princess juneau hiking/biking tours

[katolb90]

Has anyone been on the juneau hike or the mendenhall area bike tour offered by princess? I was wondering how strenuous and scenic they were? Also will all the April snowfall I was reading about cause these tours to be cancelled? I am sailing May 31.

[katolb90]

I am thinking about cancelling because of potential weather problems cause its kinda early in the season. Any feedback on these tours?

[tee_harbor]

I'm looking at the Princess excursion page and I'm not sure what you're looking at, but I'll give you some general information.

 

You'll be here in June. The hiking trails will be fine by then. The roads, where the bikes go, are fine now. I've seen the bike tours out on the Back Loop, which is mostly flat, so I wouldn't describe it as a strenuous.

 

On any given day, even in the 'good weather' month of June, it may be pouring rain and blowing wind. If you're fine with riding a bike or hiking in such conditions, go for it.

[katolb90]

Thanks tee_harbor, the hike is called 'guides choice adventure hike'. The bike tour is called 'glacier view bike and brew' (both Juneau excursions). I don't mind hiking if its cold, windy and a little rainy, I'm not sure about biking in that weather. Perhaps I'll re-evaluate my excursions on that day. Right now I have both of them reserved. (Dumb, I know). I didn't want to do any whale watching in Juneau necessarily cause I'm doing the Kenai Fjords all day cruise and the 26 glacier cruise after the princess cruise. However, I wanted something outdoors and active without having to think too much. I think kayaking/canoeing would not be relaxing for me since I don't have any experience. Also I wanted whichever excursion(s) I chose to fill the entire day.

[tee_harbor]

Ah, okay, looked at them.

 

I've seen the bikers, and they're on fat tire bikes with fenders, so there's some protection from rain, but I'd only do it if I owned outdoorsy clothes, not just jeans, in case it was raining.

 

For the canoe/kayak excursions, they give you instruction, and even I, who can't tell right from left without thinking about it long and hard, did fine my first time out.

 

The hiking trip sounds good because they'll pick out a trail to match the weather conditions and all the trails are good. On your own, you can hike up Mt. Roberts and ride the tram down for $5 (or free, because apparently no one is checked.) The hike is strenuous, but starts in town.

 

I haven't done the two boat trips you have planned, so I don't know how much whale watching you can expect there, but Juneau's whale watching is well-reviewed. The ships are in constant contact with all the boats on the water, so they can find plenty of sealife to watch close-up.

[katolb90]

Thanks tee_harbor. I'll probably just stick with the two boat trips I already have scheduled and hope for a whale sighting and skip the Juneau whale watch. I like the marine wildlife, but nice scenery (which I hope to get on the bike and hike) ranks higher. Maybe I'll even do the Mt Roberts one too, how long does it take (and how far is it) to climb the mountain and take the tram down?