3 walks to do in Juneau (cheap + easy!) during a cruise ship visit 🏔 Alaska cruise port tips

Hi there!

You have a lot of choices for things to do in Juneau!

If you have a full day in Juneau, you can do an epic Alaska excursion in the morning, go back to the cruise ship for lunch, and that can still leave you with an easy-going activity in the afternoon and/or evening! Or, you can do an easy walk in the morning and a different walk in the afternoon!

I have been to Juneau by cruise ship 6 times (mostly on Princess cruise ships but also NCL), and here are my picks for easy walks to do!

These are easy walks you can do with a half day in Juneau. They do all require some form of transportation to get to, also explained below.

 

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1. Nugget Falls

One of the most popular easy walks in Juneau is the Nugget Falls Trail.

One of the reasons that makes it popular is because it’s a walk that you start from the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, and the Mendenhall Glacier is the most popular glacier to see from land during an Alaska cruise.

So when you go to see Nugget Falls, you’ll also want to make a short side trip to see the glacier from the visitor center and Photo Point.

The Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area and Nugget Falls are a part of Tongass National Forest, and you can get a national forest stamp when you go to the visitor center!

I took the bus from downtown Juneau to go to Nugget Falls and the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center (map). The nearest bus stop is 1.5 miles away from the visitor center (map). See the current bus fare. Be sure to have dollar bills for exact change. (I’ve gotten change from guest services on the cruise ship.) Then from the visitor center, the waterfalls are around a mile away on a flat gravel path.

 

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See more about visiting Nugget Falls and tips to see the Mendenhall Glacier.

 

For a longer hike to see the Mendenhall Glacier, you might want to consider the West Glacier Trail.

 

 

2. Goldbelt tram

For a pretty easy walk through the forest, take the Goldbelt tram (aka Mount Roberts tram) up from the cruise port, and then you can hike a trail through the forest!

There are both easy and hard trails you can do from the Juneau tram station.

One of the easy walks you can do from the Juneau tram is the 1.5 mile Mount Roberts Alpine Trail which is a forest trail lined with totem poles.

It will also take you to some observation spots that will give you great views of the Gastineau Channel where cruise ships sail through.

You can also see the cruise ships docked down below!

 

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You can also walk a bit further to the Father Brown Cross, which is still relatively easy. You can continue on past the cross, but further than that, you should prepare for a “real” hike by bringing along hiking essentials!

 

See more about things to do from the Goldbelt Tram, including if you want to make it a big hiking day!

 

For more totem poles during your Alaska cruise, have a look at where to see totem poles in Ketchikan and walking in Sitka.

 

 

3. Savikko Park

Savikko Park is on Douglas Island, which is on the other side of the Gastineau Channel from where the cruise ships dock.

My favorite part about Savikko Park was walking along the beach (called “Sandy Beach”) and seeing jellyfish! There were jellyfish that were washed up on the beach, and I also saw jellyfish floating in the water.

So you can make it an easy going beach walk to look for jellyfish! Or you can make it just a general walk along the shore. As this is a simple walk along the beach, you can make it as short or as long as you want.

You might see a cruise ship sailing by!

 

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Savikko Park can also be an easy going walk to see a bit of Juneau gold mining history at the Treadwell Mine Historic Site (pdf).

You can stop to look at some ruins, and there’s the Treadwell Historic Loop Trail you can walk for a nice nature walk too.

 

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I took the bus to Savikko Park from downtown Juneau (map). Be sure to have dollar bills for exact change.

On the way back, instead of taking the bus back all the way to downtown, I got off at the bus stop just before the bridge. This way, I could walk across the Juneau-Douglas bridge! It was soooooooo windy on the bridge!!!

To know the last bus stop before the bridge, I zoomed in on google maps and looked for the little bus icon that was nearby. (map)

When you’re on the bridge, you’ll get a great view of the cruise ships that are in port. Once I got across the bridge, I walked to Overstreet Park, where there is a trail lined with totem poles along with the iconic whale statue of Alaska (map). Then, I walked back to downtown Juneau and the cruise port.

 

 

To better plan your day of walking, see my post with the Juneau cruise port map with where cruise ships dock. This also includes how to find out where your specific cruise ship will dock.

 

 

More easy walks: Ketchikan | Skagway | Icy Strait Point | Sitka | Victoria | Vancouver

More walking: Hiking in Alaska cruise ports

More for your cruise ship visit: All things Juneau on the blog

 

HAPPY WALKING IN JUNEAU!

 

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