6 walks to do in Juneau (free/cheap + easy walking!) from a cruise ship on your own 🏔 DIY Juneau Alaska cruise port tips

Hi there!

Your starting point for getting to the easy walks in Juneau is downtown, since that’s where cruise ships dock!

From there, you can walk directly from the cruise port to see some things, or you can walk 10 to 15 minutes to the downtown transit center to catch a bus to another part of Juneau for a nice easy walk.

Below I will give you some ideas with walking routes and bus routes.

 

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There are partner websites that are included below.

 

 

If you have all day in Juneau, you can do a classic Alaska excursion in the morning, go back to the cruise ship for lunch or eat downtown, 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 7 times (mostly on Princess cruise ships but also NCL and Cunard), and here are my picks for easy walking you can do in Juneau on your own from the cruise port! These are easy walks you can do with a half day in Juneau.

 

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 tips to see the Mendenhall Glacier from Juneau cruise port. For a longer hike to see the Mendenhall Glacier, you might want to consider the West Glacier Trail.

There are also many Mendenhall Glacier tours, including a Mendenhall Glacier trolley tour and Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching combo tour that gives you time to go to Nugget Falls.

 

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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!

The tram itself is not exactly a cheap activity (tram ticket cost), but it is easy to get to from the cruise port, and it’s an easy walk at the top.

Although if you are on a Norwegian cruise ship and won’t be doing any Juneau excursions through the cruise line, one person in your cabin may be able to get a cheaper ticket! I was able to get a “free” tram ticket by booking the tram “excursion” (which is just a ticket) through NCL using my free-at-sea excursion credit.

The Goldbelt tram is located directly in front of where some of the cruise ships dock. So it might literally be just a couple minutes walk off the cruise ship to take the tram.

Although, if you are going during peak tourist season (aka middle of summer), then you might end up waiting in a long line to go up the tram.

Once at the the top of the tram station, there are both easy and hard trails you can do.

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! I hiked to Gastineau Peak on a sunny day, and there were amazing views. (I would not hike to Gastineau Peak if it’s raining. Reviews suggest it gets muddy, and I thought there were a few questionable parts even on a dry day.)

 

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

 

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

 

Right next to the tram station near the cruise port is the welcome sign for Juneau. It’s an easy spot to walk to so you can get a picture with it! Facing the mountains, it’s to the left of the tram station.

 

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3. Juneau whale fountain (Tahku the whale project + Overstreet Park)

One of the best city walks to do directly from Juneau cruise port is the walk to the iconic whale fountain! It’s Tahku the whale! (Tahku is the whale’s name.)

Walking from the cruise ship to the whale fountain is around a 30 minute walk, depending on exactly where you cruise ship is docked in Juneau. You can mostly follow the waterfront trail (the Juneau Seawalk) to get to Tahku. (map)

The whale fountain is located at Overstreet Park, which is a small waterfront park. There’s a trail lined with totem poles too.

 

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After seeing the whale fountain, you can continue walking 10 minutes or so to walk out onto the bridge to Douglas Island. (It was soooooooo windy on the bridge when I went!!!)

From the bridge, you can see the cruise ships!

 

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4. Gold Creek Flume Trail

The Gold Creek Flume Trail is a mostly boardwalk trail that you can get to by walking from the cruise port.

You can do it as a 75 minute walking loop, which will consist of walking through downtown, walking through residential neighborhoods, and walking the Gold Creek Flume Trail boardwalk. (map)

You can also make it into a longer walk that includes a forest hike. The Gold Creek Flume Trail can take you to the Mount Roberts Trail, which you can make into a hike to the Goldbelt Tram. Then, you can take the tram down!

Hiking the Mount Roberts Trail in this direction is pretty much an uphill hike the whole way.

 

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See more about doing the Gold Creek Flume Trail from the cruise port, as well as hiking the Mount Roberts Trail to the tram station.

 

 

5. Savikko Park (Sandy Beach + Treadwell Mine Historic Site)

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! And then from there, I walked to Overstreet Park and the whale fountain, and then back to downtown Juneau and the cruise port.

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)

 

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For more gold mining history in Juneau, you’ll want to do the underground gold mining tour!

 

 

6. Downtown Juneau totem pole trail

You don’t need to try hard to see totem poles in Juneau.

The boardwalk that you’ll walk from the cruise ship is lined with totem poles!

You can make it a totem pole walk by following the downtown totem pole trail (map).

Walk around 10 minutes from the cruise port to Sealaska Heritage Museum in downtown Juneau (map) where you can go through a Native Alaskan exhibit (fee).

 

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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.

Also see more of the best things to do in Juneau!

 

If you are interested in taking the bus in Juneau, see my Mendenhall Glacier bus video!

 

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

More walking: Hiking in Alaska cruise ports

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

 

HAPPY WALKING IN JUNEAU!