Skagway – Gold in the Yukon!

Skagway became a port of entry to the Yukon in the Alaska Gold Rush Days

Skagway, Alaska

Every day in the summer, thousands of cruise ship visitors walk down the gangplank and into the town of only about 600 or so permanent residents. Officially listed in the 2010 census as a population of 920, some of the residents head south for the winter once the tourist season is over. The summer population probably numbers around 2000, most of the summer residents work in the tourist industry.

The town is in a protected passageway but the name Skagway is from the Native American word, Skagua and means “windy place”

Skagway has the capability of supporting thousands of visitors on any given day. Our 13-hour stay in Skagway was shared with passengers from four cruise ships. With such a long day, we ended up on three of the Norwegian Cruise Line sponsored excursions. The first two were tours of the town, and the last, a train ride on the White Pass Railway through some of Alaska’s scenic beauty into Canada. Today’s post features highlights from the tours in town. Next week, I will share a gallery of images taken along the rail line to White Pass.

Several of the original saloons with bordello upstairs still stands. The red lights in the upstairs windows invite lonely miners to a few moments of pleasure

Our first tour gave us an insight into the lives of the prospectors who used Skagway as a starting point to head to the Yukon in search of that elusive gold mine. In the 1890s, with thousands of men, women, shall we say “lacking in virtue,” found their gold in their bodies. Our first excursion, “Good Time Girls Walking Tour” focused on the lives of those women. The second tour was a more typical “bus tour” around the city, stopping at various points of interest.

I submit for your entertainment, a gallery of photos taken at Skagway, Alaska. Click on one of the photos below to see an enlarged view and scroll through the gallery.

 

John Steiner

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