Skagway, Alaska

Explore the gateway to the Klondike.

Tucked between the White Pass and the Chilkoot Trail, Skagway sits at the head of the Lynn Canal in Alaska’s Inside Passage. A perfectly preserved frontier town, Skagway is a relic of the gold rush era that opens onto the rugged Coast Mountain passages, once trod by bold stampeders seeking riches in the Klondike.

Once a bustling town full of saloons, gambling, and brothels, today Skagway is much quieter, but its debaucherous past has left an indelible mark. The wooden sidewalks and false-front shops of Broadway Street instantly transport you to a different time. Take in historic sites like the storied Red Onion Saloon, the yellow-domed Golden North Hotel, and the decidedly rustic Arctic Brotherhood Hall, with its driftwood covered façade. Many of Skagway’s historic buildings have since been restored as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The Mascot Salon Museum, Moore’s Cabin, and Bernard Moore House all preserve Skagway's gold rush past as museums that tell tales of both vice and family life in the frontier town. For a more detailed account, head to the Corrington Museum of Alaska History and the Skagway Museum to see every aspect of local history from mastodon fossils and native handwoven baskets to the pistol of Skagway’s official bad boy, Soapy Smith.