Skagway’s Chilkoot Trail damaged by fall floods, needs major work before reopening

Skagway’s historic Chilkoot Trail, the most well-known hiking trail in the state of Alaska, suffered heavy damage during historic flood events this fall. The trail will need significant work before it can be reopened to the public. KHNS’ Mike Swasey reports.

The storms from October 1 and 13 washed out bridges, downed trees, and flooded tent pads along the Chilkoot Trail which is part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The Park’s Superintendent, Angela Wetz, told KHNS that a timeline for repair remains unclear at this time.

“We’re gonna try to do what we can to get it open next season and see if we can get some temporary repairs to make that happen. But to complete all this work is going to take a couple of years and some significant compliance to get it done,” said Wetz.

The list of damages starts at mile 1.5, a bridge made with Yellow Cedar called the Boomerang Bridge was dislodged. Then a third of a mile further up the trail the Steel One Bridge was washed downstream as the river widened, creating a gap that the bridge likely won’t be able to span in the future.

“It might require a new bridge. I don’t know how much damage, structurally, it sustained when it washed down. And I think a tree actually fell on it,” said Wetz.

In addition to it being hit by a tree while it was in the river, crews were not able to remove it from the water before freeze-up, so proper assessments aren’t likely to be done until spring.

At mile 2.2 a large cottonwood tree washed out. A little further up the Dry Fork wooden bridge was washed out as well. The Beaver Ponds drained, causing problems with wooden debris and the boardwalks. The South Ditch bridge washed out between the Beaver Ponds and Canyon City. Several half-log bridges were dislodged, as was the bridge at Canyon City. 

“That will need to be either reset or rerouted,” said Wetz.

Water has found its way underneath several Canyon City tent pads, which will need to be dealt with if it remains. There was a washout at Pleasant Camp and significant damage at Sheep Camp.

“There was some drastic movement of the river channel right there. And actually, where that helipad was, the helipad is actually out on an island in the middle of the river, so that doesn’t work so well,” said Wetz.

In August of 2021, there was a flood that caused a rockslide at Sheep Camp and since water is pouring down those rocks, it’s possible they’ll need to build a bridge to span the slide area.

Wetz says that the first section of the Chilkoot Trail that Hike and Float operators utilize should be able to be open next season, though it may not happen before cruise ships start arriving in late April. 

This all comes as the Park works with Parks Canada, Customs and Border Patrol, and White Pass and Yukon Route to fully reopen the trail for the first time since pandemic-related closures went into effect in 2020.