Family travel destinations attractions and activities with kids in skagway AK

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

Skagways Arctic Brotherhood Hall is a landmark and Alaskas most photographed building. It has a unique driftwood face of nearly 9,000 sticks of driftwood and is home to the Skagway convention and visitor center. The Corrington Museum of Alaskan History tells the history of Alaska from pre-historic times to the present. On exhibit are more than 40 walrus tusks all engraved and other exhibits depicting the events shaping the growth of Alaska. Just five minutes from downtown Skagway, you will find the Klondike Gold Dredge, a reassembled gold dredge that once worked the Sixtymile District near Dawson City.

The McCabe Bldg. Houses the Skagway Museum and Archives. This building first used as a Methodist preparatory school and is made from granite. Over the years it has been home to many things including a court house, U.S. Marshals office, Commissioners office, District court, and a jail. Now the museum occupies the first floor and city offices on the second floor.

Veterans Memorial Park is home to a World War Two Quonset Hut and a monument dedicated to Skagway WWII and Korean War servicemen who lost their lives during those conflicts. Skagway Centennial Park features the citys Centennial Statue of a Tlingit Guide leading a prospector up the trail in 1897 in hopes of finding Gold. You will also find a time capsule, monuments, a resting area with benches and many native plants.

The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and Skagway Historic District consists of a seven-block passageway going along historic Broadway Street. This area has many restored private and park-owned structures. Many are used by different business with gold rush exhibits, old railroad photos and more. The Mascot Saloon is a must see exhibit depicting city life from the late 1890s and the Moore House which was the homestead of early settlers William and Bernard Moore.

Pullen Creek Park & Hatcheries offers a wonderful place for fishing, picnicking, or just relaxing and taking in the beautiful scenery. The king salmon run begins in late May, then the pinks in August and the silvers in September. The Skagway school runs a hatchery up the railroad tracks it was given the honor of Alaska Vocational Education Program of the Year in 1989. Another hatchery is Burro Creek Farms in operation for over 20 years. It is a non -profit hatchery owned and operated by the Richards family raising pink, chum, silver and king salmon.

A beautiful footbridge takes you over the Skagway River to an awesome area, Yakutania Point & Smugglers Cove, full of picnic spots, waterfront trails, an exercise course and a pet cemetery. A park named for a woman who befriended miners is called Mollie Walsh Park and a great area to let the kids run and play. It is said that Mollie Walsh was admired by a man named Packer Jack Newman, who placed a bust of her at the park after Mollie ran off with another man. It is said that Mollie met a premature death.

Just a short distance from the Skagway Historic District is the Gold Rush Cemetery & Reid Falls. You can purchase a cemetery guidebook that tells of the history and about some of the folks buried in the cemetery such as Frank Reid of whom the falls are named and including outlaw Soapy Smith.

Skagway has two very popular trails:

Dewey Lakes Trail System, which takes you to lower Dewey Lake, upper Dewey Lake, Icy Lake, Sturgills Landing, upper Reid Falls, and Devils Punch Bowl. Most of the trails are easy to walk although a couple can be rather steep in parts. You will also find many picnic and camping spots. Most trails are good for day hikes or overnight excursions. The lakes are stocked with trout.

Skyline Trail to AB Mountain, which is named for the AB that appears in the form of snowmelt every spring. The Artic Brotherhood viewed this as an omen. You should prepare for at least a half day for this hike. Much of this trail is very exhausting but worth the time because of the beautiful views of Skagway, Lynn Canal, Dyea, Haines, and Chilkat range.