Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, offers visitors a perfect blend of outdoor adventure, cultural experiences, and historical landmarks. Unlike other state capitals, Juneau can’t be reached by road—you’ll need to arrive by air or sea, adding to its unique charm and isolation.
The city sits nestled between towering mountains and the Gastineau Channel, creating a backdrop of natural beauty that’s hard to match anywhere else in America. Here is a list of 20 incredible activities to experience while visiting Juneau, ranging from glacier explorations to downtown historical sites.
Mendenhall Glacier
This enormous glacier is only 13 miles from Juneau’s city center and provides breathtaking vistas of centuries-old ice formations. Travelers can hike along the well-marked trails surrounding the site or take guided excursions onto the glacier itself.
The nearby visitor center offers fascinating information on glacial movement and the local ecosystem.
Whale Watching
The waters around Juneau host numerous humpback whales during summer, making it one of North America’s most reliable places for whale sightings. Tour boats depart regularly from the harbor, giving visitors front-row seats to these magnificent creatures breaching and feeding.
The experience of seeing a 40-ton whale launch itself out of the water is something even seasoned travelers never forget.
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Mount Roberts Tramway
This aerial tramway carries visitors 1,800 feet up Mount Roberts, providing panoramic views of Juneau and the surrounding waterways. The six-minute ride completely transforms your perspective of the city, revealing its true scale against the vast wilderness.
At the top, you’ll find hiking trails, a nature center, and a restaurant with some of the best views in town.
Alaska State Museum
This recently renovated museum houses impressive collections detailing Alaska’s diverse cultural and natural history. Exhibits showcase everything from traditional Native Alaskan artifacts to displays about the gold rush era that shaped the region.
The thoughtfully designed space compresses centuries of fascinating history into an experience that can be enjoyed in a single afternoon.
Glacier Gardens
These botanical gardens offer a unique twist on the traditional garden experience, featuring upside-down trees used as flower planters. The guided tour takes visitors through lush rainforest settings with creative landscaping unlike anything else you’d expect to find in Alaska.
The views from the upper gardens extend across the Mendenhall Valley and beyond the Chilkat Mountains.
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Alaskan Brewing Company
This pioneering craft brewery has been creating award-winning beers since 1986, using pure Alaskan water in their brewing process. Visitors can take tours of the facility to learn about the unique challenges of brewing in Alaska’s remote environment.
The tasting room offers samples of their flagship Alaskan Amber alongside seasonal specialties that often incorporate local ingredients.
Macaulay Salmon Hatchery
This working hatchery offers an up-close look at the lifecycle of Pacific salmon, a cornerstone of Alaska’s ecosystem and economy. Visitors can observe thousands of salmon during the summer spawning season when the fish return to freshwater.
The touch tanks and aquarium displays bring underwater Alaska to life, making this an educational stop that appeals to visitors of all ages.
Shrine of St. Therese
Located on a peaceful peninsula about 22 miles from downtown, this spiritual retreat offers tranquility and stunning natural beauty. The stone chapel, built in the 1930s, sits on its tiny island connected to the shore by a causeway.
The surrounding grounds feature meditation paths through old-growth forest and shoreline areas perfect for quiet reflection, regardless of one’s religious background.
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Gold Creek Flume Trail
This historic wooden flume trail follows the path of an old mining water channel, offering an easy hike with plenty of historical context. The elevated boardwalk winds through a lush forest just minutes from downtown Juneau.
Information panels along the route tell the story of the city’s gold mining past, connecting visitors to the forces that built this remote capital.
Tracy Arm Fjord
This spectacular fjord, located about 45 miles south of Juneau, features towering cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and vibrant blue icebergs. Day cruises navigate through this narrow passage surrounded by granite walls over 3,000 feet above the water.
The journey culminates with views of the twin Sawyer Glaciers, where you might witness the thunderous spectacle of ice calving into the sea.
Juneau-Douglas City Museum
This compact museum focuses specifically on the history of Juneau and the adjacent community of Douglas. The exhibits detail the area’s transformation from Tlingit fishing grounds to gold mining boomtown to modern capital city.
The museum’s modest size belies its wealth of information, offering visitors a comprehensive understanding of local history in just an hour or two.
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Eagle Beach
Located 15 miles north of Juneau, this expansive beach offers spectacular views of Lynn Canal and the Chilkat Mountains. Visitors can observe bald eagles feeding on salmon in the nearby stream during summer.
The combination of mountains, forest, and shoreline creates an iconic Alaskan landscape that photographers find irresistible.
State Capitol Building
Alaska’s state capitol lacks the dome and grandeur of many state capitols but makes up for it with accessibility and historical significance. Free tours take visitors through the halls of government where decisions affecting the largest state in the union are made.
The surprisingly modest building reflects Alaska’s practical approach to governance and ties to its territorial past.
Perseverance Trail
This moderate hiking trail follows the path of an old mining railway into the mountains behind downtown Juneau. The well-maintained path offers access to stunning views, rushing streams, and remnants of mining operations from the early 1900s.
The trail serves as a living museum of Alaska’s industrial history while providing access to the pristine wilderness that surrounds the capital.
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DIPAC’s Aquarium
This public aquarium showcases the marine life found in Southeast Alaska’s cold waters through interactive exhibits and touch tanks. Visitors can get hands-on experience with sea stars, anemones, and other tide pool creatures that thrive in the region.
The facility provides context for understanding the complex underwater ecosystems that support Alaska’s abundant marine life.
Helicopter Glacier Tour
For a truly unforgettable experience, helicopter tours land directly on glaciers for guided walking explorations of these ancient ice formations. The aerial perspective reveals the massive scale of the Juneau Icefield, a 1,500-square-mile remnant from the last ice age.
Setting foot on these slowly moving rivers of ice offers a profound connection to the geological processes that shaped North America.
Treadwell Historic Mine Trail
This trail explores the ruins of what was once one of the world’s largest gold mining operations on Douglas Island, across from downtown Juneau. The forest slowly reclaimed abandoned structures and machinery, creating an atmospheric setting that feels like stepping back in time.
The contrast between industrial remains and natural regrowth tells a compelling story about humanity’s relationship with the Alaskan wilderness.
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Juneau Food Tours
These guided culinary experiences showcase the unique flavors of Southeast Alaska, from fresh seafood to locally brewed beverages. Tours typically include stops at several downtown establishments, each offering distinctive dishes that reflect the region’s cultural influences.
The combination of food, history, and local stories creates a multisensory introduction to Juneau’s character.
Admiralty Island National Monument
Just a short boat or floatplane ride from Juneau, this protected wilderness area boasts North America’s highest density of brown bears. The island’s Tlingit name, Kootznoowoo, translates to “Fortress of the Bears,” accurately describing its most famous residents.
Guided tours offer opportunities to safely observe these magnificent animals fishing for salmon in their natural habitat.
Last Chance Mining Museum
This outdoor museum retains the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company remnants, which existed until 1944. The site has the largest air compressor in the world and other gigantic equipment that powers Juneau’s mining sector.
The size of the equipment indicates the engineering skills necessary to harvest gold from Juneau’s mountainsides.
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Alaska’s Wild Legacy
From gold rush boomtown to contemporary capital, Juneau remains to straddle human aspiration and the dominating force of wilderness. Today’s activities still speak to this dynamic relationship, allowing visitors to engage with natural and human-made wonders.
Although gold mining defined Juneau’s history, tourism and government support the city today, demonstrating that Alaska’s real treasure is perhaps its power to inspire awe in every successive generation of tourists. The distant capital is a testament that some places are enriched by their remoteness and not impoverished.
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