Juneau Tours

Appreciate the beautiful panoramic views of the Inside Passage, the Chilkat Mountain Range, and Alaska’s capital city when you take a steep ride above tree line via tramway. This memorable adventure lifts off directly from the cruise ship dock in downtown Juneau; you can’t miss the colorful tramcar decked out in Tlingit designs. Soaring 2,000 feet above sea level, the tram takes you past entrances to old gold mines; you may even spot a bald eagle or other wildlife. The tram can get crowded, but it only takes 6 minutes to reach the top. Once there, drink in the breathtaking scenery and choose from a variety of activities and sights.

See the world’s largest concentration of brown bears on this new bear-viewing trip. Leaving daily from Juneau, the Fortress of the Bears tour takes you to check out some of Admiralty Island’s 1,500 brown bears (that’s more bears than you’ll find in all the Lower 48 combined). And the trip is easy, with the shortest flight to see brown bears in all of Alaska.

Unlike some bear-viewing tours in the state, this trip is fully guided, with one guide to every five clients. And although the tour is new, the guides are old hands who have been coming here for 30 years. They’ll teach you why thousands of salmon return to Pack Creek each summer to spawn, and why eagles make their nests here in greater density than anywhere else in North America.

Pack Creek Outfitters can set you up with an affordable opportunity to overnight near brown bears. They provide the gear, logistics, and local knowledge, so it’s a great option for independent adventurers who know how to camp, but need equipment and help with logistics.

Owner Ken Leghorn has been leading trips out here for nearly 40 years, so you’ll get the best insider knowledge.

This trip proves that whitewater rafting can be thrilling without being rough—even for beginners. After all, you wouldn’t want anything to compete with the great views of Mendenhall Glacier, which stands at 1 ½ miles wide and 150 feet high and is the most famous part of the massive Juneau Icefield (even John Muir once raved about it).

You'll glide along an iceberg-studded lake where you can scope out the glacier, getting up-close views of hanging glaciers and towering peaks. There are also many opportunities to see wildlife such as birds nesting in the rocky cliffs, as well as otters, seals, black bears or even bald eagles.

During the roughly 1 ½-hour Historic Gold Mining & Panning Adventure tour, you’ll be escorted by a costumed, prospector guide from either your downtown hotel or Juneau’s dock, and driven to Gold Creek by way of the State Capitol and Governor’s Mansion.

Once you reach the creek in Last Chance Basin, you’ll get a good view of the Alaska-Juneau Mine, once one of world’s largest hard-rock mines. You’ll learn about the many prospectors who came here in search of gold, and get some hands-on pointers on how to shake and maneuver your pan in the creek to get the best glittering harvest

Even if you’ve never paddled a kayak before, you’ll be confidently navigating the water in the scenery-soaked Glacier View Sea Kayaking trip, with a front-row view of the legendary Mendenhall Glacier..

The kayaks are both stable and easily maneuverable, to help you better concentrate on the scenery around you: the massive Mendenhall Glacier, the state game refuge Mendenhall Wetlands, and spots such as Smuggler’s Cove, where illegal booze was traded during the Prohibition years. Watch for animals, too — porpoises, sea lions, seals, or perhaps even bald eagles or a whale.

An Alaskan feast for all of your senses! Experience Alaska’s outdoor salmon bake—a tradition for more than 30 years. The salmon bake is much more than a meal; it’s a fun outing with live entertainment and Alaskan-themed activities.

This two-hour experience is much more than a meal, combining a tasty meal with tons of local flavor. You’re dispatched from your hotel and brought to this corner of the Southeast Alaska rain forest, where you can take a nature walk to Salmon Creek Waterfall, where you can see the namesake salmon spawning and the old shaft from the historic Wagner Mine (you can even pan for some leftover gold).

Explore the Juneau Icefield, Alaska’s largest consortium of glaciers, where you’ll discover the diversity of Southeast Alaska’s landscape and join professional mountaineering guides on a glacier trek by helicopter. Until recently, Alaska’s glaciers were largely inaccessible to all but hard-core mountain climbers. But today, NorthStar Trekking is providing a new way for active travelers to spend more time enjoying the glaciers surrounding Alaska’s capital city. Choose from one of three options that have been designed to accommodate a broad range of interests and abilities—no experience is needed for any of them.

Combine a glacier flightseeing tour with an Alaskan feast at a historic wilderness lodge. Go with Wings Airways and you’ll take off from the waters of downtown Juneau in a 10-passenger DeHavilland Otter floatplane. Everyone’s guaranteed a window seat, so you can take in the sights of Juneau and the surrounding mountains and icefields. You’ll fly past five glaciers en route to the Taku Glacier Lodge, where you’ll dine on Alaskan King salmon while overlooking a glacier. Hike the trails, enjoy a glass of wine, or cozy up next to the fireplace before the return flight. If you’re short on time, there’s also a 40-minute glacier flight option.

Board a modern turbine-powered helicopter for an unforgettable flight to the world-famous Mendenhall Glacier for an easy glacier trek. If you want to see spectacular peaks and dramatic rock formations, jagged glacier spires, lush forest, and land on a glacier, then a helicopter flightseeing tour will surpass your expectations. As TEMSCO Helicopters has been offering glacier helicopter tours in Alaska since 1983, they know the Juneau Icefield well, and the pilots have been specially trained to give informative, in-depth, and entertaining tours.

Tour the world’s most-visited glacier. The Mendenhall Glacier is part of the Juneau Icefield, a massive accumulation of ice and snow that stretches 85 miles north to south and 45 miles east to west, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. Described by John Muir as “one of the most beautiful coastal glaciers,” it’s a sight no traveler wants to miss.

Meet your guide and drive 13 miles to the Glacier Visitor Center, which offers glaciology exhibits, slide shows, interpretive talks, a panoramic view of the glacier, and several hiking trails. Meander on an easy, half-hour walk to one of the many waterfalls flowing off of the glacier, fill your water bottle, and enjoy what some call the most pure and refreshing water in the world.

On your way back to Juneau, you’ll make a stop at a salmon hatchery and take a tour with a fisheries specialist; you may even see adult spawning salmon (late June through September). Learn about the reproductive cycles of Pacific salmon, view exhibits on the hatchery’s annual production of more than 150 million salmon, and enjoy aquariums showcasing local marine wildlife. On the way back, you’ll also pass by the capital building and drive through the main streets of Juneau while your guide provides an informative narration into the history of Alaska’s capital city.

Mendenhall Glacier Tour departs at 8am and 2pm daily and is approximately 3 hours; $40. Children ages 2 to 12 are half price.

Climb aboard a catamaran and cruise the Inside Passage in search of humpback whales, killer whales, Stellar sea lions, Dall’s porpoise, bald eagles and other Alaskan creatures. Juneau is the best place in Southeast Alaska for whale watching; the area is known for an abundance of humpback whales. In fact, there’s so much wildlife activity that you’ll get a refund of $100 per adult and $50 per child if you don’t see a whale. But don’t expect that to happen; in the past 10 years, whales have been spotted on every tour! And although you may have seen these great creatures from the deck of a cruise ship, this is an entirely different experience: these 150-passenger catamarans have been specially designed for wildlife viewing and can motor up close to the wildlife for a far more thrilling experience.

Following a short motorcoach ride to scenic Auk Bay, hop on board the enclosed and heated catamaran, then take a seat and relax in front of one of the oversized windows as you leave the harbor en route to the island-studded waters of Stephen’s Passage. Against a majestic backdrop of snow-capped peaks and glaciers, the onboard naturalist will explain the behavior and habitat of wildlife you may encounter. To fully enjoy the sights and sounds, bring a warm, rainproof jacket to wear on the observation deck. And don’t forget your camera—you’ll want to photograph the breathtaking scenery of mountain peaks emerging from the pristine waters. Throughout the cruise your crew will offer complimentary snacks and beverages, and binoculars, maps and wildlife guidebooks are also available for use at no extra cost.

Home to more than 23,000 artifacts, works of fine art, and natural history exhibits, the Alaska State Museum has housed Alaska’s history since 1900. Among its most popular exhibits are clothing, weapons, tools and ceremonial objects from the distinct Alaska Native populations, as well as icons and other memorabilia from Russian-American days. Volunteers offer tours to share their knowledge of Juneau’s history during the summer. The Museum is located in downtown Juneau within walking distance of the cruise ship terminal at 395 Whittier Street. Hours are 8:30am to 5:30pm, seven days a week. General admission is $5.

The city museum is home to 6,000 works of art and items that chronicle the history of the Juneau area. While the state museum focuses on culture, this museum emphasis gold-panning history in Juneau and the rest of the state, and visitors can watch a free half-hour video that tells the story of the city’s gold-mining days. Other permanent exhibits highlight Tlingit native culture and Juneau’s pioneer days. The Juneau-Douglas City Museum is centrally located downtown, at the corner of 4th and Main, across from the State Capitol. General admission is $4 and free to ages 18 & under.

The hatchery incubates some 150 million chum, pink coho, and king salmon annually and is designed to allow visitors to watch the process of harvesting and fertilizing salmon eggs. You’ll learn not just about salmon hatching, but also the commercial fishing industry and marine environments though aquariums with salmon and other sea life native to the area. And from mid-June to October, you can watch salmon swim up a 450-foot fish ladder into a sorting mechanism to be “unzipped” by workers who remove the eggs. General admission: $3.25 for adults, $1.75 for children, $12 for groups (5 adults).

Take a walking tour through the historic district in Marine Park. Pick up a free map at the kiosk and just go! South Franklin Street is the main tourism district and one of the best shopping areas to find everything Alaskan, from cute and furry faux creatures (like iceworms) to handmade native crafts and expensive fine art. To ensure authenticity, look for the polar bear symbol for goods made in Alaska and the Silver Hand label for genuine native crafts. Along the tour you’ll see renovated buildings dating from the early 1900s, the Davis Log Cabin (complete with historical photos), the Alaska Steam Laundry (now the Emporium Mall), the Senate Building, and the Alaskan Hotel and Bar.