08/13/2026
Day 4 on the Disney Wonder to Alaska!
Our port day in Skagway was a wet one, with rain sticking around for most of the day, but we didn’t let the weather dampen our spirits!
Skagway is a fascinating little town with a huge history. During the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897–98, tens of thousands of hopeful prospectors arrived here on their way to the goldfields in Canada’s Yukon. Skagway quickly transformed from a tiny settlement into a wild boomtown, reaching a population of around 10,000 people at the height of the rush. Today, much of downtown is preserved as part of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, with its historic buildings and streets offering a glimpse into that era.
We started our day with a private sailing adventure with Sail Northwest Adventures aboard the Hopscotch. We sailed through the Lynn Canal, one of the deepest and longest fjords in North America giving us a chance to experience Alaska from the water—even if we were getting a little soggy!
The Lynn Canal runs about 90 miles (140 km) from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage. At over 2,000 feet (610 m) in depth, Lynn Canal is 3rd the deepest fjord in North America (outside Greenland and Nunavut) after Jervis Inlet and Bute Inlet in British Columbia. The northern portion of the canal braids into the respective Chilkat, Chilkoot, and Taiya Inlets. The Tlingit are the indigenous people of the Lynn Canal's shores and waterways.
It finally stopped raining once we were back on land and we warmed up with lunch at Skagway Brewing Company. This was a great spot for a casual lunch with indoor and outdoor (covered) seating.
Now that everyone was happy and fed, we stopped at the famous Kirmse’s for some local jewelry and souvenir shopping. Kirmse’s has roots going all the way back to Skagway’s early tourism days; the Kirmse family moved into the historic Moore House in 1910 and operated a jewelry and souvenir business there for decades.
We may have been wet, but we had a wonderful day exploring this unique little Gold Rush town—and made the most of our time in Skagway!
