Skagway Shore Excursion: Liarsville Gold Rush Camp, Gold Panning and Salmon Bake Combo

Skagway, USA

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Booked 5+ times last week!

2 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Embark on an exciting 2-hour Skagway gold-panning shore excursion while your ship is docked in port. Discover Liarsville, named after the tall tales that originated during the Klondike Gold Rush, and learn how to pan for treasure on your own in the town’s gold fields. See fascinating relics from the gold-mining era, and in the fresh air of the woods, dig into a hearty, all-you-can-eat feast of Alaskan fare featuring wild salmon. Port transport included.

Feast on authentic Alaskan food at the included salmon bake and buffet
Learn how to pan for gold and keep all you find
Explore the Gold Rush–era exhibits and historical buildings, and watch exciting performances
Port pickup and drop-off

What's Included

Buffet and Hot & Cold Beverages
Gold Panning
Transportation
Worry-Free Shore Excursion Guarantee
Live Entertainment

Gratuities
Alcoholic Beverages
Souvenirs (available for purchase)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Skagway, AK 99840, USA
Ore or Broadway: dock please meet at the TOUR KIOSK AREA located beyond your ship’s pier security. Railroad Dock: walk north on the SEA WALK towards downtown. Representative will meet you at the “Small Boat Harbor" sign located on your left just past the restroom building.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.12:00 pm

Itinerary

On this Skagway shore excursion, find out what the Gold Rush was like as you discover the historic village of Liarsville. After port pickup, head to Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp, located at the base of Alaska’s White Pass, beside a waterfall.

Begin your adventure with an alfresco buffet feast in the forest, fare that includes wild, Alaskan-caught salmon grilled over an alder-wood fire. Then, check out authentic exhibits of Liarsville’s history in the Gold Rush–era trail camp. Learn more about the tall tales written by journalists who ventured to Alaska during the Gold Rush. Walk by the historic bordello and the laundry tents to see the antiques and vintage clothing left behind by the miners and the ladies of the night.

Enjoy entertainment inside the Hippodrome, where a cast of 'sourdoughs' and 'dance hall girls' enacts hilarious melodrama and a poem reading. Later on, have your picture taken with one of the dance hall girls or the camp's beloved dog mascot, an Alaskan malamute.

Time to pan for gold! Learn the art of discovering this precious metal before you’re let loose in the Liarsville gold fields. When you've made your fortune, stroll through the camp and visit the Fancy Goods souvenir store. Enjoy complimentary cookies and apple cider before you’re driven back to Skagway port.

Worry-free Shore Excursion:

We will ensure your timely return to the Skagway port for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.

Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 1 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Layered clothing and comfortable shoes are recommended
Wheelchair accessible
Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult
Stroller accessible

Children 13-17 must have a signed parental consent form to participate in the absence of a parent or guardian
Service animals allowed
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 100 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

3.7

based on 72 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Fun tour

Helie_R, Sep 2025

You’re picked up at the dock and driven to an outdoor camp just outside of town, treated to a lively show of storytelling, singing, and hi-jinks, taught to pan for gold and given a chance to try it (almost everyone finds a few small flakes), then move to the buffet pavilion for a salmon feast with salads, sides, and cake. It was a little cold in September, but a good time was had by all.

Not great, take a train ride

sANDRA_h, Aug 2025

Buffet was not great, salmon half cooked. "Entertainment" was...well...lame at best. The very best part was the bus driver!

Eh, just ok

Lindsay_E, Aug 2025

Food was mediocre at best, show was cheesy, the gold mining was great but could have used more time, it felt very rushed…my kids needed more time but staff came to help to rush them back o the bus. Appreciate their friendliness and help but less eating time and more mining would have been preferred

Liarsville

Joe_H, Aug 2025

Our guide was very good. I think viator should allow a review without the requirement that you can only review if you write a book.

Liarsville Gold Rush Camp

Richard_T, Jun 2025

We had a good time. Our driver, Vincent, was very knowledgeable and friendly. Lunch was good and entertainment was wonderful.

A Fun and educational trip

Zvonimir_s, May 2025

It was nice to see what conditions the first gold seekers lived in.Sympatic show and fun panning for gold.The food were tasty.Salmon and chichen with side dishes and cake at the end.

Good but cornney, but was expected. Dinner was excellent

Phillip_H, Apr 2025

Pick up from the ship was very well done, took us directly to site and after program and panning for gold, which we did find some had a very delightful dinner, salmon, and sides

Salmon bake was good...

Dianne_B, Sep 2024

Salmon bake was good although the salmon was full of bones. Transportation was an old school bus. Liersville was better last time I was there. Very little to see. I guess since we were close to end of season most of the people were already gone.

Skagway

Donna_P, Aug 2024

Seeing Skagway. Interesting town, beautiful scenery. The Liarsville Camp experience was underwhelming. Very amateur show & washroom facilities could NOT handle the large group there.

Nice excursion

John_E, Jun 2024

Directions to meet were a bit confusing they recovered well. Otherwise the event was well done Thanks for the memories

Average.

Jim_S, Sep 2023

None. The excursion was average. The food ok. The ride there in a crowded old school bus was not to our liking.

Great “Alaskan” experience!

judy_h, Sep 2023

Delicious food, good cook, friendly atmosphere in entire camp. Girls were energetic and entertaining. Was the appearance of the bear real or orchestrated to be part of the experience? (One small complaint- lady in the gift shop was NOT friendly or inviting!)

Not worth the money

cindy_c, Jul 2023

The salmon was so dry and the sauce was crystallized. The show was really short but the actors were great. The bus driver as great. The gift shop was very expensive.

Good

Katheryn_S, Jul 2023

Liked the info about Skagway and the show at Liarsville and salmon lunch. Panning for gold was fun. Make sure you dress warm.. it was a good day. Worth the excursion.

You've Gotta Take In This Show!

Daniel_R, May 2023

The cast , planning and employees at Liarsville Gold Rush Camp were over the top! Transportation to the excursion was exceptional, their driver actually tracked us down in town and picked us up. Amazing!

Great experience!

linda_a, May 2023

We had a great time. The staff was so much fun and entertaining. Our pick up and drop off from our ship was easy and our driver was exceptional. Thank you for a wonderful time!

There is no gold in Liarsville, Don’t waste your time or money!

Levit_H, May 2023

This was by far the worse experience! There is no gold in Liarsville. They buy gold from Canada and put very very tiny little gold flakes in rocks and water for you to pan through and find. Pros: The people were very nice Cons: First, after getting off the cruise ship the representative was hard to find/ wasn’t holding the sign in sight to see. A fellow cruiser saw us wondering around aimlessly asking people if they know where our excursion was located and he led us to the spot. He said he had done the same thing for a while so he figured he’d ask us if we were on the same excursion. Second, they over sold the tour so some people had to ride in a different bus. And the bus I road was a school bus and the sound system kept malfunctioning Once we got off the bus we were told to go enjoy the food and then they left us there with no further directions. ( the salmon was nearly burnt with no flavor, the brown topping and the salad was good) After finishing the meal everyone was wondering around like what are we supposed to do. After about 30 mins they had us listen to a show/ song and dance. I think they were just trying to fill time. We finally get to the area for gold panning and they gave us a pan that was supposed to already contain the gold, but that wasn’t made clear. Overall It was very unorganized. Liarsville is true to the name.

Great Tour!

Alexandra G, Aug 2019

Was not expecting much from this tour and was pleasantly surprised. The Salmon served at the Salmon Bake was really good! The show was a bit of a let down but the gold panning was fun. I would recommend it, especially for families.

Salmon disappointing

Moe_H, May 2019

First piece of salmon was cold, 2 Piece was tough. No guidance as to where to go, what to do. We just roamed around figuring it out. Had to ask how we got back to the ship

The Salmon Bake was very good, but the...

dlpoland, Aug 2017

The Salmon Bake was very good, but the show was very short. It was a few songs, and then panning for gold. I think it is over priced in my opinion.

This was a good excursion for kids and...

Andra C, Aug 2017

This was a good excursion for kids and the history was very interesting. The salmon buffet had a lot of food, salmon, pasta salad, coleslaw, chicken, cornbread, desert and other items that were yummy. It was a plus that they served Alaskan beer as well for a minimal price.

Wish we had used the extra time for...

David M, Aug 2017

Wish we had used the extra time for doing the 6 hour Yukon tour with the lakes and dogs and scenery. Show was informative but kind of corny. You have to listen very carefully to get the history revealed but it is somewhat interesting. Salmon and food was very good however. The gold panning is only instructional practice in troughs using pans with gold flakes embedded in the dirt. Good learning experience but you will never strike it rich. Only did this tour because some wanted the experience. Could be fun for some but I needed something more of natural beauty and awe.

It was cold and raining but yet they...

lisa.sargent04, Aug 2017

It was cold and raining but yet they had no heat lamps like the other bake we did at a different port. Food was not good, over cooked and extremely salty. everyone who I sat with agreed. The show was silly and I enjoyed that. gold panning was short lived and not super exciting. not worth the money or time.

This was a terrible excursion!!! If I...

Regina P, Jun 2017

This was a terrible excursion!!! If I could give them no stars I would!!! Don't waste your time or money!! If we weren't bused in we would have left!! The bus picked us up at the cruise terminal and drove us to the location which was supposed to be a brothel. We were greeted by a woman pretending to be a prostitute at least I think she was pretending. She directed us to the picnic area for the salmon bake. The food was terrible and the salmon was DRY! After lunch they took us to this outdoor stage where the other actors all dressed as prostitutes performed a short musical. Every visitor was clearly uncomfortable. After the show they led us to the area to pan for gold Each of us were given a pan of sand and shown how to find the gold. Needless to say, noone left with more than a fleck of gold. Don't waste your money!!!!

Great staff, enjoyed the performance...

Robert K, Sep 2016

Great staff, enjoyed the performance. Salmon was awesome

The grandchildren all loved this tour...

Roberta H, Sep 2016

The grandchildren all loved this tour, especially panning for gold. They thought they were all going to get rich, and then quickly realized how hard it was to search for the little flakes of gold in the water. The staff was very patient and nice, especially since one grand child is very ADD and asks a million questions. Every question was answered with good humor and the staff never acted annoyed at the rambunctious antics of the children. The food was so so, but we weren't really there for the food, just the experience.

Food was excellent! They used a saloon...

mary L, Sep 2016

Food was excellent! They used a saloon style show to tell you about the history and gave her a lesson on how to pan for gold before trying your own luck. There was time to look around at the tents and equipment used as well as shop in the Goods store.

Liarsville Gold rush camp was okay. The...

Evon B, Sep 2016

Liarsville Gold rush camp was okay. The salmon was very fresh and food was good.

A brilliant trip and would definitely...

JayBee, Aug 2016

A brilliant trip and would definitely recommend it - a light hearted view of days gone by and just the right sort of tour amidst a heavy touring holiday schedule. We were picked up near where our ship docked promptly and driven out to Liarsville - we were the only passengers. There we were met by Miss Molly - a 'lady of the night'. She gave us a personal tour of the camp as other guests had not arrived yet. We saw the tents laid out as they would have been during the mining days, saw the different types of activities the miners experienced, together with tools of the trade. We visited the gift shop which was well stocked, When the other gursts arrived by bus we went straight over to the BBQ meal. This was amazing - so much food - chicken, salmon, salads and veg. blueberry cake for dessert to follow. During the meal a man played the guitar and sang folk songs. Soft drinks were available but alcoholic ones could be purchased from the saloon at a reasonable price. Following this we were entertained by the 3 'ladies of the night' together with a man on a guitar - this was quaint and funny. We were also showed how to pan for gold. Then it was our turn - it was more difficult than I thought but did eventually find a very small amount planted prior to our visit!! which we were allowed to keep. We were told it had the value of a Mars Bar.!!! The rest of our time was spent looking around further and chatting to Miss Molly, who told us that a grizzly bear had walked into their camp 2 weeks prior. It was eating the dandelions there and then wandered around drunk!! All in all a very enjoyable experience - definitely recommend it for all ages if you want to have some fun. Good value for money.