The Carcross day at a glance
- Drive time each way
- About an hour, before you stop for anything
- Route
- The Klondike Highway, Skagway to Carcross, Yukon
- Countries
- Two — passports required at the Canadian border
- Rental
- Avis, walking distance from the cruise dock
- Port call needed
- A long one — roughly ten to twelve hours
- Vehicle
- Any car will do; an SUV is more comfortable
- Highlights
- Tormented Valley, Tutshi Lake, Emerald Lake, Carcross Desert
- Lunch
- Poutine and a Yukon beer in Carcross
Is the drive to Carcross better than the White Pass railway?
If your ship gives you a full day in Skagway, yes — we think so. The train follows one line on one timetable. A rental car takes you over the same pass and keeps going into the Yukon, stopping wherever the scenery deserves it, and still gets you back with hours to spare in town.
Skagway is a Gold Rush town, and the White Pass & Yukon Route railway is deservedly the most-booked excursion in Alaska. Nobody comes off it disappointed. But it is a fixed route on a fixed schedule, and the best views arrive when the carriage happens to be passing them.
Driving changes the shape of the day. You cross the same pass, then carry on north into a landscape the train never reaches — high tundra, turquoise lakes, and a Yukon village at the end of it. You stop when you want to. On a long port call that freedom is worth more than the novelty of the tracks.
This is a full-day plan. If your ship is in Skagway for six or seven hours, take the train or walk the town instead — see our Alaska cruise ports guide for what fits a shorter call.
How do you rent a car in Skagway from a cruise ship?
Avis is a short walk from the cruise dock and the process is quick — paperwork, a walkaround, and you are away. The queue builds fast on a busy port morning, so send one nominated driver off the ship first thing with the booking details and identification in hand.
Book ahead. Skagway has a small fleet and several thousand passengers stepping ashore at once, so availability on the day is not something to gamble on.
Our pro tip from the day itself: the line at Avis gets long first thing in the morning. Have the assigned driver ready to disembark the moment the gangway opens, collect the vehicle, and pick everyone else up. It saves the better part of an hour.
Any car handles the highway — it is paved the whole way. A 4Runner or Jeep is more comfortable on the gravel pull-offs and gives you a better seat for the views, but it is not a requirement.
What do you need to cross into Canada from Skagway?
A passport, or whatever documentation your nationality requires for entry into Canada, for every person in the car. The crossing at Fraser is straightforward for most visitors. Check the rental agreement too — it will spell out the terms for taking the vehicle across the border.
The border post sits above the pass, some way north of the actual boundary line. It is a routine stop: a few questions, documents checked, on your way.
Two things to confirm before you leave the dock. First, that everyone in the vehicle has the right travel documents with them, not locked in a cabin safe. Second, that the rental company permits the car in Canada — most Skagway rentals are written with this drive in mind, but read the agreement rather than assume.
You cross back the same way on the return, so build a few minutes for it into your timing.
What is the Tormented Valley?
The strange, stunted country immediately past the White Pass summit — twisted trees, bare rock and scattered pools, shaped by wind and a brutally short growing season. Summit Lake sits in the middle of it and is the natural photo stop.
The change is abrupt. One moment you are climbing through coastal rainforest above Skagway, the next the trees have shrunk to knee height and the ground is stone. It looks less like Alaska than like somewhere considerably further north.
Pull off at Summit Lake. Mountains frame the water and the reflection on a still morning is the reason this stop is on every list of ours.
Numerous other pull-offs line the Klondike Highway on the way up, most of them with panoramic views back down the valley to glaciers on the far peaks. Take them. That is the whole point of driving.
Which lakes should you stop at on the Klondike Highway?
Tutshi Lake, which runs alongside the highway in British Columbia with mountains standing straight out of clear turquoise water; and Emerald Lake, sometimes called Spirit Lake, whose green comes from white marl on the lakebed. Bove Island Viewpoint gives you a second angle on the same stretch of water.
Tutshi is the long one. Find a safe place to pull over, get out, and look — this is also good wildlife country, so keep your eyes on the shoreline as much as the peaks.
Emerald Lake is the photograph everyone comes home with. The colour is real: light reflecting off calcium carbonate deposits in the shallow bed, and it shifts through the day with the angle of the sun.
Bove Island Viewpoint is worth the extra stop. Tree-covered islands sit in still water with ranges stacked behind them, and on a clear day it is the finest view of the drive.
What is there to do in Carcross, Yukon?
Carcross is a small historic community on Bennett Lake, about an hour from Skagway. Walk the Carcross Desert, one of the smallest deserts in the world; browse the artisan shops and the Matthew Watson General Store at Carcross Commons; and eat poutine with a Yukon beer before you turn around.
The desert is not really a desert — it is the exposed sandy bed of a glacial lake, held in dunes by the dry local climate. It takes ten minutes to walk and it is genuinely odd to stand on sand with snow-capped mountains behind you.
Carcross Commons is the centre of the village: carved poles, First Nations artists, small shops, and the Matthew Watson General Store, a landmark that has been trading here since the Gold Rush era.
Then lunch. You are in Canada, so poutine is the correct order, and a local Yukon beer with it if the driver is not you. It is the right way to break the day before the return leg.
Will you still have time for Skagway itself?
Yes, on a full-day call. The drive back takes the same hour, and most people are back at the dock with two or three hours in hand — enough to walk Broadway, see the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park buildings and browse the shops before all-aboard.
This is the part people worry about, and they need not. Skagway's historic downtown is compact and walkable directly from the ship, so nothing about the drive means giving up the town.
Give yourself a real margin. Set a firm turnaround time in Carcross and hold to it — a rental car has no back-to-ship guarantee behind it, and the border adds an unpredictable few minutes. We would aim to be back at the dock ninety minutes before all-aboard.
For how independent plans compare with ship-run tours across the rest of an Alaska itinerary, see our shore excursions guide.
Skagway day trip questions
How long does the drive from Skagway to Carcross take?
About an hour each way without stopping. Realistically you want four to five hours for the round trip so you can stop at Summit Lake, Tutshi Lake, Emerald Lake and Bove Island, plus time in Carcross itself.
Do you need a passport to drive from Skagway to the Yukon?
Yes. You are crossing from the United States into Canada and back, so every person in the vehicle needs a passport or the equivalent documentation their nationality requires. Carry it with you rather than leaving it on the ship.
Do you need a four-wheel drive?
No. The Klondike Highway is paved for the whole drive and any rental car manages it comfortably. An SUV is nicer on the gravel pull-offs and gives you a higher view, but it is a preference, not a requirement.
Is it risky to leave the port area on your own?
It carries more responsibility than a ship-run tour, because there is no back-to-ship guarantee behind a rental car. Set a hard turnaround time, allow for the border crossing, and plan to be back at the dock well before all-aboard.
Can you do this on a short port call?
We would not. The drive needs a long day in port — roughly ten to twelve hours. On a shorter call, ride the White Pass railway or spend the time in Skagway's historic downtown instead.
Does working with Glacial Expeditions cost more?
No. Our planning costs you nothing extra. Pricing matches booking direct with the cruise line, and Signature Travel Network amenities are added on top.
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