White Pass Railway Cruise Excursion: Skagway to Fraser Scenic Ride

---

Port of Skagway: Full Day Itinerary

• Exploring Skagway's Historic Downtown
• Our Photographic Journey on the White Pass & Yukon Route Scenic Railway
• Transition to the bus tour at Fraser, B.C. to visit Caribou Crossing for Wildlife, Sled Dogs and Chicken BBQ Lunch
• Then the scenic drive back along the Klondike Highway to see beautiful backdrops of Tutshi Lake, Emerald Lake, International Falls Trail with photo-ops at the Welcome to Yukon and the Welcome to Alaska signs.

Through the Lens: Unforgettable Scenery on the White Pass Railway

The Locomotive 52 Display

This historic 2-6-0 “Mogul” steam engine, originally built in 1881, holds a special place in Alaska’s railroad history — it was one of the first locomotives to operate on the White Pass & Yukon Route (and among the earliest to run on any rail in Alaska). After years of service hauling trains through the rugged White Pass and later on the Taku Tram, it was retired in 1936 and eventually restored for display. Today it stands as a proud reminder of the Gold Rush-era engineering that made this scenic railway possible.

All Aboard for 27.7-mile One-Way Journey from Skagway, Alaska to Fraser, B.C.

Travelers consistently rave about the Skagway-to-Fraser leg as one of the most spectacular train rides in the world— a thrilling ascent through rugged mountain scenery, historic tunnels, and dizzying drop-offs that feels like pure mountain railroad theater.

You could see the cruise ship from the White Pass Scenic Railway located off Broadway and 2nd Ave. The walk is completely flat, paved, and straightforward — you’ll simply head toward downtown Skagway (follow the crowds or signs for Broadway Street / the train depot).

White Pass & Yukon Route brochure with an illustrated map:

I highlighted our one-way northbound train route, which was about an hour and forty-five minutes non-stop train ride.

We would parallel the Skagway River and Klondike Highway, which we will return on by bus later on.

The sign says, "Rocky Point."

We could see a tour bus taking the Klondike Hwy route.

The sign says, "Brackett's Toll Road."

History of Brackett’s Toll Road — a bold but short-lived Gold Rush enterprise. In late 1897, George Brackett (a former mayor of Minneapolis who had lost his fortune) invested roughly $185,000 of his own money (equivalent to several million today) to blast and build a wagon road up the White Pass, aiming to provide a safer alternative to the deadly trail where thousands of horses perished.

By early 1898 the road was open, and Brackett charged tolls: about $0.75 per pound of freight, $10 per wagon, $1 per horse, and 25 cents per dog. While some prospectors could afford it, many packers and stampeders found the fees steep compared to other Gold Rush costs (a basic meal might run 50 cents to a dollar, and a night’s lodging or a pair of boots could cost several dollars).

Toll evasion was rampant. Many stampeders and packers simply ignored the tollgates, used cut-off trails to bypass them, or forced their way through. Resistance from freighters and packers was fierce — they viewed the private tolls as unfair profiteering in a time of hardship. Tollgates were repeatedly attacked and destroyed with axes, collectors were roughed up, and Brackett had to call on the U.S. Army for protection at times. A few individuals were arrested and fined for trespassing or contempt, but widespread enforcement was nearly impossible in the chaotic environment.

The drama and constant conflict, combined with the impending arrival of the railroad, made the venture unsustainable. Within months, Brackett sold the road to the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway builders for around $110,000.The faint remnants visible today stand as a testament to entrepreneurial ambition — and the rough justice of the Gold Rush era.

The large white-painted sign "ON TO ALASKA WITH BUCHANAN" on the cliffside near the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station (visible from the White Pass Railway around Mile 8.8... by car, along the South Klondike Highway / aka Alaska Hwy 98 is ~7.9 miles south the the U.S.-Canada border and ~8 miles by road to the Skagway Cruise Port/downtown area) is a historic marker honoring a remarkable youth program from the 1920s–1930s.

George E. Buchanan, a successful coal merchant from Detroit, Michigan, started an inspiring summer adventure program in 1923 during the Great Depression. Each year, he took groups of about 50 boys (and later girls) on an epic journey from Detroit to Alaska. The motto “On to Alaska with Buchanan!” became their rallying cry.

To participate, each young person had to earn one-third of the trip cost themselves (through door-to-door sales of items like kitchen gadgets), with parents covering another third and Buchanan donating the final third. This “earn-your-way” model taught responsibility, entrepreneurship, and self-reliance.

The group traveled by train across Canada, sailed up the Inside Passage to Skagway, then explored Alaska by train, hiking glaciers, panning for gold, and experiencing the North. Buchanan ran the program for about 15–20 years until he died in 1939.

Pitch Fork Falls

The sign reads:
WHITE PASS & YUKON ROUTE
PITCHFORK FALLS
ALASKA
460 miles South of Arctic Circle on Meridian.
Elevation 1014ft. Road Built 1898 to 1900.
This is one of many scenic spots enroute to Atlin and Dawson.

Tips to Photographing Glass-Free Photos

• We stepped out onto the open vestibule or outdoor platforms that could only accommodate two to four people at a time. To share the view with others, everyone took turns a few minutes at a time.
• Be sure to also have a firm grip on your camera or wear your camera strap.
• Since we're climbing around 3,000 ft, we were sure to dress warm for the mountain winds.
• Although this snapshot of Pitch Fork Falls was on the right side on the ascent, the left side of the train (when facing forward) offers the best scenic views on the way up from Skagway to the summit.
• Note: You may miss portions of a fully narrated audio tour that brings to life the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, highlights local wilderness landmarks, and showcases the dramatic engineering feats required to carve the narrow-gauge tracks through the rugged Alaskan mountains.

A different perspective of Pitch Fork Falls from our return trip by bus back to Skagway.

We make our approach towards Tunnel Mountain and Bridge 15C – a historic wooden trestle spanning a gap near Glacier Gorge.

Tunnel Mountain and Bridge15C in the distance.

Did we start seeing some low-hanging clouds or was it fog that settled over the mountains? Did our train genuinely pass right through the clouds?!

Rare Brown Bear Sighting! Sorry, the bear crossed the tracks and ran down the mountain too fast for a snapshot but we saw it.

Looks like the next train tour is following us down below.

Sign says, "Inspiration Point."

A famous scenic overlook and historic landmark located at Mile 17, Inspiration Point sits at an elevation of 2,413 feet and offers passengers sweeping panoramic views of the dramatic Skagway River gorge, rugged mountain peaks, cascading waterfalls, and the winding railway far below as it snakes through the steep Alaskan wilderness.

Sign says, "Gulch"

One of the most sobering yet historically powerful moments on the White Pass Railway comes as you pass Dead Horse Gulch (often simply referred to as “The Gulch”). This deep, rugged ravine earned its grim name during the frantic winter of 1897–98, when an estimated 3,000 pack horses perished along the White Pass Trail from exhaustion, starvation, falls, and mistreatment.

Jack London - best known for his classic novels The Call of the Wild (1903) and White Fang (1906), both set in the harsh Yukon and Alaska wilderness during the Klondike Gold Rush era. He witnessed the horror of the 1897–98 Gold Rush, famously wrote that the horses “died like mosquitoes in the first frost” and that “from Skagway to Bennett they rotted in heaps.” The railway eventually bypassed the worst sections with bridges and tunnels, but the name and the tragic story remain a haunting reminder of the human (and animal) cost of the Klondike Gold Rush. Today, as you glide safely above the gulch in comfort, it’s a poignant contrast to the suffering that once unfolded below.

One of the most striking moments on the White Pass Railway comes as you approach Dead Horse Gulch and catch sight of the abandoned Cantilever Bridge, often called the Ghost Bridge. This towering steel structure, once the tallest cantilever bridge in the world when completed in 1901, dramatically spans the deep ravine. Built to carry the narrow-gauge tracks over the notorious gulch, the bridge stood as an engineering marvel for decades.

In 1969, a new tunnel and bridge bypassed it for safety and efficiency, leaving the original cantilever structure to stand silent against the rugged landscape — a haunting “ghost” of the railway’s ambitious past.

Dead Horse Gulch Tunnel or the 1969 Bypass Tunnel

Known by many names — the Trail of ’98, the Dead Horse Trail, and the White Pass Trail...

— this rugged route from Skagway over the Coast Mountains became one of the most infamous and tragic paths of the Klondike Gold Rush. In the frantic winter of 1897–98, tens of thousands of stampeders struggled up its steep, narrow, and often muddy path in search of fortune, carrying supplies on their backs or driving overburdened pack horses.

The trail earned its grim nickname “Dead Horse Trail” after an estimated 3,000 horses perished from exhaustion, starvation, falls, and neglect along the treacherous terrain. While far fewer people died than on the parallel Chilkoot Trail, the suffering of both man and beast here symbolized the brutal cost of the Gold Rush.

Today, as you ride the White Pass Railway high above the old trail, you’re traveling the very same corridor where dreams of riches collided with harsh reality — a powerful reminder of the human spirit that built the North.

The White Pass Railway crossing the International Border at the summit of White Pass (Elevation 2,888-ft).

Here, at an elevation of 2,888 feet, a prominent sign marks the divide between the United States and Canada. Flanking the sign are five flags that cleverly represent the layered jurisdictions of this remote corner of North America:
 
On the American side –
• the United States
• state of Alaska
 
On the Canadian side –
• the province of British Columbia
• the territory of Yukon
• and the national flag of Canada

Did you know: Stampeders were called sourdoughs.

The term "sourdough" originally referred to a sourdough starter — a mixture of flour, water, and wild yeast used to make bread and pancakes. In the harsh northern climate of Alaska and the Yukon, where commercial yeast was hard to get and fresh supplies were scarce, prospectors learned to keep a small portion of their sourdough starter alive from one baking to the next. It was practical, reliable, and became a staple of their diet.

How It Became a Nickname
A true “sourdough” was an experienced northern miner or resident who had spent at least one winter in the country and knew how to survive using traditional methods like keeping a sourdough starter. Over time, “sourdough” came to represent the tough, seasoned stampeders and old-timers who had “been there and done that” during the Gold Rush.

View Summit Lake as we make our approach to our destination – Fraser, BC Train Station

Arrived at Fraser Station and it's time to disembark for our next adventure: A Visit to Caribou Crossing

---