Roadtrippin’ 2022: Riding the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad is one of the biggest attractions in Skagway, baiting you in with the incredible sights and then catching you with the historic moments etched into the mountains.

The railroad was built in 1898 from Skagway up to the goldfields in Canada and eventually to Whitehorse. The route was blasted out with hundreds of pounds of dynamite and thousands of workers. The train climbs from sea level to almost 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles. Sean Maguire and Austin Sjong were lucky to get on the tracks on a beautiful day in Skagway, making the views that much more incredible.

“I think that we have such an amazing chance to share what the wild Alaska wilderness looks like and tell the tales of the Klondike Gold Rush,” said Jaqueline Taylor-Rose, manager of marketing and project development for the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad.

The train crew does a great job of educating passengers on the history of the gold rush while they are taking in the sights and sounds. Some of the passengers are die-hard train fans and others are just along for a cool ride. On a busy day during the cruise ship season, Taylor-Rose said the train will run upwards of 12 times a day and runs from May to September.

“Pre-pandemic, we were looking at over a million guests in the port and we were able to get over half of those on the railroad,” Taylor-Rose said.

It was about a three-hour trip up to White Pass before the train turns around. The train even goes into Canada for a short stretch but since no one is getting off of the locomotive you don’t have to have a passport.

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