What it's like
Skagway sits at the head of the Taiya Inlet, and high peaks rise on every side of the town. Ice from the surrounding mountains reaches down toward the valleys. A helicopter flight is the way to see those glaciers from above, looking down on the ice and the rock they cut.
The flight lasts about 1.5 hours and is booked as a tour. Skagway is small enough to walk, but the glaciers lie beyond the town, so most visitors who want to see the ice up close take a tour that goes out and back. The helicopter gives the widest view of the ice and the peaks in a single flight.
Good to know
- The flight is a booked tour, so reserve a seat ahead of time.
- Skagway is only a few blocks wide and a couple dozen blocks long, so the town is easy to walk.
- The highway glaciers need a car or bus, so the helicopter is the way to see the ice from above.
Skagway glaciers by helicopter
A helicopter flight over the glaciers that ring Skagway, seen from the air across ice fields and peaks. It is booked as a tour rather than arranged on your own.
Tours that go here
Prices are per person, booked with our partner, Shore Excursions Group.
White Pass & Yukon Route Railway
The White Pass and Yukon Route is a narrow-gauge railway that climbs out of Skagway toward the White Pass. Riders get long views of the train winding along the mountainside above the river.
Dyea townsite
The Dyea townsite is the remains of a gold rush boomtown at the head of the Taiya River Valley. Today it is a lush natural area where you walk among old ruins and wild plants.
Lower Dewey Lake
Lower Dewey Lake is a moderate loop trail just outside Skagway's town center, leading through spruce and hemlock forest to a mountain lake. Most people walk it as a half day in the hills above town.
Yakutania Point
A short walk from town to a point on Taiya Inlet, with a view down Lynn Canal toward the Chilkat Mountains. Trails, a footbridge and a picnic shelter make it an easy stop.
The same kind of day, elsewhere
Glaciers and fjords
