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Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway

Narration and photos by Murray Lundberg
Updated July 4, 2011

The South Klondike Highway     This 30-page, mile-by-mile guide (with 54 photos) will show you the points of interest along the South Klondike Highway and the Dyea Road. The South Klondike Highway runs 98 miles (157.7 km) from Skagway (Alaska) through Fraser (British Columbia) and Carcross (Yukon) to the Alaska Highway at a point 10 miles east of Whitehorse. Officially it is just the Klondike Highway, running 443 miles (713 km) from Skagway to Dawson City, but in practical use the highway sections north and south of Whitehorse are used separately.

    This 2-lane paved highway takes you through an amazing variety of scenery, from granite peaks to desert, with pristine lakes around every corner. It is truly a photographer's dream trip.

    The guide has been written by Murray Lundberg. I was a driver/guide for Alaska-Yukon cruisetours for 17 years and in recent years I've been a cruise consultant whose specialty is Alaska, and small ships around the world. I live just north of Skagway and drive the highway year-round, usually 15-20 times each year. For more information about me, see my AlaskaCruiseCenter.info Web site (one of many sites I operate).

    The vast majority of the people who have used this guide since it was first posted in 2003 have been cruise ship passengers who rent a car in Skagway to make the drive, so the guide runs from Skagway north.

    I recommend that a minimum of 5 hours be allowed for the trip from Skagway to Emerald Lake and back. For cruise ship passengers, I recommend Emerald Lake as the turn-around point so that they have time to see Skagway, and because the scenery north of Emerald Lake is nowhere near as dramatic as what has been seen to that point.

    Your trip will probably be more enjoyable if you avoid the tour bus rush – that means heading north as soon as you get your car, and avoiding Caribou Crossing in particular between about 11:30 and 1:30.

    There is a $5.00 charge to download Murray's Guide, which is in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format for easy printing. It can also be read on Kindle and Sony eReaders (and perhaps other e-readers, though that hasn't been tested yet). Payment is made with your credit card through either Paypal or Google Checkout, totally secure providers.
Note: once I receive notification from Paypal or Google that payment has been made, I'll send you an email with download instructions. It could take a few hours to get that email, as I have many projects beyond this one.

Problems? I'm having problems with the Paypal button - if it doesn't work for you, please pop me a note for alternate instructions (that I can't post here).

    You may download a sample of the guide here.

    Please note that Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway is protected by International copyright laws – reproduction beyond the printing of one copy is illegal.

 

    If you have an iPod, there is now an MP3 audio guide to Skagway and the highway (with excellent musical accompaniment, and geocaching information), for $8.99 - download The Bear Essentials (sorry, only US residents can download MP3 files, but everyone can listen to the many samples)

 

Notes:

  • as this trip takes you into Canada, appropriate ID is required. While you don't need a passport to get into Canada, you do need one to get back into the States. Click here for the lowest rates at Avis.com
  • there are 2 car rental companies in Skagway, Avis and Sourdough. Both are reasonable walks from any of the docks, though shuttle buses are available. Note that due to Canada Customs regulations, Canadians cannot rent a car and make this drive into Canada.
  • there is 1 gas station in Skagway (at 2nd Avenue and State Street), and 1 in Carcross. Regular gas is currently (June 17, 2011) $4.647 per gallon in Skagway, $1.489 per liter in Carcross (approximately $5.45).
  • there is 1 grocery store in Skagway and 1 convenience store in Carcross.
  • there are many restaurants in Skagway, 4 in the Carcross area, nothing in between.
  • the speed limits on the highway are 40mph in Alaska (outside Skagway), and 90 kmh (55mph) in British Columbia and the Yukon.
  • a GPS is of little use on this road due to poor satellite reception in many areas and the almost complete absence of geographical information about this area in GPS databases. They will give you lat/long for most of the route and most units will give you your distance from the towns, but not much else.
  • there is only cell phone coverage within a few miles of Skagway and Carcross.
  • for your other port excursions, if you like the smaller groups and more personal service offered by independent operators but want the convenience of one-stop shopping and payment, ShoreTrips, one of the most reliable shore excursion brokers in the world, has what you're looking for.

Additional Resources:
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