Haines and Skagway

The frontier town of Haines is a fascinating town to discover indigenous Alaskan cultures.

Haines was originally home to the Chilkat Tlingit people. Renowned for their weaving skills, you can see examples of their work in a flourishing art scene, with galleries and workshops filled with totem carvings, silverwork and sculptures. The region’s landscapes also offer hiking and wildlife spotting opportunities, including bald eagles, bears and moose.

Further inland, historic Skagway has a beautiful location at the head of an inlet in a narrow valley in the north of Inside Passage. The town played a key part in Alaska’s Gold Rush history in the 1890's when thousands of prospectors came through here to reach the Klondike Goldfields via White Pass and the Chilkoot Trail.

Skagway’s biggest tourism draw is Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. This encompasses a six-block historical district in town, including a museum, restored saloon bar and the striking Arctic Brotherhood Hall, constructed from driftwood.

The nearby ghost town of Dyea is the starting point for the Chilkoot Trail, a popular 33-mile hike over the Canadian border to Bennett in British Columbia. The full trail takes about three days so many visitors prefer to hike a short section. A spectacular alternative is taking the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad into Canada through breathtaking scenery of gorges and waterfalls.

The most entertaining way to relive the Goldrush is at the Days of ’98 vaudeville theatre show, which has been running for over a century in Skagway.