Ports of Call: Three Sample Itineraries for Your Day in Juneau

Good things really do come in threes.  Except for properly inflated tires on your car and leaves on a clover.  In those cases, four is decidedly better.  I’ve been to Juneau three times.  And the third was the charm.  But so was the second.  And the first.  With the Mendenhall Glacier, the Tongass National Forest, the Mt. Roberts tramway, the Alaska State Capital, and abundant wildlife, there’s a lot to recommend it.  So grab a bicycle or hiking stick or king crab leg and join me for today’s lecture: “Three Sample Itineraries for Your Day in Juneau.”

Option 1: Cycle Douglas Island, Ride the Mt. Roberts Tramway, and Feast on King Crab

My first trip to Juneau was aboard the Sea Princess for a 10-day honeymoon voyage through Alaska’s inside passage.  Most newlyweds opt for warm weather destinations so they can wear 50 cents worth of bright yellow string sold for 50 dollars as a swimsuit, because they’re still tight after starving themselves into their white dress and cummberbund and because skimpy swimwear is, uh hum, both more enticing and easier to remove.  But Prof. Cruise is here with her most sound marriage advice: it’s best to start right off in bike helmets and rain ponchos. 

Because eventually you’ll resort back to your old holey college sweatshirt (I’m wearing mine as I type this) and starting out with low expectations will make the smells seem less pungent and the wet towels on the floor less aggravating.  Because lets face it, marriage is 90% bad smells and aggravation.  But the other 10% is total bliss. So don’t let me discourage you if you’re still a private table for one in the MDR looking for someone special to split the cost of your stateroom: “can you deliver that gentleman over there a drink of the day from me and ask him if he might be interested in accompanying me to bingo later and…holey matrimony?”  Yes holey, not holy.

In any case, on this first trip to Alaska we opted for lots of ship excursions because I hadn’t yet received my higher education in cruising – this was my first cruise as an adult and Eric’s first cruise ever.  So we let the Princess excursion desk do most of the work for us (now you can let Prof. Cruise do some of the work for you).  We booked the:

Bike and Tram Elevation Sensation

Cost: $119.95 (cost may vary – check under your reservation online or with the excursions desk onboard)

Time: 4.5 hours

Difficulty Level: Moderate (must be able to ride a bike, but it’s nearly all downhill or flat)

Description: A van greeted us at the ship and delivered our group of 10 to our starting point at the Eagle Crest Lodge on Douglas Island.  We were fitted with bikes, helmets, rain jackets, and rain pants (which we didn’t end up needing, but they made for some extra attractive photos).  Then we peddled off on a mostly downhill and flat journey through the Tongass rainforest where we stopped periodically so our guide could point out interesting plants, fungi, and wildlife and so Eric could catch his breath (or maybe it was me – I plead the fifth).  Then we continued to Fitz Cove where we photographed the Mendenhall Glacier in the distance and proceeded along the coast to False Outer Point.  The views were spectacular and as an added bonus, I burned off approximately 5% of the fettuccine alfredo I ate for dinner the night before so that I returned to Pittsburgh weighing only 25.6 pounds more than I did at embarkation instead of 25.7.  

Next, we were returned via van to Juneau to the base of the Mt. Roberts Tramway where we were hoisted 1800 feet up the face of a mountain in a cable car with nothing but chicken wire – shakier and less stable than our bike legs – between us and certain death.  But it was worth it.  Just check out these vistas!

At the top we were set free to spend as much of our remaining time in port as we chose exploring shops, a nature center and eagle exhibit, and trails. 

If you don’t have the Mt. Roberts Tramway included as part of an excursion package, it’s easy to do on your own.  Tickets can usually be purchased on board your ship at the excursions desk or at the ticket booth at the base of the tram.  The cost will likely be the same, so do whatever is the most convenient for you.

Mt. Roberts Tramway

490 S Franklin Street, Juneau

Cost:  Adults $35

            Children 3-12 $18; Children under 3 are free

Time: 30 min – 4 hours depending on how long you want to spend at the top

Difficultly level: easy (unless you’re afraid of heights)

Extra Credit: Ticket prices include unlimited rides on the tram for the whole day, so you could stick your kid on there with instructions to loop around until you get back, while you hit the famous Red Dog Saloon.  Not that I would ever do that.

We chose to spend roughly the time it took to step off the tram and step back on at the top of Mt. Roberts as Eric was determined to cancel out all his activity points by gorging on king crab at:

Tracy’s King Crab Shack

432 South Franklin St

Check out the menu here.

I guess it’s only your honeymoon once.  Unless you’re Elizabeth Taylor – she got to eat king crab eight times.  Better pick up those towels, guys…

Option 2: Mt. Roberts Trail, Self Guided Alaska State Capital Tour, Nap

A lot changed in our lives between our first Alaska cruise and our second, I suppose most notably this:

But we also bought a house, I received tenure at my job, we sold said house, I quit said job, and we moved with pictured spawn, now four, from Pittsburgh to Seattle where we walked approximately 50 feet from our downtown apartment to board the Norwegian Jewel for our second Alaska cruise.  A dream fulfilled and also an exciting, but exhausting trip down memory lane!  

So Juneau, the second time around…

Although we have six post high school degrees between us, Eric and I have frequent and severe lapses in judgment (read as: they ain’t too bright). On this day in Juneau, one of us – if I don’t name names, you can assume it was me – had the idea that it might be fun to hike the Mt. Roberts trail.  With a four-year-old.

Mt. Roberts Trail

So we stuffed H into the half collapsed umbrella stroller he’d grown out of a year prior and made the one-mile, largely uphill, trek to the trailhead in a chilly wet drizzle all while I reassured mostly myself that, “this is going to be fun guys!”

And wouldn’t you know it, upon the conclusion of our hike – which occurred 45 minutes after starting, meaning, at my son’s pace and with my tendency to stop at every interesting looking fauna or flora, we covered roughly 1/10^th of a mile before turning around and returning from whence we came – I got to utter everyone’s favorite phrase: “I told you so!”  We had a blast.

Now I can’t speak to this from experience, but I’m told you can hike all the way up to the top of the Mt. Roberts Tramway and ride back down for free if you spend $10.  It’s about 2 miles to reach the tram station.  You can also take the tram up and hike back down or take the tram up and continue hiking upwards.  Lots of options depending on your heart’s desire and fitness level. 

Getting there:

1001 Basin Rd, Juneau

Cost: free if you don’t use the tram

Difficulty level: moderate to difficult depending on weather conditions, how long you plan to hike, and fitness level.

Extra Credit (this one comes from my teaching/travel assistant, H): make someone push you up to the trailhead in a stroller to save your energy for the really pretty parts. Prof. Cruise will do it for you if you pay her cruise fare.

Self-Guided Alaska State Capital Tour

On our way back to the ship, we stopped for a self-guided tour of the, unique as it is boxy looking, Alaska State Capital.  We saw the lobby, senate floor, speaker’s chambers, and the Hall of Governors.  Recently I saw a “Sarah Palin for Vice President” bumper sticker looking quite out of place in our downtown Seattle parking garage next to a, “I Think, Therefore I’m Vegan” one.  Either way, the Alaska State Capital self-guided tour is an interesting, free, and quick stop while at port in Juneau.

Getting there: it’s located at the corner of East 4th Street and Main Street

Cost: free

Difficulty level: easy.  Building is fully handicapped accessible, so this might be a nice option for anyone in your party with mobility limitations.

Extra Credit: the building is closed for tours on the weekends when the legislature isn’t in session, but the outside is still interesting to see if your timing doesn’t work out for the interior tour. 

And finally, take a nap

Not the four-year-old – his old, tired, sore parents! Or better yet, treat yourself to a massage at the spa because there will be no kid in there jumping on you and yelling, “are you awake, mom?”

If you haven’t turned 70 yet, you’ll probably want to adopt me before you do.  But before I take you on an epic birthday vacation to celebrate your 7 decades of saintly life, you’ll have to change a few thousand of my diapers, take all my calls for advice, and suffer through 40 years of my strong opinions with the patience of Job.  So maybe you should just plan your own 4-day trip through Olympic National Park followed immediately by a 14 day cruise to Alaska on Holland America’s Ms. Zaandam.  Here’s what Prof. Cruise, Prof. Cruise’s BME (best mom ever), and Prof. Cruise’s T.A. (teaching/travel assistant) H did on our day in Juneau in September to get you started on your planning.

Option 3: Whale Watching, Mendenhall Glacier, and Nugget Falls

I was feeling confident (uh oh), having been to Juneau two times previously, so I decided to research excursions we could book on our own and there were two things on my Juneau bucket list that I’d yet to do: whale watching and visiting the Mendenhall Glacier up close.  So I was happy to find a reasonably priced tour with high ratings that included both.  We booked this tour with Juneau Whale Watch.

We were picked up at the bottom of the Mt. Roberts Tramway and driven by bus to a pier that should be used in an ad for the U.S. of A.  There were at least a dozen bald eagles on the beach, in the trees, and flying majestically overhead.  I could practically hear them pleading, “America isn’t just fast food and giant gas guzzling SUV’s, it’s us too!”

Divided into a group of around 20, we boarded a small boat with a comfortable indoor seating area with large windows and several outdoor decks.  On the ride out to fertile whale feeding waters, we were treated to personal stories from our crew, including the harrowing tale of Dr. John Raster, the father of one of the deck hands.  His violent encounter with a brown bear was featured on the Animal Planet series, “I’m Alive.”  At the time, I didn’t know that just a few hours later I’d have my own run-in with a bear or three (stay tuned!).

But first, whales!  We saw six different humpback whales and some bonus sea lions.  It was spectacular – definitely something you should experience at least once.

Back on shore we loaded back onto our bus and were driven to the Mendenhall Glacier where we were informed that return buses would be by every 30 minutes to deliver us to the cruise port when we were ready.  It was nice to get to spend as much time as we wanted at the glacier – the worst thing about tours in my mind is feeling rushed.   We checked out a few different viewing spots and then we took a short, easy hike to Nugget Falls which was incredible in its own right, but also got us pretty much as close as we could get to the glacier without a boat or helicopter.  And as we were there later in the season and later in the day, we practically had the place to ourselves.

As we were leaving on the bus back to Ms. Zaandam, our most gracious Alaskan host, a mama bear and her two cubs crossed the road right in front of us.  Our driver was kind enough to pull over for a moment so we could watch them out the side windows.  They were quite the sight to see, but after hearing about the mauling of Dr. Raster, I was relieved to be viewing them from behind a thick layer of glass and steel.   

And so concludes my third visit to Juneau.  I’m already antsy to go back.  As a framed cross stitch, that hung on the wall of this man I used to babysit for as a kid, on his fourth marriage said, “THE THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM, BUT THE FOURTH IS FOREVER.”  Let’s make it four, Juneau! And with that…

Class Dismissed.

Homework (10 points): Check out my other Alaska port posts here. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog (scroll up to the top right if on a computer or keep scrolling down if on a mobile device) and follow me on social media:

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