Skagway rock slides

Question

Does anyone know if the damage due to the rock slides is still affecting the walkway from the Holland America cruise port into town? Thanks!

Answer

Thank you for your question about rock-slide impacts in Skagway, Alaska, especially regarding the walkway from the cruise port area into town.

Here’s what I found concerning the walkway from the main cruise dock (often referred to as the “Railroad Dock”) into town and how it has been affected by rock-slides:

1. The area above the principal dock used by large cruise ships—the one operated by White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR) and commonly called the “Railroad Dock” in Skagway—has been subject to multiple rock / rock-slide events.

2. As a direct result of those slide events, the municipality closed pedestrian access at that dock area and limited disembarkation routes. Specifically, documentation indicates that the northern berth at the dock was closed to ships entirely and the entire dock was restricted to pedestrian traffic after the June 23, 2022 rock-slide.

3. For cruise visitors, this means walking straight off the ship through the usual dock-to-town walkway was not functioning in the standard way since the rock-slide issues began. According to a report, passengers were being tendered (i.e., transferred via small boat) rather than disembarking directly onto the dock in that zone.

4. However, it’s important to clarify that the “walkway from the Holland America cruise port into town” is somewhat ambiguous, because the cruise port in Skagway has multiple berths and areas, and not all may be equally impacted. The main slide-zone is above the Railroad Dock corridor.

5. As of the most recent reporting (August 2025), the slide zone remains a hazard and mitigation/monitoring efforts are ongoing. Engineering assessments conclude the slide area is active and incomplete work remains to restore full pedestrian access in the affected dock and slope zones.

So in summary: yes—the damage due to the rock-slides is still affecting pedestrian access from the primary cruise dock into town for the area above the Railroad Dock berth. But the extent depends on which cruise dock berth your ship uses. Many ships are being tendered or routed differently to avoid the slide zone.

Here are your key take-aways:

The main slope above the dock has been unstable and rock-slides have damaged infrastructure.
The pedestrian route from the Railroad Dock directly into downtown was closed to general foot traffic from the dock zone in 2022 and remains restricted as of 2025.
If your ship is using a different berth (not the primary Railroad Dock berth) or the tender operation bypasses the slide zone, you may still be able to walk into town from that dock. It depends on cruise line coordination and which berth is used.

Skagway rock slides

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