White Pass Deluxe Tour: Gold Rush Cemetery & Alpine Valley

Gold Rush stories and mountain views from the White Pass summit

The White Pass Deluxe Tour is a 3-hour guided highlights tour of Skagway that visits Gold Rush Cemetery, Tormented Valley and the summit overlook. You travel in a 24-passenger mini-bus with large windows and bucket seats, and port pickup is included. A current valid passport is required on the day of travel.

Step-by-step itinerary

Skagway highlights and Gold Rush history

• Visit Gold Rush Cemetery
• Hear stories of Soapy Smith and pioneers
• See waterfalls and mountain views
• Visit Tormented Valley
• Photo at Welcome to Alaska Sign
• Photo at Skagway Overlook

The Experience

The tour starts with a stop at Gold Rush Cemetery, where your guide brings the era to life with stories of early pioneers and the outlaw Soapy Smith. From there, the route climbs toward White Pass, passing waterfalls and glaciers along the way. The mini-bus has large windows on both sides, so you can photograph the landscape without craning across other passengers. At the summit, you reach the Welcome to Alaska Sign and the Skagway Overlook, where the inlet and the ships anchored there spread out below you.

Tormented Valley sits between the high points—a sub-arctic Alpine valley where the scale of the mountains makes everything else look small and distorted. The guide points out the geology and the way the landscape shifts as you climb. Photo stops are built into the route, not squeezed in at the end, so you are not rushed through the moments that matter. The whole loop takes three hours from port pickup to return.

Bring a current valid passport; US citizens may also use a driver's license with a birth certificate. If you are arriving by cruise ship, you will need to provide your ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time at booking so the guide can time the return to your departure. The tour runs in all weather, and the bus is heated.

What’s included

• Driver and guide in English.
• port pickup.
• stops at Gold Rush Cemetery, Tormented Valley and the White Pass summit with the Welcome to Alaska Sign and Skagway Overlook.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Klondike Tours

Is this one for you?The fixed three-hour loop and included port pickup mean cruise passengers can book without calculating drive times or negotiating a return—the guide handles the timing to your ship's departure. The large windows and bucket seats let you photograph without jostling across other travelers, and the guide's stories at each stop replace the work of researching the Gold Rush on your own.

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Top questions

What is Gold Rush Cemetery and why does the guide spend time there?

Gold Rush Cemetery is where early Skagway settlers are buried, including the notorious outlaw Soapy Smith. The guide tells the stories of the Gold Rush era and the pioneers who came through Skagway, bringing that history into focus at the graves themselves.

What exactly is Tormented Valley and what will I see there?

Tormented Valley is a sub-arctic Alpine valley at high elevation where the massive surrounding mountains make the landscape look distorted and dwarfed by comparison. It is a stop on the route where the guide explains the geology and the scale of the White Pass terrain.

Do I need a passport for this tour?

Yes, a current valid passport is required on the day of travel. US citizens may use a current US driver's license with a birth certificate instead. Children born in the USA under 16 traveling with a parent may use a birth certificate alone.

How does the tour work if I am arriving by cruise ship?

Port pickup is included, and the guide will time your return to match your ship's re-boarding time. At booking, provide your ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time so the three-hour tour fits your schedule.

What kind of vehicle will I be riding in?

You travel in a 24-passenger mini-bus with bucket seats and large windows on both sides, designed for sightseeing. The windows are positioned so multiple people can photograph the same view without crowding.