Our Juneau Adventure ⛰️🦅
A guide to exploring Alaska’s Hidden Gem
Juneau, Alaska’s capital is a stunning city with a cute downtown, easy access to glaciers, lots of wildlife and tons of outdoor adventures. No matter how long you’re in Juneau, you can still experience the best of what it has to offer.
`✈️ Travel
Most visitors arrive in Juneau on cruise ships. A day trip from a cruise ship simply doesn’t do justice to the spectacular city of Juneau so we decided to fly here.
Did you know? There are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state or North America — you can only arrive here by plane or boat!
If you are flying into Juneau, the views of the city, the Gastineau Channel, and Douglas Island from the plane as you land are simply stunning.
⏱️ Best time to visit
Juneau is beautiful year-round, but summer (June to August) is the sweet spot. You’ll get the best mix of wildlife viewing, outdoor adventures, and comfortable weather. We decided to travel in August for a long weekend. Three days is an ideal amount of time for exploring Juneau.
Juneau’s known for its rain — it’s pretty much a year-round thing. But hey, that’s what makes the scenery so stunning! Yep, you’ll probably see a rainy day or two, but that’s alright! Those are perfect for exploring its downtown.
Wildlife 🦅🐋
Juneau is home to one of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in North America!
If you didn’t see a bald eagle in Juneau, you probably didn’t get out of bed!
You’ll get some awesome views of them gliding around and showing off. We saw them everywhere, even perched on street lights.
Humpback whales love Juneau’s waters in the summer. Besides humpbacks, orcas , sea lions, and seals are commonly seen.
Juneau is definitely bear country, as evidenced by the hilarious “Free bear poop” sign and the ever-present “Bear Xing” signs.
I’d never seen salmon swimming upstream before, so that was super cool! It makes you realize why bears love them so much.
🏨 Stay
We decided to stay in a cute AirBnB. It was in a perfect place between the downtown and the valley.
Day 1 : Wildlife Watching
Eagle Beach State Park
The park sits where the glacial Herbert and Eagle Rivers flow into Lynn Canal. It has a beautiful white sandy beach with tons of space to explore when the tide goes out. It is a perfect place for watching birds and sea life.
It is also an amazing place to see bald eagles as evident by its name. The eagles were everywhere! We saw them feasting over salmon.
Boy Scout Beach Trail
4.6mi | 377 | ~2hr | Out & back | AllTrails
We decide to do the Boy Scout Beach Trail and it was beautiful. We saw beautiful views of the mountains across the Eagle river.
Remember that Juneau is in bear country and we had an unbelievably close encounter with a couple of black bears. Antriksh as usual is always aware of his surroundings. Please be bear aware when hiking in Juneau!
Antriksh loves bald eagles and he had the best time on this trail! He’s definitely got eagle eyes for spotting these majestic birds, while I’m completely clueless even when he points them out! :P
After exploring the park, we continued driving north. The road ends at Echo Cove. The whole drive was very beautiful. On the way back, we stopped by Auke Lake.
Fun fact about Juneau: its entire road network is only 42 miles long, and it ends abruptly in both directions with big yellow “END” signs.
Auke Lake Trail
2.3mi | 288ft | ~1hr | Out & back | AllTrails
It was an easy trail through the woods along the lake with a beautiful scenery.
Whale Watching
You MUST go whale watching when in Juneau. Even if you’re only in Juneau for 8 hours on a cruise, seriously, go for it!
Almost all the tours depart from Auke Bay, about a 20 minute ride from the cruise terminal. We did the Juneau Whale Tours, a family run business. We saw so many humpback whales during our tour.
The tour operators also teach you the importance and intent behind the WhaleSENSE : a voluntary program sponsored by NOAA and Whale and Dolphin Conservation showing commitment to responsible ecotourism practices.
Did you know whales have name and you can even name one?
Whales often raise their tails, called flukes, out of the water when they dive. The undersides of their flukes have all sorts of black and white patterns, ranging from pure white to jet black.
These flukes act as whale fingerprints used to recognize & name them.
Happywhale is a citizen science platform where you can submit whale fluke photos and help identify them.
On our way back to Auke Bay Harbor, we saw seals and came across these adorable sleepy sea lions!
Also, our tour guide, let me steer the ship. This was my first time! It was a day full of adventure :)
Tip : If you only have one day in Juneau, many tour operators combine whale watching with a visit to Mendenhall Glacier.
Day 2: Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier, one of Alaska’s most accessible glaciers is Juneau’s star attraction, no doubt. We didn’t have to go far to see it! It was just a quick 20 minute drive from downtown Juneau.
Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center
We started our day at the visitor center. It was a pleasant sunny day and to our surprise, wasn’t too crowded as well.
After checking out the visitor center, we explored the short walks and hikes around the glacier.
Nugget Falls
2 mi | Easy | 1 hr | AllTrails
This short trail that starts from the visitor center takes you out to the beautiful Nugget Falls.
On the way to Nugget Falls, there is a paved turn around point, Photo Point. This view point has magnificent views of the Mendenhall Glacier located across the Mendenhall Lake.
Trail Of Time
1.1 mi | Easy | 30 min | AllTrails
This easy trail winds through beautiful rainforest and culminates in a stunning, slightly elevated view of the glacier. It takes you back through time as you explore various landscapes which vary based on how long ago the glacier originally retreated from the area.
Steep Creek
0.5 mi | Easy | 15 min | AllTrails
This trail starts from the parking lot at the visitor center. With raised boardwalks and and paved trails, this one is great for the entire family. Because of the trails proximity to salmon running grounds, bears are often seen so be aware!
Mendenhall Refuge Trail (Airport Dike Trail)
3.4 mi | Easy | ~1 hr | AllTrails
If you’re into birding, you have to check out this flat trail. We saw so many bald eagles!
The trail took us by the Juneau airport and into the amazing Mendenhall Wetlands.
The walk along the trail was amazing! We had a great time.
Day 3 : Downtown & Douglas Island
Downtown
We started the day with exploring the various cafes in the downtown. Some of our favorites were : The Rookery Cafe, The Concept Cafe, and The Heritage Coffee Company.
Juneau Harbor
Juneau Harbor is a major cruise ship port. We were amazed by the sheer size of the cruise ships in the harbor. It’s fun to watch these big ships come and go.
At the harbor, we also checked out the beautiful totem poles. These represents the rich cultural heritage of the Tlingit people who have lived in this region for generations. It serves as a visual reminder of their history, traditions, and deep connection to the land.
A Whale of a Project : Tahku
When in Juneau, you have to see the whale fountain! It’s called Tahku, and it’s this life-sized bronze sculpture of a humpback whale jumping out of the water. This sculpture was a 50th anniversary tribute to Alaska’s statehood.
Tip: Every five to ten minutes, the fountain sprays water, which makes the whale look like it’s breaching! That’s the perfect time to snap a picture! 📸
The story of the whole project from ideation to execution is fascinating! Former Juneau Mayors Bill Overstreet and Bruce Botelho came up with the idea for a whale sculpture after visiting a natural history museum. Their vision was to create a lasting symbol of Alaska’s connection to its marine life, and that’s how the Tahku sculpture came to be. It indeed was whale worth the effort :)
The sculpture is a quick 3 min quick walk from the harbor. It truly represents Alaska’s love of the ocean.
Douglas Island
The beautiful bridge between downtown Juneau and Douglas Island is a great place for scenic views. It was originally built in 1935, but the bridge you see today was built in 1981. You can walk, bike, or drive across it.
One of the best viewpoints on the Douglas Island is the False Outer Point. It was a clear day and we could see the Mendenhall Glacier across the channel.
That marked the end of our short little trip to Juneau.
Trip Photos
My husband Antriksh Saxena captures amazing photos from his DSLR. Check out some of his photos of our trip at antrromet.com/juneau
Explore!
Juneau is one of those places you won’t easily forget. Whether you’re hiking or watching whales, this Alaskan spot is sure to give you an amazing trip.
Are you planning to visit Juneau and have a question? Ask me in the comments! I would love to hear from you!
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