Haines docked in Skagway.
Skagway Harbor
It may not seem that large, but the Skagway harbor can accommodate up to 6 cruise ships, the Alaska Ferry and numerous other boats. Also, most finished goods and raw building materials are brought in by barge in containers. One of our bartenders says they get a grocery drop once a week via barge shipping containers, so everyone has to plan accordingly. As we near the dock, we see the large cruise ship we remember seeing leave Juneau the day before.
Skagway Downtown
We get off the boat and begin the 1 mile walk to our hotel. A very light rain is falling but the 20 minute walk goes without issue. We find The Morning Wood Hotel very easily. Skagway is a very walkable town geared for cruise ship tourists with only 3 or 4 small hotels in total. The shops & restaurants area is about 8 blocks by 2 blocks. It is now about 2:15pm and we luck out that our room is ready. We have room #7 of 8 rooms in this basic and nicer than expected motel. We drop off our gear and head next door to get some lunch.
Lunch at the Station
On the right of the hotel is The Happy Endings Saloon – which does not serve food – so we go into The Station at the left end of the hotel. They have basic “bar food” just like every restaurant we’ve been to so far in Alaska. We are fortunate to have a fabulous bartender, Lexy, who is able to give us “the skinny” on all the places to eat and see in town. We learn that Lexy moves around every 6 months to different travel destinations working as a bartender from April to October, then in another place from October to April. It turns out she was working at a bar we went to last fall in Glenwood Springs, CO (but she was off the day we were there). We learn she plans to go to Nashville this upcoming fall. Here is Skagway, her employer provides housing as an incentive to work here. She tells us many of the summer workers do what she does but some come back year after year to the same places.
Meeting up with Scott at the Bonanza Bar & Grill
Nancy texts Scott and we learn he’s at the Bonanza Bar & Grill so we head over to meet up. We continue to exchange travel stories and photos and its truly amazing how much cross-over we’ve done. We mention a place, he’s been there and vice versa. We sit and chat for several hours, more beer and another meal. Thankfully, Scott has already done breakfast research and it turns out only one place is open for breakfast so we agree to meet there in the morning. Scott shares with us photos of his travels around the USA in emergency vehicles he has delivered.
Day 2 – Adventures in Skagway with Scott (day 34 of the overall trip)
Breakfast with Scott
We meet up for breakfast at this cute cafe called Bites On Broadway. The food is delightful and the ambiance is adorable – we highly recommend it. We meet one of the owners and learn his story. He and his partner originally came to Skagway 9 years ago as a pair of those transient summer workers with plans to sell high-end jewelry in one of the shops. He said he quickly learned “they sucked at it” and just happened to meet the owner of this place who was looking to add a cafe. He laughs when he tells us he freely admitted that neither of them knew how to cook – but she like them and talked them into taking it the challenge to create, open and run a cafe. They did all the renovations and figured out what menu items to offer (only open for breakfast and lunch) and the rest is history.
White Pass & Yukon Railroad
We’re taking the 8am ride on the 2.5 hour White Pass Summit Excursion today. We originally wanted to do the all day Bennett Scenic Railroad, but with cruise ships only running at 50% capacity, they aren’t running it this year. Harrison and Scott want to make sure they will have access to an outdoor platform so their photography doesn’t have to be through a window. We get to the train station early so we are first in line to board and indeed, we get seats right by the door to the platform. We learn that 4 railcars are for cruise ship passengers that booked their trip directly through the cruise ship – and they boarded at the cruise ship train depot. We have 2 cars for those of us that booked independently (which includes some cruise ship passengers). We are blessed with crystal clear skies and beautiful temperatures. We see rivers, snow capped mountains (we’re told aren’t usually visible), old train trestles and pass through some dark tunnels (one is over 700 feet). Nancy stays inside and listens to the narration of what sights are coming up and pops out to the viewing platform to share the info with Scott & Harrison. The 2.5 hours just blows by and before we know it, we’re back in Skagway.
Our tour guide lets us know Skagway was the gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush. It is estimated that over 100,000 hopeful miners sprinted toward Alaska and the Yukon with their eyes on riches – and they were nicknamed “stampeders”. First gold was found in August 1896 and by late 1898, the gold rush was over. Skagway was the place to provision up for the journey to find gold. So many eager gold hunters were unprepared (and dying en route) that the Canadian government declared one couldn’t cross the border into Gold Country unless they had everything on a specific list – that weighed in total about 1200 pounds. There were 5 main routes across the snowy mountains (all brutal) and most were too narrow for pack animals. Since one man can’t carry 1200 pounds at once, it required several trips to get all your provisions to the border crossing, then continue the journey to where the gold was. Some people made a living by helping carry provisions for others or by watching the goods sitting at the border while the prospector went back to Skagway for the next load. The train passes several times by one of the main routes, The White Pass, and it doesn’t look very friendly. Once the prospectors had hauled their full array of gear across the border and to the lakes, they built or bought boats to float the remaining trip downriver to Dawson City and the Klondike mining district where an almost limitless supply of gold nuggets was said to waiting. It took an average of 3 months to pack their outfits up and over the passes to the lakes – a distance of 35 miles back and forth moving gear. Most gold seekers went broke and lost everything. More people made money supporting the prospectors than the prospectors did searching for gold.
Red Onion Lunch and the Tour of the Old Brothel
The Red Onion Saloon is an iconic restaurant, bar and brothel museum that is one of those “must see places in Skagway”. Once the classiest dance hall and saloon in the bustling gold rush town of Skagway, it is alive and well with great food and ambiance plus a brothel museum upstairs. At one time there were as many as 80 brothels in Skagway and The Red Onion was apparently the top of the line! They operated on a “doll” system where there was one doll for each working girl – matching her hair, eye color and outfit. Men picked an upright doll (the dolls laying down were currently entertaining company).
Our bartender, Deb, is a sassy gal who just oozes with personality and takes good care of us. We enjoy lunch and then join the 2pm brothel tour with Trixie. Just as we’ve read, the tour is filled with about every sexual inuendo possible and is NOT geared for children. We learn a lot about what it was like to be an upstairs girl in Skagway. At the Red Onion it was $5 for 15 minutes and these ladies were making $65-$100 a day, which was very good money in the late 1890’s. This was a worthwhile stop – especially since we got a souvenir red garter “for free”.
Moore Homestead
Six blocks of downtown Skagway are designated as part of Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park. It is co-managed by Parks Canada and contains many restored buildings. There are 4 districts of this park and Historic Downtown Skagway is only one of them. The others are: The Historic Chilkoot Trail, The White Pass Trail and Historic Dyea Townsite. We stop at the Moore Homestead where a docent tells us about Captain William Moore. When Moore first came to this valley in 1887 and saw excitement around potential gold in the area, he saw an opportunity and purchased 160 acres. He and his son spent 10 years building sawmills, boat docks and all the things that would be needed to support a future gold rush. We see his original log cabin as well as the larger, more elaborate 1.5 story Victorian home he built once his prediction turned true and people flooded to the area. They profited by charging money for boats to land at their docks and selling lumber from the sawmill. Unfortunately, so many people stampeded to the area and started squatting on his land, that he lost control of his property’s boundaries and eventually just left.
Skagway Museum
Next up is The Skagway Museum. While there are many artifacts from the original Indian inhabitants and gold rush days, one main focus throughout the museum is the fateful story of the Princess Sophia steamboat. In October 1918, Skagway residents were departing the town for the winter aboard the Princess Sophia on the last run of the season when a severe storm came along. The boat got off course and got hung up on a reef. Rescue boats were unable to reach the passengers because of the raging storm and rising tides. After 3 grueling days, the storm worsened and winds shifted the boat, slamming it once again against the reef again. Within an hour, it sunk with all 353 passengers aboard.
Hike to the Gold Rush Cemetery
The 3 of us decide to hike the 2 miles to the Gold Rush Cemetery at the end of the 23 block town. The main tourist area is in the first 7-8 blocks so we get a chance to see the residential side of town.
The Gold Rush Cemetery
We’re used to cemeteries being on more flat ground with a more organized pattern to grave sites (you can’t tell from the photos that this cemetery isn’t laid out like that). I guess you just bury where you can between rocks and trees. Years later, people have built fence cribs around ancestor’s grave sites to deter vandalism and preserve the headstones.
The Lower Reid Falls
Just beyond the cemetery is a short walk to the Lower Reid Falls.
Evening on Skagway
We then make the 2 mile walk back as the temperatures start to drop and rain starts to drizzle. Once back in town, we check out the Happy Endings Saloon for a quick adult beverage, then move over to the Station for a quick appetizer. We decide to have another appetizer at the Red Onion and manage to grab the same 3 bar stools we had at lunchtime. Our bartender Deb is still there and remarks “Wow, déjà vu” when she sees us. The Nachos were great, but after a while we decide to head to the Bonanza Bar & Grill for dinner. Lo and behold, we run into Lexy, our bartender from the previous night at the Station. She is bound and determined to do a shot with us and so she buys us a “White Gummy Bear” shot. Scott gives us a $1 to write on so it can be posted on the wall by his. He has friends coming to Skagway in 2 weeks and the bartender agrees to hang their $1 bill next to his.
Once again, Scott’s done the breakfast research and the café at his hotel is the only place in town for tomorrow so we agree to a meet-up time and call it a day.
Day 3 – Transitioning from Skagway back to Haines (day 35 of the overall trip)
Breakfast
The Chilkoot Café is the only game in town on Sunday for breakfast. They call it a Sunday brunch, but breakfast foods are the only items at the self-serve buffet. Scott thinks he spots the actress Amy Roloff from the show Little People, Big World so we try to nonchalantly figure out if it is her or not. Once we eavesdrop and here “that was a different episode”, we know he’s right. We decide not to intrude, but we’re still delighted.
Scott is staying in Skagway for 2 more days before he heads to Haines, so we say our good-bye’s and promise to stay in touch.
Corrington’s Museum of Alaskan History
We have a few hours to kill before we grab the Fast Ferry back to Haines, so we duck into Corrington’s Museum of Alaskan History & Giftshop. Located in the historic Golden North Hotel, this free museum shows a different side of history of the area with focus on native culture. We see a lot of scrimshaw artwork on ivory tusks and baleen baskets. We learn a little about dog mushing history as well. This museum is free and well worth about an hour of time.
Back to Haines on the Fast Ferry
We spot Amy Roloff and her husband about ready to hop onto their motorcycle and chat briefly about what a crappy day it is for motorcycle riding on this rainy day. In hind site, she should have used the opportunity to get a picture of us with them and to learn about their travel plans – how unusual for us NOT to engage in a conversation with fellow travelers. But, we’re trying to respect their privacy. Since it is raining, we head to the ferry an hour early and sit on the enclosed boat, out of the rain. We remark how lucky we were to have the gorgeous weather day yesterday for our train ride and other adventuring. There’s a new cruise ship in town and people start trickling on board this ferry so they can go to Haines and back for the day. We see the woman with the dog and fishing pole from our ride over get on board.
Haines
Downtown Haines
Once back in Haines, we are delighted to see our truck. We know crime is super low in the area – we were more worried about a bear trying to get at the food – but all is well. We decide to scout out the town which is VERY basic. Haines isn’t the touristy draw as much as Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway are. The port is smaller so only small cruise ships can dock here and since tourism is smaller, so are things to do and see and opportunities for restaurants are limited.
Lunch at Fogcutters Bar
We stop at a little local place called Fogcutter Bar and sure enough, it is fairly busy with local folks. We can’t get a seat at the bar, so we settle on a high-top table and order a pizza. We swear the bartender is tipsy and she’s super busy keeping up with all the folks in this place.
Buying Supplies at IGA
Next we head to the IGA across the street to pick up some items to cook over the next few days in our rental basement apartment. After 34 days on the road, primarily in hotels and eating out, we’re ready to settle into a place with a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and outdoor living space and eat home cooked food.
Hidden Cove Farm
About 7 miles outside of town, we find our beautiful rental home for the next two nights. We’re greeted by the owner and we settle in. He tells us there will be a family with 3 kids renting the upstairs part of the home and that he lives in an apartment above the garage. We have a magnificent view of the bay and the mountains in the background. We pick out a few DVDs and settle in to watch some movies and just relax for the rest of the day.
Day 4 – Adventures in Haines (day 36 of the overall trip)
Drive to the Eagle Preserve and Road Construction
Haines is home to the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve that encompasses 48,000 acres. Each fall in late October and early November, between 3000 and 4000 Bald Eagles descend to this area to feast on late runs of salmon. There are several pull-outs along the Haines Highway to view eagles, but we don’t find any. We did see one flying around earlier in the day at our rental, but not here. The Haines Highway is the route we’ll take tomorrow into Canada and then back into Alaska 6 hours later. There is major road construction just after the last viewing area and we learn the road will be closed tomorrow from 6am – 8am for blasting. Good thing we learned that since we had planned to pass through here around 7am to reach the border station at 8am. We now know to delay our travel plans tomorrow by an hour.
Bald Eagle Rescue Center
We turn around and head back into town and stop at the Bald Eagle Foundation and Raptor Center to see what it has to offer. The first thing we learn, is we must wear a mask – the clerk tells us that one of the cruise ships from London that stopped there this morning has over 300 confirmed cases of Covid on board, so they want their visitors all masked-up. The website says they have 12 raptors living there either permanently injured and unable to live in the wild or in recovery. The exhibit area is unimpressive and it takes us maybe 15 minutes to go through so we head out to the raptor area and are equally unimpressed. Quite honestly, you can skip this (especially with the $15/person entry fee).
Fort Seward
We continue driving around the town of Haines and see several well preserved building from Fort Seward. The fort was built between 1902 and 1904 to help monitor a prior border dispute with Canada and to manage the influx of gold miners in the general area. It remained active during both WW1 and WW2. Most buildings are private residences today so it is a walking tour only. Given the weather, we opt for just the drive-by.
Walk on the Beach
There’s a break in the rain so we decide to walk the beach in front of our rental. It is low tide and that’s the perfect time to maximize the area for walking. It’s been cool watching the tide go in and out – there’s such a huge difference in the water level.
Hot Tub Afternoon
We’re ready to relax for a while and it starts with a late afternoon soaking in the hot tub. The hot tub is beeping and we manage to see the owner walking around his property and get him to come by to fix things (the filter needed to be changed). We talk about things to do and he tells us we need to make sure we go to Chilkoot Lake Recreational Area. We mention we already drove there but when we complain about the poor condition of the dirt road at the entrance, he informs us we went to Chilkat Park, not Chilkoot Park. Ah – we already forgot what Elscaba told us about the “Koot and the Kat” – not the same!
Chilkoot Lake State Recreational Site
After a good 2 hour soak, we head back in and decide we should ride out to check out this park. Chilkoot Lake State Recreational Site is about a 10 mile drive to the park, but the last mile or so along the Chilkoot River and we see a spot where they are counting the salmon through a controlled gate. The first of four salmon runs in this area is about to begin – the sign states they have seen 9 so far with 4 today already. Because of the salmon runs, this area is notorious for bears. We walk around a bit and see plenty of bear warning signs.
Summary
Travelling the ferry in Alaska is easy and something to experience. Skagway has much more infrastructure and things to do than Haines. Our next blog will cover our adventure through the Yukon, Tok and Eagle Alaska.
Up Next
Time to leave the Inside Passage area of Alaska and head to the interior for a while. The next part includes our travels from Haines all the way to Fairbanks, including a few hours through Canada and some stops along the way.
Prior Legs of the Journey
Part 1 – The trip to Key West is located here.
Part 2 – Cross Country to Bellingham Washington is located here.
Part 3 – The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Juneau is located here.
Leave a Reply