Juneau

Juneau is the largest city in Alaska's Inside Passage. It's the most unique capital city for many reasons. For one, it's the only one that has no road network outside of the city itself. Cargo and people arrive and leave by plane or boat only. The rugged terrain outside the city has prevented road construction. Juneau is also the only capital city that has more than 30 glaciers sitting atop it. Yep, that would halt road construction alright!!

Juneau's wharf where several cruise ships can dock at one time makes a nice early evening stroll, and there's plenty of shopping and restaurants in the historic downtown, particularly S. Franklin St, the heart of the downtown area.

But by far, the city's main draw is Mendenhall Glacier, a 13-mile river of ice. An added feature in recent years is Nugget Falls. The glacier has receded enough that the falls has been exposed. Less than a mile easy hike from the visitor center of the park grounds will put you near the base of the falls as it empties into Mendenhall Lake. Various modes of transport will get you out to the Mendenhall sites.

Gastineau Channel is Juneau's hub for cruise ship activity. It separates Juneau from Douglas Island.

Two very distinct mountains tower over Juneau's downtown section: Mount Juneau (pictured here) and Mount Roberts, to the right. In the foreground is Marine Park, a center for wharf walking and for people and cruise ship watching.

The stately governor's mansion overlooks the town of Juneau and its waters.

All sorts of activities can be found along Juneau's wharf on Gastineau Channel including shops, restaurants, and ship and plane businesses. Both cruise ships and seaplanes are common sights.

Cruise ships docked on Gastineau Channel

Overlooking Gastineau Channel to Douglas Island

Flowers are a welcomed sight in Alaska's short 'window of opportunity.'

Juneauu's downtown, filled with shops, restaurants, hotels and people

You would think the residents of Juneau would welcome the sunshine rather than the rain, but after an unusually long dry spell, shopowners ran out practically dancing in the streets with excitement when this short but hard downpour occurred. After the rain, a rainbow.

Like many of Alaska's coastal towns that butt up against the mountains, vertical staircases are necessary for residents who live on the upper streets. This one ends in Juneau's downtown section.

An obvious must-see in Juneau is Mendenhall Glacier, twenty or thirty minutes northwest of downtown.

A city bus will take passengers within 1.5 miles of Mendenhall Glacier. Here is the first glimpse one may get of the glacier while walking the road between the bus stop and the park grounds.

In more recent years, Mendenhall Glacier has receded enough that Nugget Creek Falls is exposed.

Choose your next destination:

Continue the Inside Passage trip in chronological order. (The next location is Skagway.)

The previous location was Glacier Bay.

Return to the Inside Passage home page or the Interior Alaska home page.

At the base of Nugget Falls, also called Nugget Creek Falls, is a spit of sand that hasn't yet been swallowed by the falls. There is a short strip of land that travels from the end of the Nugget Falls Trail to this spit that allows people to get closer to the falls. That path, however, is often underwater just enough that people must either wade in it or use a path of stones.

With that said, a phenomenon called a Jökulhlaup has been occurring annually since 2011 under Mendenhall Glacier. A Jökulhlaup is a break in a dam under the glacier that releases water at greater speeds. The water is released into Mendenhall Lake which is also where the Nugget Falls flows. So, when the Jökulhlaup occurs, the water is rising rapidly enough that taking the little trek out to the spit of land becomes dangerous. Soon after we returned from the spit, it was obvious the water was rising, and a park ranger was there to monitor people who still wanted to take the risk. Later in the day, no one was allowed to cross over. The process of the release of water, which is not uncommon to glaciers, may last a number of weeks, or over a number of hours.

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