Rented a car in Juneau. What sightseeing ideas do you have?

We are traveling with my mom (young 70s), and 3 kids ages 10, 10, and 6. We are looking forward to being on our own schedule and not having to rush all day. We are in port from 7am-9:30pm and will be in Juneau in mid-August.

We are traveling with my mom (young 70s), and 3 kids ages 10, 10, and 6. We are looking forward to being on our own schedule and not having to rush all day. We are in port from 7am-9:30pm and will be in Juneau in mid-August.

 

 

We know for sure that we will go to Mendenhall Glacier, and do the walk/hike to Nugget Falls. We also want to go to the fish

ladder/salmon hatchery and ride the tram. What other suggestions do you have?

You can do that for a lot cheaper by using shuttles and public transit.

You can do that for a lot cheaper by using shuttles and public transit.

Juneau car rental is $94 for the day - they recently increased the shuttle price to Mendenhall to I believe $40 rd trip...with that group, much cheaper to rent a car and go at your own pace.....

Also can drive up to Eagle Beach and shrine of St Therese...

We will be in Juneau on June 23rd ( our 5th time there ) and are renting a car......

eclue:cool:

Also renting a car in 2weeks and excited about the freedom to spend time doing things we want to without worrying about shuttles etc. Our list so far is exactly yours!! :). Also interested in recommendations for lunch or dinner closer to hatchery/mendenhal!!

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The city visitor guide has a map of the Juneau area, as well as distances.

https://www.traveljuneau.com/plan-your-trip/maps-and-travel-tools/viewable/

Drive to the coast and visit Eagle Beach (look for whales and eagles), Shrine of St Therese and continue along to Roads End (which is only 40 miles from downtown) just to see what you can see. Visit the McCauley Fish Hatchery; watching salmon at the fish ladder. is fascinating. I think it's about $5pp. Call to verify if salmon are running at your time frame.

The Shrine of St. Terese is beautiful and the Glacial Gardens are very a neat place to visit too.

Less than a mile past St. T is this garden that we enjoyed.

http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/arboretum-main.php

sightcrr

This will be our second time in Juneau and this time we are also renting a car (the first time we did a guided hike with Above and Beyond AK; we hiked to, on, and under Mendenahll Glacier. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done. But no way no how do we have the endurance to do that again. That was a strenuous hike! Though we are doing part of it over again on our own.)

Our plans in great detail are:

-Drive to end of road; walk Cowhee Creek Trail at Point Bridget State Park.

-Backtrack to Eagle Beach. Walk.

-Backtrack to left on Mendenhall Loop Road. Left on Montana Creek Rd and stay right on Skaters Creek Road to WEST GLACIER TRAILHEAD. 4 hour hike; maybe don't do all of it.

-Return to Mendenhall Loop Rd; turn left (opposite of way we came) to Mendenhall Visitor Center.

-Nugget Falls Trail. 1 hour.

-Back into town for dinner at Tracy’s Crab Shack (closes at 8:30pm) and Tramway.

I also enjoyed Treadwell Mine. It's across the bridge on Douglas Island, and you can download a self guided walking tour at http://www.alaska.org/assets/content/related_items_pdfs/Juneau-Walking-Tour.pdf. It's a pleasant walk with lots of artifacts that are explained in the walking tour booklet.

Thanks everyone for your ideas! I knew there was some great picnic/eagle watching place and forgot the name. Apparently it's Eagle Beach. ;-) Thanks for the tip about the Shrine of St. Therese and Glacial Gardens too!

No serious hiking for us with our crew. 70-something year old Nana and daughter that walks with forearm crutches makes it a no-go for us.

One more stop on the way out of town near the airport is a large Fred Meyer store which will have picnic supplies, water and everything else that you may have forgot to bring with you that you want. Past the airport then the marina then not much else except sightseeing stops but no stores or restaurants. sightcrr

Don't forget the ski shrine on Douglas Island.

I agree, Shrine of St Terese is very special and beautiful. We also saw whales there. We also saw a bear just next to the highway on our drive back from St Terese. So, keep a watchful eye.

Chapel by the Lake is also a nice stop if you have time. It's just a small log church but the view looking out to the lake is beautiful.

I won't suggest using public transit going to Mendenhall. We saw people taking the long hike from the bus stop to the park. Very far.

Does anyone have experience renting a car and returning it after they are closed? We do not get into port until 2:30.

This is the review I post of the best day ever in Juneau....

Sailing away from Juneau after the best day ever. We rented a car from Juneau Car Rental. We walked from the cruise ship...next time we would take a cab. It was kind of a long walk (part uphill) and I would rather spend that time sightseeing. We drove to the shrine of St. Therese, spectacular!!!! We then drove down to eagle beach. Nice, but St. Therese was better. We then drove to mendenhall glacier. We walked to nugget falls and then to the photo stop. Beautiful. At this point it was about 2pm. We we're meeting Jayleen of Jayleen's Alaska at 4pm. So, we went out for pizza and a beer at Rocky and Bullwinkle's and it was perfect. Totally hit the spot. We then headed to the marina to meet Jayleen. We got there 30 minutes early but so did the other family on her charter so headed out early. Freaking amazing. We saw it all!!!! A ton of whales, orcas and sea lions!!!!! It was the best day ever!!!! We then drove back to town, dropped off the rental (took a cab back to the pier) had dinner at Tracy's Crab Shack, walked around the shops (glacier soap is amazing!) And then to red dog saloon for a beer. We are exhausted and oh so happy!!! I hope everyone enjoys Juneau as much as we did!

Kathy

Does anyone have experience renting a car and returning it after they are closed? We do not get into port until 2:30.

We rent from Juneau Car Rental and returned the car hours after they closed without any issues.

This will be our second time in Juneau and this time we are also renting a car (the first time we did a guided hike with Above and Beyond AK; we hiked to, on, and under Mendenahll Glacier. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done. But no way no how do we have the endurance to do that again. That was a strenuous hike! Though we are doing part of it over again on our own.)

 

Our plans in great detail are:

 

-Drive to end of road; walk Cowhee Creek Trail at Point Bridget State Park.

-Backtrack to Eagle Beach. Walk.

-Backtrack to left on Mendenhall Loop Road. Left on Montana Creek Rd and stay right on Skaters Creek Road to WEST GLACIER TRAILHEAD. 4 hour hike; maybe don't do all of it.

-Return to Mendenhall Loop Rd; turn left (opposite of way we came) to Mendenhall Visitor Center.

-Nugget Falls Trail. 1 hour.

 

-Back into town for dinner at Tracy’s Crab Shack (closes at 8:30pm) and Tramway.

I have a question about Point Bridget State Park. We are interested in looking at some pretty scenery, and maybe spotting wildlife, both land and sea, but one of us will be recently recovering from a knee replacement, and I have some breathing issues where I can't walk very far. Is there a parking lot or other area to park, where it's just a sort walk (vs a "hike") to see the ocean, or any other pretty area? I'm not having much luck finding info about this. Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your ideas! I knew there was some great picnic/eagle watching place and forgot the name. Apparently it's Eagle Beach. ;-) Thanks for the tip about the Shrine of St. Therese and Glacial Gardens too!

 

No serious hiking for us with our crew. 70-something year old Nana and daughter that walks with forearm crutches makes it a no-go for us.

Research Eagle Beach some more. Pay attention to the times of low tide and high tide and note the major difference in the beach. The difference in tides is HUGE and the effect on the landscape is just as dramatic. Decide which tide time you find more appealing and plan accordingly.

We ate at a local place called the Sand Bar and Grill in Juneau. It's a bit of a dive place with excellent fish and chips. Reasonably priced Halibut Fish and Chips. Recommended on these boards from a local in Juneau, it's off the beaten path and a place that only those that rent a car can really get to, so it isn't talked about too much, but you'll see it pop up in reviews with happy results. We ate there mid afternoon. The place was virtually empty...it was a great break from the crowds with great fish and chips. (And good brew too if you like that).