When planning your Alaska cruise, be sure to include Juneau on your itinerary.Juneau offers amazing shore excursions for cruise ship vacationers. Here are fifteen things you won't want to miss.
Mendenhall Glacier
No Alaskan cruise is complete without a visit to Mendenhall Glacier. Capture memories on the Photo Point Trail. For an elevated view, hike along the self-guided trails in Tongass National Forest. And be sure to stop by the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center.
Salmon Hatchery
The Macaulay Hatchery produces over 150 million salmon every year. From May through June you can feed immature salmon fry. Late June through September you can see the adult spawning salmon. Exhibits teach you all about the salmon life cycle. Oh, and be sure to try the salmon jerky!
Salmon Bake
Fine dining is one of the true joys of any cruise vacation, but you'll have to leave the ship to experience the true taste of Alaska. Are you tempted by salmon barbecued over an open alderwood fire? Creekside dining with musical entertainment? Then be sure to enjoy an outdoor salmon bake at Salmon Creek.
Underground Juneau Gold
Sometimes the best shore excursions are not on land but under it. The Alaska Gastineau Mill was once the largest gold-producing mill in the world. Now you can relive the fevered days of yesteryear. Explore the conveyor tunnel, learn mining techniques, and pan for gold.
Panning for gold in Alaska(Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises)
Glacier Gardens
Dazzling plants, trees, and flowers await you at Glacier Gardens. Wend your way along the garden paths and see panoramic views of Mendenhall Valley, Douglas Island, Gastineau Channel, and the Chilkat Mountains. Remember to bring your camera!
Alaska State Museum
Discover the history, art, and culture of Alaska. Visit a replica of a Tlingit clan house and see a life-sized eagle nesting tree.
Alaskan Brewing Company
Take a guided tour of the brewery and taste their hand-crafted ales and seasonal beers.
Mount Roberts Tramway
A breathtaking ride awaits on the Mount Roberts Tramway. Soar up from sea level to 1,800 feet. Gaze across mountain ranches and over fjords, one of the best views in all of Alaska.
Dog Sled Summer Camp
Pet the puppies and learn all about the Iditarod Race at the Sheep Creek Valley dog camp. Climb aboard a sled and learn how to be an Iditarod musher, including how to care for a team of highly trained huskies.
Rainforest Zipline
Glide over the Sitka spruce pine on high tension cables from platform to platform along a 6,000-foot aerial network. Admire spectacular views of Bullion Creek and gorgeous Juneau vistas as you descend into the forest canopy and cross suspension bridges on your way to the base camp below.
Steamboat Cruise
Cruise Juneau harbor on an a unique wood-fitted passenger steamboat. Hear tales of Alaska's gold mining heyday as you explore the beauty of the harbor, downtown Juneau, and the coastal rainforest.
Whale Watching
From Auke Bay, take a waterjet-powered catamaran through Stephens Passage, a summer feeding ground for humpback whales. You may also encounter killer whales, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, Dall's porpoises, and bald eagles.
Flightseeing
Floatplanes will carry you over the Alaskan rainforest to the Juneau Ice Field. From the comfort of your window seat, you can take aerial photos of the Norris, Taku, Hole-in-the-Wall, and East and West Twin glaciers.
Seaplane over Alaska(Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises)
Helicopter Tour
Taking a helicopter to the Juneau Ice Field allows you to set down on one of the glaciers and explore on foot the ice formations and meltwater pools.
Helicopter tour of Alaska(Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises)
Glacier Trek
After a thrilling helicopter ride, touch down on an ancient icescape and let your pilot guide you along glacial streams, cliffs, and crevasses. On the way back, fly along Gastineau Channel to view Alaska's famous gold mines.
Hiking a glacier in Alaska(Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises)
Recommended reading:
Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2010
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