Walking Tours

samepenny
samepenny
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Walking Tour of Downtown Juneau

  • November 6, 2003
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Colewade from Asheville, North Carolina
Walking Tour of Downtown Juneau

Get a Juneau walking-tour map, available from the Davis Log Cabin at 134 Third St., the airport, the information kiosks at Marine Park, Auke Bay ferry terminal, hotels, and Centennial Hall Information Center. You can also print a version of the guide from the link above. The walk will take at least 2 hours with short stops. I won't attempt to be that comprehensive here. If you are not able to walk comfortably, jump on a red trolley for a tour with unlimited rides and stops all day. ($20)

Here are a few highlights of the tour. The State Capitol offers free 20-minute guided tours. The State Office Building (locals call it the S.O.B.), eighth floor, has a spectacular view of Juneau and free pipe-organ concerts on Fridays. St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church is tiny compared to St. Michaels in Sitka, but it is totally original. Attend a service if you can stand upright for 1-2 hours. The Alaska State Museum is known as one of the best museums in the state, although I will admit that we didn't find time to visit ($5). The House of Wickersham is open for Russian tea and cakes, as well as storytelling by Bill Childers (if you are into that sort of thing). Don't miss the waterfront. The top floor of the library is the best place to view the giant cruise ships.

If you are in need of refreshment and enjoy local color, try the Alaskan Hotel and Bar, Arctic Bar, or a more quiet stop at the Baranof Hotel Bar (all of which are located on North Franklin Street). The hillside neighborhoods are also quite scenic. Most of the city's streets end at long stairways.

You can extend your walk substantially by walking north of the city. Follow Basin Street through an upper neighborhood to the old gold mines and the Last Chance Mining Museum ($3). If the weather is good, your time may be better spent extending your hike up on Mt. Roberts from the tramway ($20).

From journal Independent Traveler's Guide to Juneau

Juneau on foot

  • October 21, 2000
  • Rated 4 of 5 by samepenny from Fort Worth, Texas
Juneau on foot

Juneau is mostly uphill from the docks. Put your good shoes on and go! You'll be able to pick up a city map either on your ship or dock. Juneau is the capital of Alaska, but you can't get there by road. Only by boat and/or by air.

One of my favorate walks is up hill to the House of Wickersham museum. If you don't feel like making the walk or are short of time, you can get a taxi. Judge Wickersham was a federal judge who came to Alaska to set up the judicial system. The mountains come almost down to the water. Juneau is built in a hard-to-find lower area. Go a few miles out of town in either direction and you promptly run into the end of the road as Juneau is surrounded by impassable 3,500 foot high mountains, huge ice fields and water. You might see folks panning for gold in the streams. Yes, gold can still be gotten that way. The saying goes in Juneau that you can still 'get a days' wages panning for gold'. Keep your eyes open. You might find a nugget and pay for your trip.

As you arrive in Juneau, you might notice some odd holes in the mountains facing the channel. These are the entrances to old gold mines. All of the commercial mines were shut down when World War II caused a serious shortage of labor in Juneau and Douglas, the village across the channel.

Have you noticed a few million trees by now?

The Alaska State Museum is great. It has exhibits on Alaska's natural history and colorful cultural history. There are exhibits on Tlingit, Haida and Aleut native cultures. I enjoyed seeing the kayaks made of seal skin which are the models for the modern ones we enjoy now.

From journal Knowing Alaska's 'real' places

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