Active Pursuits

Onshore

Bird-Watching -- Bald eagles are as common as pigeons in Juneau. Years ago, one of them made off with a tourist's Chihuahua, starting a statewide debate about whether it was funny or horrible. Eagles are most common on the shoreline, especially where fish are plentiful, such as at the hatchery. For more variety, visit the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge, which encompasses 3,800 acres of tidal estuaries in the Gastineau Channel near the airport. More than 100 species of birds use the refuge, mainly during the April and May migrations. Access points are on either side of the channel, including a viewing platform on the downtown-bound side of Egan Drive, at mile 6.

Freshwater and Shoreline Fishing -- Juneau isn't known particularly for its stream fishing. But there are a few places on the road system where you can find good fishing in freshwater or even in the ocean. The advice you need is in the free Juneau Sportfishing Guide available in print or online from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1255 W. 8th St. (P.O. Box 115526), Juneau, AK 99811-5526 (tel. 907/465-4320; www.alaska.gov/adfg, click on "Sport Fish," then on the Southeast region on the map). For a remote fly-in experience with fly or spinning gear, contact Alaska Fly 'N' Fish Charters, 9604 Kelly Court (tel. 907/790-2120; www.alaskabyair.com). A guided 5-hour trip is $550 per person, with a two-person minimum. The same reputable guy (Butch Laughlin) also does flightseeing and bear-viewing flights.

Hiking -- More than two dozen hikes are described in a nicely made book with detailed topographic maps of each, Juneau Trails (www.alaskageographic.org, $8), which you can find at visitor centers. In the Miner's Footsteps, a guide to the history behind 14 Juneau trails, is available for a nominal price from the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. The Juneau city and borough Department of Parks and Recreation (tel. 907/586-5226; www.juneau.org/parksrec) leads hikes (and other activities) through the year; check the website or call the 24-hour hike line at tel. 907/586-0428.

The Perseverance Trail climbs up the valley behind Juneau and into the mining history of the area it accesses. It can be busy in summer. The trail head is about 1 1/2 miles from town on Basin Road. The trail is 4 miles of easy walking on the mountainside above Gold Creek to the Perseverance Mine, at the Silverbow Basin, a mining community from 1885 to 1921. Use caution on icy patches, as there are steep drop-offs. A well-documented historic pamphlet is for sale at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

Two trails start from points along the Perseverance Trail. The challenging Mount Juneau Trail rises more than 3,500 feet over about 2 miles from a point 1 mile along from the Perseverance trail head. Go only in dry weather, to avoid disastrous falls. The Granite Creek Trail, starting 2 miles in on the Perseverance Trail, climbs 1,200 feet over 1 1/2 miles to an alpine basin. Both are quieter than the Perseverance Trail.

Another hike right from downtown climbs Mount Roberts -- just follow the stairway from the top of 6th Street in a neighborhood called Star Hill. The summit is 4 1/2 miles and 3,819 vertical feet away, but you don't have to go all the way to the top for incredible views and alpine terrain. At the 1,760-foot level, you come to the restaurant at the top of the Mount Roberts tram. Of course, it's easier to take the tram up and hike down. A third choice: Start from the tram and hike to the summit.

The Treadwell Mine Historic Trail, on Douglas Island, is a fascinating hour's stroll through the ruins of a massive hard-rock mine complex that once employed and housed 2,000 men. Since its abandonment in 1922, big trees have grown up through the foundations, intertwining their roots through rails and machinery and adding to the site's exceptional power over the imagination. A well-written guide to numbered posts on the trail is available from the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. This is a great hike for kids. To find the trail head, take 3rd Street in Douglas, bearing left at the Y onto Savikko Street, which leads to Savikko Park, also known as Sandy Beach Park. The trail starts at the far end of the park.

Another great family outing is to the Outer Point Trail, 1 1/2 miles on a forest boardwalk to a beach with good tide pooling, lots of eagles, and possible whale sightings. Many different kinds of loveliness present themselves over the short walk: the mossy rainforest, the stunted muskeg swamp, a glassy little creek, and the pebbled beach and bedrock ocean pools. From there, on the western point of Douglas Island -- the opposite side from Juneau -- you can see Auke Bay to the east, Admiralty Island to the west, and the tiny islands of Stephens Passage before you. The trail's only drawback is crowding, especially when tour groups tromp through; avoid them by going early or late. To get there, drive over the bridge to Douglas, then right on North Douglas Highway 12 miles to the trail head.

Skiing -- For downhill skiing, the city-owned Eaglecrest Ski Area (tel. 907/790-2000; www.skijuneau.com) is the large, steep home hill of Olympic silver medalist Hillary Lindh, Juneau's favorite daughter (her father helped choose the site in the 1970s). A chair goes almost to the top of Douglas Island, with expansive views and 640 acres of skiing terrain. The three lifts serve 31 runs with a total vertical drop of 1,400 feet, rated 40% expert, 40% intermediate, and 20% novice. There's also a hill for inner tubing. It's only 12 miles from downtown on North Douglas Highway. An all-day lift ticket is $29 for adults. Even among Alaskans, Eaglecrest is little known, despite being second in size and ski lift development only to Alyeska Resort, near Anchorage.

Eaglecrest has 8km of cross-country-skiing trail, offering the most reliable track skiing in town. Generally, Juneau's warm, damp winters don't provide enough snow for good cross-country skiing at lower elevations. Many of the hiking trails into the mountains become winter backcountry routes, however, and snow does stick up there. Before going out, always check with the Forest Service for advice on your route and on avalanche conditions. Several of the Forest Service cabins also serve as winter warm-up houses during the day and make good skiing destinations. If conditions permit, a network of trails is set around the Mendenhall Glacier.

Zip Line Tours -- A zip line is a cable strung between two high points from which a passenger hangs on a wheeled runner, zipping from one end to the other. Once thought the province of Special Forces training and the like, riding a zip line (with a safety harness) is now considered a cruise activity and is billed as a way of seeing the rainforest. I'm aware of four tours, in Ketchikan, Juneau, and at the Icy Strait cruise ship stop, but only one, on Juneau's Douglas Island, caters to independent travelers: Alaska Zipline Adventures (tel. 907/321-0947; www.alaskazip.com), with a tour of seven rides near the Eaglecrest Ski Area. The 3 1/2-hour tour costs $138 adults, $99 children 12 and under, including a snack and transfer to the site. Clients must be fit, not pregnant, and between 70 and 250 pounds.

Remote Cabins on Foot -- Five U.S. Forest Service cabins and three Alaska State Parks cabins are accessible by hikes of less than a day on trails connected to Juneau's road system. That means that you can get to these cabins without an expensive plane or boat charter, and that's a rarity. The three Alaska State Parks cabins are at Point Bridget State Park. The Forest Service cabins include: Peterson Lake, with lake and stream fishing for Dolly Varden char and cutthroat trout; John Muir, on a 1,500-foot ridge top above Auke Bay, up the Auk Nu Trail; Dan Moller, on Douglas Island right across from town; Eagle Glacier, overlooking the glacier upriver from Eagle Beach and reached by the Amalga Trail; and beautiful Windfall Lake, with fishing. Each cabin rents for $35 a night, and generally there's a 2-night maximum stay. All are popular and must be reserved well in advance. (It's wise to book as soon as your dates become available 6 months earlier.) If you can afford a charter, or if you are an expert sea kayaker, there are many more choices farther afield, especially on Admiralty Island. You'll need camping gear to stay at any of these primitive cabins. Get information on cabins from the Ranger District, then reserve through the national system.

On the Water

Saltwater Fishing & Whale-Watching -- As close as I've come to a humpback whale -- I almost touched it -- was on the way back from king salmon fishing out of Juneau on a friend's boat. More than two dozen companies offer charters from Juneau and Auke Bay; you can go to watch whales or fish, or both. Juneau is well protected behind layers of islands, so the water generally is calm.

A lot of companies offer trips. The Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau maintains a list of businesses, and their website has links to each. Juneau Sportfishing and Sightseeing, 2 Marine Way, Suite 230 (tel. 907/586-1887; www.juneausportfishing.com), is one of the largest operators. They charge $279 per person for a full day fishing for salmon, $425 for halibut and salmon; or $179 for 4 hours fishing salmon. They charge $115 for a 2 1/2-hour whale-watching trip.

Sea Kayaking -- The protected waters around Juneau appeal to sea kayakers, and the city is a popular hub for trips on the water farther afield. Besides the sublime scenery, you'll likely see eagles and sea birds, and may encounter porpoises, seals, and possibly humpback whales. Alaska Travel Adventures (tel. 800/323-5757; www.bestofalaskatravel.com) offers 3 1/2-hour kayak trips (half that time on the water) in Auke Bay for $89 adults, $59 children 6 to 12. The tour includes orientation for beginners, a snack, and transportation from downtown.

Gearing Up for Juneau's Outdoors -- You can rent the gear you need for outings on the water or to equip Forest Service cabin visits from Alaska Boat and Kayak, at the Auke Bay Harbor (tel. 907/789-6886; www.juneaukayak.com). Besides camping gear, they rent sea kayaks ($50 a day for a single, $70 double, with multiday discounts), and will deliver the boat anywhere on Juneau's road system, to outlying areas, or to Admiralty Island. Rent skiffs with outboard motors that you can use for fishing or exploring from Panhandle Powerboats (tel. 907/209-6990; www.panhandlepowerboats.com). Prices range from $175 to $300 a day.

On the Ice

More than 36 major glaciers around Juneau flow from a single ocean of ice behind the mountains, the 1,500-square-mile Juneau Icefield. You can land on it in a helicopter just to touch the ice or to take a nature hike or dog sled ride. It's expensive, but there are few other places to see, let alone explore, the kind of ice sheet that carved North America in the last ice age. From the air, glaciers look unreal, like creations by a graphic artist, their sinuous lines of blue and white ice striped with darker gray gravel debris. Only standing on the ice, which on closer inspection resembles the crusty compressed snow of springtime snow berms, do you get a clear sense of this entirely unfamiliar kind of terrain. It's worth noting that these tours have had some major mishaps. While the accidents represent a tiny fraction of all the safe flights, they're a reminder that flying a helicopter to a glacier is not like flying an airliner.

Era Helicopters (tel. 800/843-1947 or 907/550-8625; www.flightseeingtours.com) is a respected operator. Their 1-hour flight over four glaciers with a 15-minute landing on Norris Glacier costs $265 per person. They also offer a program of dog sled rides on the ice, a chance to try a winter sport in the summer. That excursion includes the 4-glacier overflight and adds about an hour at a sled dog camp on a glacier with a ride behind the dogs. It costs $445 per person. One caveat: Poor or even overcast weather makes it difficult to see the ice clearly, but if you wait for a sunny morning, all seats will likely be booked. They have a 48-hour cancellation policy, so you have to gamble to some extent on good viewing conditions. Of course, they don't fly in unsafe conditions.

NorthStar Trekking (tel. 907/790-4530; www.northstartrekking.com), another company with its own helicopters, specializes in hiking and teaching about glaciers. Their small groups (a maximum of 12, with two guides) go on ice-hiking excursions of up to a few miles, with the speed determined by the group. The 4-hour trip, which includes 2 hours on the ice and half an hour in the air (the balance is getting to the helicopter and gearing up), costs $379 per person. They offer other, longer options, too.

Wings Airways (tel. 907/586-6275; www.wingsairways.com) offers glacier overflights by floatplane and flightseeing tours to the remote Taku Lodge, where they land for salmon for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

On Admiralty Island

Beyond Douglas Island from Juneau, near the entrance to Gastineau Channel, is 1 million-acre Admiralty Island, one of the largest virgin blocks of old-growth forest in the country. The vast majority of the island is the protected Kootznoowoo Wilderness. Kootznoowoo, Tlingit for "fortress of bears," is said to have the highest concentration of brown bears on Earth. Despite the town of Angoon on the western side of the island, there are more bears than people on Admiralty. The island's Pack Creek Bear Viewing Area is the most famous and surefire place to see bears in Southeast. The area has been managed for bear viewing since the 1930s, when hunting was outlawed. Visitors come to see bears up close as they feed on salmon spawning in the creek in July and August. Peak viewing occurs in the middle of that period. The bears generally pay no attention to the watchers, who mostly gather on a gravel bar with no barriers between people and bears. There's good bird-watching here, too, with an extraordinary abundance of bald eagles.

Only 25 miles from Juneau, Pack Creek is so popular that the Forest Service uses a permit system to keep it from being overrun during the day (9pm-9am, no humans are allowed). The great majority of people go for only a few hours. There are no facilities in this wilderness area and you can't even camp without some kind of water craft to get to a designated area. The easiest way to go is with a tour operator who has permits. The Forest Service District Ranger Office can give you a list of guides.

Alaska Fly 'N' Fish Charters (tel. 907/790-2120; www.alaskabyair.com) has permits for its naturalist-guided 5 1/2-hour fly-in Pack Creek visits, which cost $600 per person, with everything you need included. Alaska Discovery (tel. 800/586-1911; www.alaskadiscovery.com) offers 2-night Pack Creek sea-kayak trips, camping out near the creeks with more time to see the bears and appreciate the scenery. It costs $1,195 per person.

Twelve permits per day go to the commercial operators and 12 to people who go without any guide; 8 of those 12 private permits can be booked in advance with the Forest Service beginning on March 1, and the other 4 are available 3 business days before the date on which they're good, the previous Friday for Tuesday and Wednesday, at 9am at the Juneau Ranger District Office. In the peak season, July 5 to August 25, permits cost $50 for adults and $25 for those ages 16 or under, or 62 and over. Lower prices and easier availability prevail outside the peak, but then you might not see any bears. After you have the permit, you'll still need a way to get there, plus your own gear (including rubber boots and binoculars). The Forest Service lists air taxi operators on its website.

Protected Seymour Canal, on the east side of the island, is good for canoeing and kayaking, and has two other sites besides Pack Creek where bears often show up: Swan Cove and Windfall Harbor. For information on the island, its 15 Forest Service cabins, and an excellent $4 map, contact the Admiralty Island National Monument, 8510 Mendenhall Loop Rd., Juneau (tel. 907/586-8800; www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/admiralty).