Railroads & Locomotives Tourist Railroad Profiles White Pass & Yukon Route profile

White Pass & Yukon Route profile

By Lucas Iverson | March 10, 2023

| Last updated on August 29, 2023

The White Pass & Yukon’s 67.5 route miles make it the longest operating narrow-gauge railroad in North America.

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White Pass & Yukon Route logoThe White Pass and Yukon Route’s 67.5 route miles make it the longest-operating narrow-gauge railroad in North America. More importantly, virtually every one of those miles is knockout beautiful—a potpourri of lakes, rivers, and snow-capped mountains. Completed in 1900, the railroad was built to link the Yukon and other booming gold-mining districts with tidewater at Skagway.

Choices

The most popular trip is the half-day, 40-mile round trip to White Pass Summit. Best of all are 8-hour runs along the full length of the line, Skagway to Carcross, riding the train one way and a motor coach the other. A brief layover at Bennett allows a visit to the museum there. Additional train-motor coach combinations are available, and the trains will drop off and pick up hikers at certain locations, including Laughton, 14 miles from Skagway, or Denver, 6 miles distant.

When to go

The White Pass & Yukon operates from early May through September, and any time in that window is fine for a visit—though it is likely to be bracingly chilly early and late. As compensation, the snow-capped mountains will be more scenic.

Diesel powered passenger train along water
With hikers’ gear in the baggage car, a train bound for Carcross, British Columbia, skirts Lake Bernard in 2015. Bob Johnston

Good to know

Mikado No. 73, pride of the White Pass fleet, has been undergoing a major overhaul, putting the usual steam excursions to Fraser Meadows in abeyance, with a hoped-for return in 2024. Unique and colorful diesels—modernized, shovel-nose General Electric units and newer low-nose road switchers—handle all the other trains.

Steam locomotive on passenger train in front of mountains
A White Pass & Yukon steam excursion prepares to depart Skagway, Alaska, in August 2015. Bob Johnston

Worth doing

The few hotels and handful of B&Bs in Skagway are best booked in advance. You can tour Skagway, the Yukon, and other scenic areas by Jeep, raft, horseback, or dogsled.

Don’t miss

Although the entire line is spectacular, pay particular attention to the first 20 miles to White Pass Summit. Here, the railroad uses grades of up to 3.9 percent to climb 2,865 feet. For the best views, grab seats on the left side of the train.

Getting there

Most passengers arrive at Skagway by cruise ship, but you can get to Skagway from Bellingham, Wash., or Prince Rupert aboard the comfortable ferries of the Alaska Marine Highway. For motorists, Skagway is 110 miles south of the Alaska Highway via the South Klondike Highway.

Train with wooden passenger cars waits on dock across from cruise ship
A White Pass & Yukon Summit excursion prepares to leave from the Skagway dock in 2015. Bob Johnston

Location: 201 2nd Avenue, Skagway, AK
Phone: 800-343-7373
Website: wpyr.com
E-mail: info@wpyr.com

See more tourist railroads you must visit out West.

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