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What can I do in 12 hours in Juneau w/a rental car

Veetravels

By Veetravels,
in Alaska

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wolfie11

wolfie11

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Drive to Eagle Beach and Mendenhall.  Find a nice local restaurant (I recommend the Sandbar) for halibut and chips.  Explore Douglas Island.  Visit the Shrine of St Theresa.  If you like books, stop at the friends of the library used book store.  

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Anita Latte

Anita Latte

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On Douglas Island, you could visit Fish Creek Park. You can hike around there, including walking to the shore where you can get a distant view of Mendenhall Glacier. You can also experience how crazy the difference between low tide and high tide is there...be sure to bring bug repellent or even better a head net to ward off the attack by the shore. It wasn't so bad closer to the park entrance and across the bridge and around the pond. When we were there, we saw eagles nesting around that pond and many fisherman.

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Anita Latte

Anita Latte

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Oh...you could also find a local drive by coffee hut type place. We found one in Juneau...IDK if there as many there as in other AK towns (Fairbanks in particular has SO MANY), but it feels like an Alaska "thing" as I haven't seen many, if any, in the lower 48.

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dfilpus

dfilpus

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We rented a car for the day in Juneau. Our day’s itinerary was:

Get to Mendenhall before the excursion buses.

Lunch at the Sand Bar.

The Shrine of Sainte Theresa.

Eagle Beach.

Echo Cove (north end of the road).

Cross over to Douglas Island. 
North to boat launch with the long view of Mendenhall.

South to Savikko Beach.

Back to Juneau proper.

The Whale Sculpture.

Up to the heights above the state capitol building overlooking the city.

Refuel and drop off the car.

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no1racefan1

no1racefan1

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5 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

Oh...you could also find a local drive by coffee hut type place. We found one in Juneau...IDK if there as many there as in other AK towns (Fairbanks in particular has SO MANY), but it feels like an Alaska "thing" as I haven't seen many, if any, in the lower 48.

Maybe it's a cold weather state thing....lol. Drive thru coffee huts are normal here in WY and I've seen them in MT too.

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wolfie11

wolfie11

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1 hour ago, Glaciers said:

Look at the West Glacier Trail for a hike. It affords fantastic views of Mendenhall Glacier from obove it and you don't need to hike the entire trail for the views.

The good portion of the trail ends several miles short of the glacier.  If you want to go to the glacier I'd recommend a guide.  There's a lot of scrambling and the dense alders in some areas make it easy to get lost (and to find a napping bear).  To the glacier and back is around 8 miles and plan on around 6 hours.

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Glaciers

Glaciers

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@wolfie11  We haven't hiked the trail in several years but we had terrific views from the trail or a short distance from it and we didn't go to the end.  I would never suggest anyone scramble down to the glacier from the trail. There has been several rescues in that area.  Has the glacier receded so much that there is no longer a good view?

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dfilpus

dfilpus

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16 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Who did you rent from?  Where were able to pick up the car?  Any other tips to share?

Thanks!

Before Covid, both Avis and Juneau Car Rentals had offices by the AJ Dock, which is where we rented from. Since Covid, those offices have been closed. Cars need to rented from the airport offices. 

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Veetravels

Veetravels

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13 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Drive to Eagle Beach and Mendenhall.  Find a nice local restaurant (I recommend the Sandbar) for halibut and chips.  Explore Douglas Island.  Visit the Shrine of St Theresa.  If you like books, stop at the friends of the library used book store.  

Thank you for the recommendation! 🙂

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Veetravels

Veetravels

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13 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

On Douglas Island, you could visit Fish Creek Park. You can hike around there, including walking to the shore where you can get a distant view of Mendenhall Glacier. You can also experience how crazy the difference between low tide and high tide is there...be sure to bring bug repellent or even better a head net to ward off the attack by the shore. It wasn't so bad closer to the park entrance and across the bridge and around the pond. When we were there, we saw eagles nesting around that pond and many fisherman.

Very cool! Thank you so much! I'll make sure to pack the bug spray. 

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Veetravels

Veetravels

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8 hours ago, dfilpus said:

We rented a car for the day in Juneau. Our day’s itinerary was:

Get to Mendenhall before the excursion buses.

Lunch at the Sand Bar.

The Shrine of Sainte Theresa.

Eagle Beach.

Echo Cove (north end of the road).

Cross over to Douglas Island. 
North to boat launch with the long view of Mendenhall.

South to Savikko Beach.

Back to Juneau proper.

The Whale Sculpture.

Up to the heights above the state capitol building overlooking the city.

Refuel and drop off the car.

This is a great itinerary! Thank you so much!

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Veetravels

Veetravels

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5 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

The good portion of the trail ends several miles short of the glacier.  If you want to go to the glacier I'd recommend a guide.  There's a lot of scrambling and the dense alders in some areas make it easy to get lost (and to find a napping bear).  To the glacier and back is around 8 miles and plan on around 6 hours.

Good to know! Thank you so much!

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reallyitsmema

reallyitsmema

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On 2/21/2023 at 8:57 PM, dfilpus said:

Before Covid, both Avis and Juneau Car Rentals had offices by the AJ Dock, which is where we rented from. Since Covid, those offices have been closed. Cars need to rented from the airport offices. 

 

Juneau Car Rental is near the airport, not at the airport.  We rented from them this past May and they notified us after we booked them that they were not able to get their location near the AJ dock and they would be running a shuttle.  Week before our cruise we found out shuttle was running every two hours and call when you are off ship.  Once off ship, we find out shuttle is not coming until other ship docks.  We said we will take cab, they said fine, car is ready.  Car not ready when we got there.  They are very nice people but we will not rent there again.

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Pluto_fan

Pluto_fan

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On 2/21/2023 at 7:57 PM, dfilpus said:

Before Covid, both Avis and Juneau Car Rentals had offices by the AJ Dock, which is where we rented from. Since Covid, those offices have been closed. Cars need to rented from the airport offices. 

 

I made a reservation a couple of weeks ago for the Avis location at 111 Mill St for this June.

https://www.avis.com/en/locations/us/ak/juneau/j2d

Should be open May-Sept 2023

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dfilpus

dfilpus

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1 hour ago, Pluto_fan said:

 

I made a reservation a couple of weeks ago for the Avis location at 111 Mill St for this June.

https://www.avis.com/en/locations/us/ak/juneau/j2d

Should be open May-Sept 2023

Great news. That’s the first I’ve heard that. We’ve rented there with no problems. The office is about a 15 minute walk (up hill) from the main cruise docks.

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