Just about four blocks from downtown Juneau you are at the head of Perseverance Trail where you can set out to hike in total wilderness for a hour, all day or as long as you like. The network of trails are well marked and well maintained but this is real wilderness...no amenities once you leave town....maybe that's why they call it "perseverance".
There are many different branches you can take from Perseverance Trail ... all of them interesting and beautiful. You'll pass abandoned gold mines and as the name suggests, Gold Creek still turns up flecks of gold for those who know how to use a pan. Further up the trail from where this photo was taken you get a great view of Ebner Falls. You can also head over to Starr Hill and hike the steep climb to the top of Mt. Roberts where -- weather permitting -- you can view the whole city of Juneau and the nearby islands.
About five miles north of downtown you can visit Mendenhall Glacier. It's really impressive...a huge river of ice. There are many trails here for even more hiking. If you really like seeing glaciers, you can take a cruise from Juneau into Glacier Bay where you will find 16 glaciers breaking up into icebergs that float out to sea.
To really see southeastern Alaska you have to get off the small stretch of mainland where Juneau is located. We did that by boat. There are hundreds of small islands in this area. One of the largest is Douglas Island (left) just across Gastineau Channel from downtown Juneau. It is populated and boasts a major ski area.
We sailed northwest from Juneau, past Admiralty Island (which has the largest population of bears per square mile of any place in America) into the Icy Straits near the village of Gustavus at the mouth of Glacier Bay. While the weather was chilly and wet, it made for some very dramatic low level cloud formations that constanty changed the view of an area. By the way, in warmer weather this is a great place for sea kayaking.
We saw lots of wildlife on our trip. There were quite a few Bald Eagles. We also saw sea lions, otters and, as the photo on the left indicates, humpback whales. These were among the last whales remaining in the area prior to their migration the coast of Mexico for the winter. In the summer, this area is full of humpbacks, grey whales and orcas. One big difference from whalewatching in New England is that the whales come so close to shore. In New England you have to go 10-12 miles out to sea to view the whales. In Alaska, you can actually watch them from the shore.
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Thinking of visiting Juneau? Looking for more information? Check out these links: Juneau Web Gifts from Juneau |
