Do it yourself hikes

[mresera]

We booked first cruise to Alaska. My husband and I are interested in a few moderate intensity hikes for a few hours. We are happy to go alone (without formal tour) if safe and consistent transportation is available. What parks/sites are ideal for this strategy? We stop at Ketchikan, icy Straits, Juneau, Seward, Skagway. Thanks

[Glaciers]

Our favorite hike in Juneau is the West Glacier Trail. It’s best accessed by rental car although the city bus stops about a mile from the trailhead. It’s on the opposite side of Mendenhall Glacier as the visitor center. This isn’t my review but it’s a good one that details the trail.

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

[RSF Cruiser]

There are wonderful hikes in all of the ports. Juneau: We generally rent a car and drive to various trails. A simple and beautiful hike is at Mendenhall Glacier to Nugget falls - really more of a pleasant walk with beautiful scenery. There are also beautiful walkways at the Shrine of St. Therese - right on the waterway. There's also the Treadwell Mine on Douglas Island. You can download a self guided tour and historic guide on the internet - Google treadwell mine historic trail and the guide should be the first hit. I wouldn't consider any of these actual hikes, but they are beautiful walks. Eagle Beach also has some nice trails. As for an actual hike with views and elevation gain, Perseverance Trail is my all time favorite. There are short, nice trails with magnificent views at the top of Mt. Roberts - you can hike up/down, or take the tram.

 

In Ketchikan, google the ketchikan area trails guide, and you will have a pdf with excellent trail descriptions for the entire area. My favorites there are Deer Mountain, Lunch Falls, and Ward Lake. Also, walking through Totem Bight is nice and on the way to Lunch Creek. Even if you have only the morning in Ketchikan, you can do Totem Bight, Lunch Creek, and maybe Ward Lake.

 

In Skagway there are plenty of trails in walking distance from the ships. Google skagway trail map and you'll be able to get good trail descriptions, there, too. Lower Dewey Lake is a nice one, although quite a bit of elevation gain in the beginning. An easier and really beautiful hike/walk is Yakutania Point and Smuggler's cove. It's also nice to walk to the end of town to the Gold Rush Cemetary and Lower Reid Falls. A favorite activity in Skagway is to rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. For this trip download murrays guide to the south klondike highway and her marks some trails along the way.

 

Seward also has plenty of trails - Exit Glacier has a trail that goes up to the Harding Icefield - you hike along the glacier with incredible mountain views. There are also several other trails at Exit Glacier.

 

I've not been to Icy Straight, so can't comment from personal experience.

 

I found these trails by reading this forum, doing internet searches for trails in the various areas, and reading Alaska guide books. Alaska is a hikers paradise.

 

As you can see, there are plenty of trails, and you'll probably be back to Alaska many times!!! The views and rain forest are some of my favorite places to be!

[RSF Cruiser]

Our favorite hike in Juneau is the West Glacier Trail. It’s best accessed by rental car although the city bus stops about a mile from the trailhead. It’s on the opposite side of Mendenhall Glacier as the visitor center. This isn’t my review but it’s a good one that details the trail.

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

 

I'm doing west glacier trail this year - can't wait. For the first time I'm going on a guided hike since I want to go into the ice caves if it's safe. I've done all of my other hiking on my own.

[Urban trekker]

Just a tip - if you are going to do the trip to Emerald Lake you will be crossing into Canada and will need your passport etc going and on the return.

Cheers!

Dennis

[SadieN]

Read up in bear safety.

The island that ISP is on has a huge bear population.

 

 

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