Juneau, AK Road Trips

It has a population of about 32,000 (2019). The municipality of Juneau, with an area larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined, is the second largest in area in the country. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-Alaska Territory was moved from Sitka. Alaska became a state 53 years later. It is the only state capital that can not be reached by land from the state it serves. Moreover, Juneau is the largest US state capital in area and the only one that borders a foreign country. The economy is based on government, tourism, mining, and fishing. One of the interesting things about Juneau and Alaska is the effect on public life of being such a geographically large state with an "island" state capital. The state legislature, for instance, takes telephone testimony during its committee hearings. They have a state-wide video conferencing system to facilitate government meetings and deliberations. There are more state employees in Anchorage (600 miles northwest) than in Juneau. The climate in Juneau and the southeast panhandle is best described as a "cooler, wetter version of Seattle." It is a mid-latitude oceanic climate in the southern sections and a subarctic oceanic climate in the northern parts. On an annual basis, this is both the wettest and warmest part of Alaska with milder temperatures in the winter and high precipitation throughout the year. Juneau averages over 50 inches (1,270 mm) of precipitation a year, while other areas receive over 275 inches (6,990 mm).

1 Alaska State Museum, 395 Whittier St, ☏ +1-907-465-2901, fax: +1-907-465-2976. Tu-Sat. Summer: 9AM to 5PM, winter: 10AM to 4PM. One of Alaska's best exhibits covering the breadth of the state's history, native cultures, wildlife, industry, and art. Approximately a ten-minute walk from the cruise ship terminal. Adults: May-Sep $12, Oct-Apr $7; children 18 and under free; also free with military ID. (updated Nov 2023) 2 Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, 326 5th St, ☏ +1-907-586-1023. Tiny ornate octagonal structure that was built by the Tlingits in 1893. When the Russians were still in Sitka 50 years earlier, Father Ivan Veniaminov of the Russian Orthodox Church translated the Bible into Tlingit. Thus this building became southeast Alaska's oldest continuously operating church. (updated Oct 2020) 3 Alaska State Capitol, 4th Street and Main St. M-F 8:30AM-5PM, Sa Su 9:30AM-4PM. Completed in 1931 as the territorial capitol, this building does not have the typical imposing architecture of a state capitol. This capitol building, remodeled in 2006, houses the State Legislature, the Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor. Extensive exhibit of historic photographs in the hallways. Complimentary 30-minute tours are available from mid-May through mid-September. Free. Mendenhall Glacier. This is a massive 1.5-mile-wide glacier calving into its own lake about 13 miles north of downtown Juneau. To get there, you may take a bus or taxi from where the ships dock to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area.

The most popular activities in Juneau for visitors are shopping, flight seeing, charter fishing, brown bear viewing, visiting the Mendenhall Glacier, and hiking. Be aware that Juneau is very spread-out. It is broken into sections. There is "Downtown", and "The Valley" (where the Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Mall, a skate park, and most of the residential are located). The distance between the two is a good 15 minutes. Of the cruise ship tour options, an air tour leaves the biggest impression—especially if the weather is clear. Behind Juneau lies the Juneau Icefield. Helicopter and floatplane tours are available. The most popular floatplane tour is with Wings Airways to the Taku Lodge. Most of the helicopter tours include a stop landing on the glacier. Trips are fairly expensive (about $400 per person and up, depending on the length of the excursion), but a remarkable experience that many consider well worth the price. Alternatively, get a group together and charter a small airplane tour. These will generally be less expensive (you pay by the hour) and allows you to customize your experience. Ward Air is highly regarded, but Alaska Seaplanes also offer charter flights. Flightseeing of the Juneau Icefield can also be added to a private fly-in bear viewing trip to Admiralty Island with Wild Coast Excursions. Be sure to go for a hike while in Juneau. There are over 90 hiking trails in the area (many very steep). A few lead to rental cabins available from the US Forest Service or State of Alaska parks.

1 Rainbow Foods, 224 4th St (at Franklin), ☏ +1 907 586-6476. M-F 9AM-7PM, Sa 10AM-6PM, Su noon-6PM. Natural food store in Downtown Juneau. Decent produce, awesome weekday deli, and Thursday night dinners. Prices are not so bad considering everything comes in by jet or boat. 2 Juneau Foodland IGA, 615 W Willoughby Ave (opposite D St, near junction with Glacier Ave), ☏ +1 907 586-3101. Daily 6AM-10PM. Sells deli and Filipino food made on premises. Convenient for other items you may need that you don't want to spend an arm and a leg on at Rainbow Foods. Foodland Pharmacy is an extension of Ron's Apothecary Shoppe. (updated Feb 2017) 3 Fred Meyer (Kroger), 8181 Glacier Hwy (across AK-7 from airport). Part of the Kroger chain. Contains a Starbucks cafe. 4 Super Bear IGA, 9103 Mendenhall Mall Road (Mendenhall Valley), ☏ +1 907 789-0173. Daily 6AM-11PM. Has the same weekly specials as Foodland IGA. (updated Feb 2017) 5 Safeway, 3033 Vintage Blvd (Mendenhall Valley), ☏ +1 907 523-2000. Daily 5AM-midnight. 6 Breeze In, 2200 Trout St, ☏ +1 907 789-7878. Daily 24 hours. Bakery, quick mart with wine, beer and liquor. 7 Costco, 5225 Commercial Blvd (Lemon Creek), ☏ +1 907 780-6740. M-F 10AM-8:30PM, Sa 9:30AM-6PM, Su 10AM-6PM. Not convenient for cruise ship passengers, but if you're making an extended stay around Southeast Alaska, may be worth stocking up here. Membership required. This is also the smallest Costco Warehouse in the world at 76,696 sq ft, about half the size of a typical Costco Warehouse in most places.

By far the most popular with locals is the Alaskan Bar (South Franklin Street) to hang out with locals, listen to music (Thursday is open mic night) and drink an Alaskan (beer) with an Alaskan in the Alaskan. A bit rough looking but a great hangout. 1 The Hangar, 2 Marine Way. Sit and watch the float planes takeoff and the cruise ships come and go. During daylight hours in the tourist season, when the floatplanes are constantly arriving and taking off next door, either sit inside or plan to leave with a headache and a hoarse throat. When tourist season is over, sit outside and enjoy the relative solitude. 2 The Triangle Bar, 251 Front St. Looks like somewhere you wouldn't want to go, but sometimes it fills the bill, especially during legislative season when the lobbyists, lawyers and aides can be found there. 3 Island Pub, 1102 2nd St, Douglas. In Douglas (see the Eat section above). 4 Squire's Rest, 11806 Glacier Hwy, ☏ +1 907-531-9695. Out in Auke Bay for a rustic experience. Alaskan Brewing Co, 5364 Commercial Blvd, ☏ +1 907-780-5912. Drop into the brewery to sample the brews. Shuttle bus available from downtown, also reachable by public bus (Anka Street stop), and on Alaska On Tap's tour 5 The Narrows, 148 S Franklin St. Craft cocktail bar with large whisky selection and beer on tap (updated Aug 2017) 6 Amalga Distillery (134 N Franklin St). Micro distillery with tasting room featuring gin and tonics on tap (updated Aug 2017) 7 Harbor Mountain Brewing Juneau, 165 Shattuck Way. New micro brewery with tasting room. Some of the best beer in Alaska.

1 Juneau International Hostel, 614 Harris St, ☏ +1 907 586-9559. Check-in: 5PM-10:30PM (winter), 5PM-11PM (summer), check-out: 9AM. Lockout from 9AM-5PM daily. Guests are assigned a daily job. Walking distance to downtown. Curfew at 10:30PM (winter) or 11PM (summer). Five night maximum stay. $12. 2 Four Points by Sheraton Juneau, 51 Egan Dr, ☏ +1 907 586-6900, fax: +1 907 463-5861. $260 (Jan 2023). 3 Westmark Baranof Hotel, 127 N Franklin St, ☏ +1 907 586-2660, fax: +1 907 586-8315. $129-250. 4 Ramada by Wyndham Juneau, 375 Whittier St, ☏ +1 907-228-3476. $259 (Jan 2023). 5 Best Western Country Lane Inn, 9300 Glacier Hwy, ☏ +1 907 586-3737, fax: +1 907 586-1204. 6 Best Western Grandma's Feather Bed, 2358 Mendenhall Loop Rd, ☏ +1 907 789-5566, fax: +1 907 789-2818. 7 Extended Stay Deluxe, 1800 Shell Simmons Dr, ☏ +1 907 790-6435, fax: +1 907 790-6621. 8 Beachside Villa Luxury Inn, 3120 Douglas Hwy, ☏ +1 907 463-5531. Check-in: 5PM, check-out: noon. This is one of Juneau's extremely rare waterfront inns. Beachside Villa has views of Mt. Juneau and Mt. Roberts as well as the city lights and cruise ships, watercraft and Alaskan wildlife on the water. Sometimes you can see whales out in the harbor. The rooms are nice and have fresh nice coffee, tea and cocoa in the rooms. 9 The Driftwood Lodge, 435 Willoughby Ave, ☏ +1 907-586-2280. In downtown Juneau. You will also find a restaurant, a liquor store and a deli nearby. 10 Juneau Travelodge Hotel, 9200 Glacier Highway, ☏ +1 907 789-9700, toll-free: +1-800-578-7878, [email protected].

Juneau is Alaska's capital and is on the mainland, but you can't get there by road or rail. Southeast Alaska is sandwiched between the rugged coastal mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. Constructing roads between many of the towns and cities of SE Alaska is prohibitively expensive and sometimes impossible. Only three towns (Haines, Hyder, and Skagway) in the SE Panhandle are connected by a roadway to the lower 48 states (often called "down south"). Access to the rest (including Juneau) is only possible by air or by sea. 1 Juneau International Airport (JNU IATA) (7 mi (11 km) northwest of downtown Juneau.). The airport serves as a regional hub for all air travel, both bush carriers and the regional airline, Alaska Airlines, which provides daily jet service to Anchorage (600 mi northwest) and Seattle (900 mi south). Alaska Airlines also has regularly scheduled flights to Cordova, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Wrangell, and Yakutat-- with summer service to Gustavus. Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines operate from Seattle to Juneau. Smaller airlines that operate regularly scheduled and chartered flights to Juneau from nearby communities have offices at the airport. The most trusted are Wings of Alaska, Haines Air, and Air Excursions. There are other airlines that fly to Juneau as well. (updated Apr 2020) Juneau is a main port for the 2 Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS). , Alaska's ferry system. The ferry runs regularly throughout Southeast Alaska with regular stops in Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangel, Sitka, Haines, and Skagway.

Downtown Juneau is compact and very walkable, though above 4th Street it gets very hilly. The downtown streets are on a slanted grid, with Franklin, Seward, and Main Sts running parallel, and with Front, First, Second, Third, Fourth, etc., cutting across. The State Capitol is at Fourth and Main, City Hall is at the foot of Seward and Marine Way, and touristy grazing is along Franklin. Watch for the 20 historical plaques that detail the fascinating history of Juneau. The public Capital Transit provides daily bus service for downtown Juneau and vicinity and charges $2.00 for travel in one direction (Oct 2019). The Downtown Transit Center is on Main St and Front St, two blocks northwest of City Hall. Route 3/4 serves the Mendenhall Valley, but can get you no closer than about a mile to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. Capital Transit offers a Ride Free Zone that includes the Capitol, the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, the Dimond Courthouse, the hostel, and other locations at the top of the hill. At the cruise ship docks, several bus services offer low-cost rides to the Mendenhall Glacier during the summer visitors season. Mighty Great Trips "Blue Glacier Express" is a blue schoolbus that departs every 30 minutes, 9AM to 6:30PM on most summer days ($20 round trip). Juneau Tours Glacier Shuttle runs from the cruise ships to the Mendenhall Glacier and back every 30 minutes on most days ($30 round trip). Taxis are an economical alternative. Taxi vans can carry up to 7 passengers and cost about the same as buses for 5 or more.