On a Juneau waterfront morning, cable cars slide up the face of Mount Roberts, floatplanes drone over Gastineau Channel, and the smell of coffee and fried halibut drifts out of the shops along South Franklin Street. Behind the town the rainforest climbs straight into cloud. Juneau is Alaska’s capital, a place you cannot reach by road, and it suits travelers who want glaciers, wildlife and a walkable old downtown in one stop.
What are the best things to do in Juneau?
The best things to do in Juneau pair a glacier and a mountain with the town’s gold rush streets, its Tlingit culture and a boat out on the water, and most of them sit close to downtown.
- Mendenhall Glacier: you can drive right up to it, and the visitor center explains the ice and the rainforest around it.
- The Goldbelt Tram: a six-minute ride from the cruise docks up Mount Roberts for views over the channel and trails at the top.
- Wildlife tours: boats can bring you close to humpback whales, sea lions, harbor seals and more, with bears and bald eagles often on the list.
- The historic district: small, walkable and full of old storefronts, saloons and stories of the gold rush.
- Sealaska Heritage Institute: Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian art and culture in the Walter Soboleff Building.
- Glacier Gardens: upside-down trees turned into flower towers, and a golf cart ride up through the Tongass.
- Tracy Arm: a fjord south of town reached by boat, with ice and steep walls.
- A pint of Alaskan beer: brewed in town and poured all over it.
Juneau sits inside the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the country, so even a half day in town puts you among old trees, moss and the sound of running water. The town itself is squeezed into a narrow strip between mountains and the channel, which keeps everything compact.
Rain is part of the deal here. Juneau counts about 230 days with precipitation, and the Pacific temperate rainforest climate is the reason the forest is so green. Many of the best stops, from the tram’s mountain house to the visitor center and the museums, work well on a gray day, and a rain jacket does the rest.
Past the first day, the choice is between the water and the woods. Boats lead to whales, glaciers and fjords, while more than 250 miles of trails lead from the edge of town into the rainforest and up toward the alpine. Both reward a second look, and both can be paired with a slow afternoon downtown.
Sights and landmarks in Juneau
Downtown Juneau is the place to start, a small historic district with several sights that you can cover on foot, with the tram station and the docks at one end and the capital’s government buildings a few blocks up the hill.
The historic district and the Capitol
The old streets hold the story of a town that began in 1880, when prospectors Richard Harris and Joe Juneau, guided by Tlingit Chief Kowee, found gold at the mouth of Gold Creek. In the decades that followed, the mines produced a fortune, and government later replaced mining as the main industry. The buildings of that era still line the narrow streets, many now holding shops, cafés and bars.
The Alaska Capitol, finished in 1931, began as a territorial and federal building and looks more like an office block than a statehouse, which is part of its charm. Juneau became the capital in 1906, when the government moved from Sitka.
When the legislature is in session, from January into spring, the hallways fill with lawmakers and lobbyists. Walk the hill streets, look for the old wooden houses and enjoy the views down to the water.
The Alaskan Hotel and Bar
The Alaskan, downtown, is more than a century old and is the state’s oldest operating hotel. Its bar is the kind of place where the walls seem to remember every miner, fisherman and legislator who ever came through the door. Even if you are not staying, it is a good stop for a drink and a look at the old woodwork.
The building is a reminder that Juneau was a boomtown before it was a capital. The rooms upstairs and the bar downstairs belong to a tradition of Alaska hospitality that goes back to the gold rush, when hotels were where news traveled and deals were made.
Sealaska Heritage Institute
Sealaska Heritage Institute, a nonprofit founded in 1980, works to advance the cultures of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples of Southeast Alaska. Its headquarters in the Walter Soboleff Building holds an ongoing cultural exhibit on the first floor, where you see the artistry of the region’s Native peoples up close.
The Sealaska Heritage Store, run by the institute, sells artworks by Southeast Alaskan Native artists, which makes it a thoughtful place to find a gift. The land under Juneau was known long before the gold rush as Dzantik’i Héeni, the Base of the Flounder’s River, a fishing ground for thousands of years, and the Áak’w Kwáan and T’aakú Kwáan are the Tlingit people of this place.
The Goldbelt Tram and the Bridge
The cars rise 1,800 feet through the rainforest to the Mountain House, where a restaurant, a theater, a shop and a nature center wait next to the trailheads. The view takes in Juneau, Gastineau Channel, Douglas Island, the Chilkat Mountains and Kupreanof Island.
Across the channel, the Juneau-Douglas Bridge links downtown with Douglas, a quieter community that locals simply call the Bridge’s other side. It gives a feel for the town beyond the souvenir shops.
Outdoor things to do in Juneau
Outdoors in Juneau means ice, forest and water, and the town offers all three within a short ride of downtown, with more than 250 miles of trails for hikers of every level.
Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier lies 13 miles from downtown and only a few minutes from the airport, and you can drive directly to it. The glacier runs about 13.6 miles long, and it is protected inside the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, a unit of the Tongass National Forest. The ice is visible from the local road system, with its blue face above a lake.
The glacier has been gradually retreating, and its front face is declining in width and height, which gives the visit a sense of time passing. The U.S. Forest Service runs the visitor center, with interpretive programs for children and adults throughout the year.
Wildlife and whale watching
Visitors are likely to see bears, bald eagles or humpback whales, especially from April through November. Wildlife tours can bring you close to black bears, Dall’s porpoises, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, mountain goats and Sitka blacktail deer. These are chances rather than promises, but the odds are good.
Boats leave from the harbors around the channel, and the days out on the water are often the highlight of a Juneau stay. The mix of rainforest shoreline, tidal channels and open water makes even the quiet stretches interesting.
Mount Roberts and the trails
From the top of the tram you can hike to the sub-alpine meadow for a 360-degree view, or take one of the many other trails on Mount Roberts. Trails lead both up and down the mountain, so you can ride up and walk back to town if you wish.
Elsewhere, the Airport Dike Trail near Juneau International Airport is open and runs along the wetlands by the runway. The forest, the muskeg and the lakes all offer walks to match the weather.
Glacier Gardens
Glacier Gardens is a rainforest garden in Mendenhall Valley, known for its Flower Towers, upside-down trees turned into living sculptures with cascading blooms. The Rainforest Adventure Tour carries passengers in 18-passenger golf carts along a two-mile path through the Tongass National Forest.
At the top, you get panoramic views of Mendenhall Valley and the Chilkat Mountains. Afterward, you can walk the lower botanical garden on your own, on foot, at your own pace.
Day trips from Juneau
Because no road leaves Juneau, every day trip is a trip by boat or plane, and that is part of the appeal: the wild country begins the moment you leave the dock.
Tracy Arm
Tracy Arm lies about 45 miles south of Juneau, off Holkham Bay and next to Stephens Passage. It is the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by Congress in 1990, a wilderness of 653,179 acres made up of two deep, narrow fjords, Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm.
The most common way in is by boat, through Stephens Passage and into Holkham Bay. Expect sheer rock walls, waterfalls and, with luck, floating ice and seals. It suits travelers who want to see a fjord rather than hike one.
Admiralty Island
Admiralty Island is the home of the Kootznoowoo Wilderness, old-growth temperate rainforest with habitat for brown bears, bald eagles and Sitka black-tailed deer. The island has the highest density of brown bears in North America, with an estimated 1,600 bears, outnumbering the people living there nearly three to one.
Angoon, a traditional Tlingit community of 572 people on the western coast, is the only settlement. For paddlers, the 32-mile Cross Admiralty Canoe Route crosses the island through lakes, streams and portages, with cabins and shelters along the way.
Haines by ferry
Haines is the closest port with a road connection to Juneau. The trip takes about five hours by regular ferry or two hours on a catamaran ferry, and the Alaska Marine Highway terminal is in Auke Bay, 13.8 miles from town on Glacier Highway.
The crossing itself is a scenic outing, with mountains and water on both sides. Ferries also run regularly through Southeast Alaska, so Haines is one of several options for travelers with time.
Hoonah
Hoonah is a traditional Tlingit village near Glacier Bay and home of the Xúnaa Ḵáawu. It makes a place to learn about Tlingit life in the region, and a reminder of how much of this coast is still shaped by its first people.
What to eat in Juneau
Eating in Juneau starts with the water: halibut and salmon, crab and shrimp, served fried, smoked, grilled or tucked into chowder. Fish and chips made with fresh halibut is the classic order, crisp outside and flaky inside, and you will find it at casual spots near the docks. Salmon appears everywhere, from grilled fillets to smoked strips sold as gifts. A bowl of seafood chowder is a good answer to a drizzly afternoon.
Beer is part of the local identity. An Alaskan is a glass, can or bottle of beer brewed by Juneau’s Alaskan Brewery, and ordering one at a downtown bar is a rite of passage. Pair it with a plate of fish, or sip it by the window while the rain taps the glass.
At the top of Mount Roberts, the Mountain House has a restaurant with a view over the channel, a good place for lunch after a hike. In town, cafés serve strong coffee and baked goods, and small restaurants cook with whatever the boats brought in. The meals tend to be hearty, built for cool weather and long days outside.
Things to do in Juneau at night
Evenings in Juneau are low-key and centered on downtown, where the old bars and a few restaurants stay lively after the day’s boats and tours return. The Alaskan Hotel and Bar, more than a century old, is the obvious place to start, with its old wood and long history. Nearby bars pour local beer, and conversation tends to run between fishermen, lawmakers and travelers. When the legislature is in session, the bars pick up an extra buzz.
For a quieter night, walk the historic district after the day crowds thin out, when the streets feel more like a small town than a port. Cruise ships bring thousands of visitors to Juneau from May to September, and in the evening, after the ships leave, the downtown settles back to its residents.
Dinner is the main event, followed by a stroll along the waterfront or a drink. Because the town is small and walkable, you can cover it without a car, and the glow of the lights on Gastineau Channel makes the walk worthwhile in itself.
Things to do in Juneau with kids
The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, run by the Forest Service, offers interpretive programs for children and adults throughout the year, so it is an obvious first stop. The glacier itself, with its blue ice and the lake in front, grabs young imaginations.
The Goldbelt Tram is a six-minute ride up the mountain, and at the top there is a nature center, a theater and trails. Glacier Gardens adds Flower Towers made from upside-down trees and a golf cart ride along a two-mile path through the rainforest, which suits younger travelers who tire of walking.
Wildlife tours can get families close to sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and porpoises, and sightings of whales and eagles are often the highlight. Rain is frequent in Juneau, so bring jackets and waterproof shoes for everyone, and keep the museums and visitor center in mind for wetter hours.
Good to know before you go
Juneau has no road connection to the rest of Alaska or the Lower 48, so you arrive by air or sea. Alaska Airlines flies daily from Seattle and Anchorage all year, and the airport is about 10 minutes from downtown. The historic district is walkable, and Mendenhall Glacier can be reached by road. Juneau is on Alaska Time, one hour earlier than Pacific Time.
Sources
- Travel Juneau (https://www.traveljuneau.com/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Juneau (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Juneau), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Juneau, Alaska (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneau,_Alaska), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Juneau International Airport (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneau_International_Airport), checked October 11, 2026
- Goldbelt Tram, Juneau (https://mountrobertstramway.com/), checked October 11, 2026
- Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure, Juneau (https://www.glaciergardens.com/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Mendenhall Glacier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendenhall_Glacier), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Mount Roberts Tramway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Roberts_Tramway), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Tracy Arm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_Arm), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Endicott Arm (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endicott_Arm), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Admiralty Island (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_Island), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Tlingit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlingit), checked October 11, 2026
- Sealaska Heritage Institute (https://www.sealaskaheritage.org/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Tongass National Forest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongass_National_Forest), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Southeast Alaska (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Alaska), checked October 11, 2026
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit Juneau: Weather by Month, Wildlife Season and Cruise Crowds
- Where to Stay in Juneau: Downtown, Mendenhall Valley and Auke Bay
- Juneau from Seattle: Nonstop Flight, Ferry from Bellingham and What to Do on Arrival
- Know Before You Go to Juneau: Weather, Getting Around, Bears and Local Customs