Alaska excursion help and hikes

Would like to get suggestions and how to do our shore excursions with out going thru the cruise line. We are an active couple and enjoy exploring on our own but want to see the best highlights at each place.

We definitely want to do a whale watching trip and a kayak trip, and wondering the best stops for those. We know we want to do Mendenhall Glacier and the Mt. Roberts Tramway in Juneau.

Also, want to try and hike at each stop, so if folks have good info about whether there are hikes that we can walk to on our own, that would be great.

We are on Celebrity Millennium in June and these are our stops in Alaska

Ketchikan

Icy Strait

Juneau

Skagway

Any help and tips on best things to see and do at these places would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

you are only visiting 4 ports. Do a little research, learn about each port and all the options that are available to you. You might learn of some new adventure to try! like a trek thru the ice caves in Juneau.

Look at the town web sites, download their Visitor Guides, and look at past trip reports to get first hand recommendations of vendors.

Of the top of my head i'd say whale watching in ISP since there's little else to do, and kayaking in Ketchikan has been well reviewed in trip reports.

I hike in every port (mainly Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway). I learned of the trails by reading these boards and Googling the port name and hikes. I've never been on a trail in Alaska I didn't like, so it's really dependent on if you have a car or you need to walk to the trail head. You did say you want to walk to the trail, but you could get a taxi to some of these.

Some of my favorites in Juneau are Nugget Falls at Mendenhall Glacier - more of a pleasant walk to a sand bar near the glacier and falls. Treadwell Mine on Douglas Island - another pleasant walk along the water with abandoned mine artifact. There is a walking guide online. Google Treadwell Mine Historic Trail and it should be the first hit. Perseverance Trail is one of the prettiest trails around and you can either take a short taxi ride or walk to the trail head. There are also some trails at the top of the tram with nice views of the canal and ships in port. You can't do all of these, but they are some of my favorites.

In Ketchikan there's a wonderful trail guide with about 25 trails listed. Google Ketchikan Area Trail Guide. My favorites are Deer Mountain for a nice workout and beautiful views. You can walk to the trail head from the port or get a taxi. If you have a car and the time, I love the area at the end of the road at Lunch Creek and Falls. The rain forest is beautiful, and of course, lush.

In Skagway you can walk to multiple the trails. If you Google Skagway trails, you'll see a trail description pdf for all of the trails. All of them are my favorites! At the end of town is the cemetery and a pleasant walk to lower Reid Falls. On the west side of town is Yakutania Point and Smuggler's Cove. Then right near the pier, is the Dewey Lake Trail System with multiple trails through the rain forest.

Enjoy learning about all of the wonderful things to do in your ports!!!

In addition to the town web sites, the Tongass National Forest has info on hiking.

Links for the towns, visitor guides and FS are in the Helpful Resources thread .

The West Glacier Trail in Juneau is a gem of a hike. The reward at the end is being above where the helicopters land on the glacier. Not mine but this review is good and includes photos. You’d need public transportation or a rental to get here. The public bus stops about 1 mile from the trailhead.

http://www.panamintcity.com/alaska/westglacier.html

Unfortunately, Juneau is also the best spot for whale watching. Humpback sightings in Icy Strait have been down the past 3 years. They’re still there but the numbers have decreased.

We did the trails at the top of the tram at Mr. Roberts and we really enjoyed it. The tram may be crowded but the trails were not. The trails are long and you can go as long or short of a trip as you want. They go up hill from the top of the tram. From the ship it appears the tram goes to the top of the mountain, but it is deceiving...there is plenty of mountain left once you get to the top of the tram . I think it goes up another 1800 feet elevation. There are not a lot of trees, but the views are really spectacular. You can easily spend a few hours up there hiking.

Although not a hike, the Glacier Point Safari out of Skagway was really fun as well. Boat ride, canoe, bus ride, and hike through the woods (although it is a short hike.) You get right up to the glacier.

Lastly, ISP has some very beautiful, although short trails in back of the buildings at the pier. Huge trees, similar to Muir woods, etc.

We did whale watching out of ISP and had great success with seeing a lot of whales. Humpbacks from a distance and Orcas up close ... real close.

Have fun.

Hi there! We did Millennium last summer - it was wonderful!! We did whale watching in ISP through Hoonah Travel Adventures (small boat, booked independently). I would highly recommend them.

We had looked into kayaking in Ketchikan (the reviews are great) but our son didn’t meet their age requirement. After our heli tour in Juneau was cancelled due to fog, we did a canoe trip on Mendenhall Lake up to the glacier face through Alaska Travel Adventures (booked at the pier, last minute, independent). I would also highly recommend them!

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