Hiking suggestions?

[HatRez]

We are looking for a great hike at one of the three major ports along the inside passage. We are fit so terrain doesn't matter, just something doable in the timeframe with an awesome view as a reward!

[karatemom2]

We love to hike on our port days. Here are some suggestions:

 

Juneau: Nugget Falls trail at Mendenhall

               Perseverance Trail

               Mount Roberts 

 

Skagway: Dyea and a little bit of Chilkoot trail

                  Yakutania Point 

                  Lower Reid Falls

                  Dewey Lake

 

Ketchikan: Ward Lake Loop

                    Perseverance Trail at Ward Lake

                    Settler’s Cove Lunch Creek trail

 

All beautiful and so worth it. Have a great time!

                 

[Glaciers]

The West Glacier Trail in Juneau is one of our top 5 hikes. It gives you fantastic views of Mendenhall Glacier from above it. If you hike up far enough you can see the tour helicopters landing on the glacier from above it.

https://www.alaska.org/detail/west-glacier-trail-mendenhall-glacier

[tallgirl97]

For those with some knowledge...

 

What is the East Loop Trail at Mendenhall like? We are thinking about trying that since it's slightly shorter and more feasible for us to fit into our day than the West Glacier Trail, since it's accessible from the visitor's centre.

 

Also curious if anyone has tried the Herring Cove Trail in Sitka.

[HatRez]

On 4/25/2022 at 5:43 AM, Glaciers said:

The West Glacier Trail in Juneau is one of our top 5 hikes. It gives you fantastic views of Mendenhall Glacier from above it. If you hike up far enough you can see the tour helicopters landing on the glacier from above it.

https://www.alaska.org/detail/west-glacier-trail-mendenhall-glacier

Hey! Thanks for the tip. It looks amazing on YouTube. When was the last time you did this trail? I am looking back at photos from 10 years ago and Mendenhall looks like it's receded about 3 km from our photos to today's google maps. Is getting to the glacier still doable in one day at port?

[Glaciers]

@HatRez

We go to the glacier each year but haven’t hiked the West Glacier Trail for 10 years. We spent 3-4 hours on the trail. There is an organized tour that actually hikes the trail to the glacier access point and then onto the glacier that they say takes 8 hours.

https://beyondak.com/trips/mendenhall-glacier-trek/

 

[catskier]

I am going in September and have done some research. This is a great site for Skagway.

 

https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/skagwayak/Skagway_Trail_Map_0e2f1c2b-292e-4f0c-a37f-94a92d994ed1.pdf

Ketchikan 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5413489.pdf

 

[JayFank]

We will be in port in Juneau from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. We have whale watching scheduled through Harv and Marv from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Do we have ample time to do any of the hikes available in Juneau (Nugget Falls, Perseverance or West Glacier)?

[karatemom2]

36 minutes ago, JayFank said:

We will be in port in Juneau from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. We have whale watching scheduled through Harv and Marv from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Do we have ample time to do any of the hikes available in Juneau (Nugget Falls, Perseverance or West Glacier)?

 

You would definitely have time for Nugget Falls or Perseverance trail - not sure about West Glacier as we haven't done that one.

[ldgiff]

Looking for hiking day w family in Juneau. Should I take tram to Mt Roberts ( what do I see? Glacier? Waterfall?)or Uber to Nugget falls area ? I don’t really want to do a guided tour, but want to see more than trees. I am unsure how to go about this from the NCL port.

[jcpelly]

We hiked to Upper Reid Falls in Skagway when we were there.  Good hike up and into the woods with a nice cascading stream/falls at the end.  There is actually very fine gold visible in the sand of the falls too.  If you could pan enough of that out you could pay for your trip 🙂 

[J0Y0US]

If you don't have a GPS unit a good alternative is Komoot for your phone. You can download the maps, it has most trails in it, and can be used to plan a hike allowing you to know about it. 

 

Also it will try and estimate hiking time as well. 

[HatRez]

Someone mentioned Uber in Juneau. Is that an option?