Chilkoot Trail in Alaska

[MikeV]

Hi,

I'm planning a road trip from Cleveland to Alaska in late June/early July and mostly I'll be in the Fairbanks/Denali area, however I was interested in taking a detour on the way from Whitehorse to see the Chilkoot Trail. Is this only a hiking trail? I'm not prepared or experienced enough for a 33 mile hike through the Alaskan/BC wilderness, however on both Google and Bing maps it looks as though there is also a road that goes from outside of Skagway, AK to the Canadian border along the trail. Sadly the street view is unavailable for the part I was hoping to drive through, and the satellite view doesn't have good enough resolution to tell.

So my question is, is this just the trail head of a hiking path or is there also a drivable road there? Thanks in advance!

The fork is at point B on this map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...,0.132093&z=14

[glc]

I have no first hand information, but from what I can find on the Web, it's not drivable. It looks like you can drive from Skagway to the trailhead in Dyea, but that's it.

[Eris]

Although I have travelled the road from Whitehorse to Skagway and the railway that runs down into Skagway I did not hike the trail. But I am taken up with its history.

The Chilkoot Trail is as difficult a hike today as 100 years ago. About 33 miles in length, the vertical elevation gain is nearly 3,700 ft. and much of the path is very rocky. The weather even in summer can be extremely changeable, making the trek always potentially dangerous at times.

Planning needed and provisions for your trip carefully thought out. Oddly it isn't a wilderness hike, because between 75 and 100 people start the trail daily. Hikers are asked to preserve the trail as it a historic park. Believe artefacts of the gold-rush days can still be seen along the route.

Permits are required to make the hike. The U.S. and Canadian parks authorities cooperate to administer these permits, and they can be obtained on either side of the border. Only 50 hikers are allowed per day from each side of the pass. There are fees to be paid.

Read here:

http://www.nps.gov/klgo/planyourvisit/chilkoottrail.htm