Panning for gold was a waste of time. The bus trip was interesting - we saw goats on the mountain, along with beautiful waterfalls.
We LOVED this tour. We've been on the White Pass train before and it's gorgeous but we wanted something more active -- we liked the fact that you're in a small tour bus with only about a dozen people, that you'll get in and out a few times, and have the chance to talk to the guide, ask questions, etc. And it didn't hurt that this option is MUCH less expensive than the train. The scenery was spectacular we even saw the train snaking along the mountain and the stories were very entertaining. In two places those who wanted to went on a small, easy hike. Our guide Jack was fantastic. Toward the end we stopped at an overlook with gorgeous views of the ships in port. The only bad part was that two people on our tour did not bring their passports and so the guide was unable to take us into Canada ... I can only imagine the beautiful scenery we missed out on. Please, folks, if you do go on this tour, remember to bring your passports to get the whole experience!
Great value with guide who tried hard to add interest, no bears or wild life but he really gave us a feel for life in the gold rush and getting over a ton of equipment over White pass, it really made you feel Jack London's book the Call of the wild. Also the tale of Soapy Smith at the grave yard, and beautiful scenery