Dog Friendly Winter Walks

As of the moment, my free time consists of getting settled in and trying to get Millie the exercise she needs.  During the week, this means taking her to the nearby Cope Park after work and let her run off-leash.  If I am lucky, there will also be another dog there and she will get a good romp around.  Occasionally, we're on our own and Millie just goes scavanging for food.  I did have a frisbee, but she wasn't very good at bringing it back.  I should try a tennis ball sometime. 

On the weekends, whether rain, snow, or shine, Millie must get a good long walk in.  There are many hiking trails all around Juneau, but all are snow or ice covered.  In just a few weeks time though, I found some nice places to take her for a good exercise.  They are not necessarily long walks, but since you can let her off-leash, she is able to run around and probably do at least 5x the length I am walking. 

Airport Dike Trail

This 1.2 (one-way) walk starts at the water treatment plant near the airport.  It's a well-groomed, flat walk along the water and through some trees.  The trail is actually part of the Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge.  Probably a good place for bird watching in the summer. 

East Glacier Loop Trail

This trail will take you from the visitors center at the Mendenhall Glacier to a waterfall near the glacier.  Unfortunately it's not groomed so you only have the trails left behind by previous users.  Alternatively, you could ski or snowshoe it.  Dogs love romping around in the powder though.  It is also a short walk, perhaps .75 mile each way, but because of the deep snow, it takes a bit longer than expected to do.  At the end, you come to a clearing where you get a good view of the glacier and falls.  In the winter though, the falls seem to be only a trickle.  Perhaps most of it is frozen over. 

Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area

This is my favorite so far.  There are several trail heads off of back loop (back part of Mendenhall Loop Rd.) but I typically use the one at the Forest Service.  These trails are well groomed so you can walk on it easily.  Many people ski across them too.  What makes this trail unique is that it loops around various lakes in the area.  You can make your walk as short or as long as you like.  The terrain also varies a bit too.  In some areas you are on a narrow trail in the forest.  In other cases you are walking over a lake.  You can also get views of the surrounding mountains and glacier at different places.  These trails connect to the Mendenhall Glacier parking lots, so you could try different parts of the trails from different trailheads.  Although we had the trails mostly to ourselves, you do occasionally run into other doggies for a meet & greet party.

Sandy Beach

 This one probably wins the "most scenic" award.  It's really just a walk along the beach, but the view of the mountains on a sunny day is absolutely gorgeous.  Many owners bring their dogs here for a romp around, too.  So lots of tail-wagging and playing.  Us humans just have to walk a bit.  Walking from parking lot to the end is a nice length walk.  The only downside of being on the beach is your dog will get dirty so you have to give him/her a bath when you get back.