If you've been keeping up with my posts, you'll see that most of them is about a hike or a walk I did. I love getting out for fresh air and nice views, and Juneau is a wonderful place to do this (when weather cooperates). Especially now that I have Millie, hiking is a great way to spend time with her and get her the exercise she and I needs. I knew Juneau had a lot of trails right in town, so I was really excited when I first got here I told my supervisor at the time that I wasn't leaving until I hiked them all. His response was, "Great, you'll be here a while then!" Well, I didn't get around to hiking them all. (Fortunately that supervisor is no longer working here to call me out on it.) I haven't done Lemon Creek, Herbert Glacier, Mount Juneau, Mount Jumbo, Auke Nu, Spaulding Meadow, and probably some others. I'm still hoping I might get Herbert Glacier or Auke Nu trail in before I leave, but we shall see. Of the hikes (trails with decent elevation gain) that I have done, here are my summertime favorites, in order.
1. Granite Creek
This was the most beautiful hike in my opinion. I was quite disappointed that excessive snow and cool summer prevented people from hiking it this summer. If I ever come back to Juneau in late summer or early fall and can only do one hike, this would be the one. If you like waterfalls, this one is for you.
2. Eagle Crest
Although the trail is quite steep (bring poles) to the top of Eagle Crest (a downhill ski area in winter), the hike is easy since it's on a service road. At the top of the lift you can look down on Juneau, or you can continue on back to get a view of the other side of Douglas Island, e.g. Admiralty. I'd say this hike probably has the best water views.
3. West Glacier
This is a nice hike in the woods with the occasional break for a view overlooking Mendenhall lake. At the very end though, you get an awesome view overlooking the Juneau icefield. Definitely a unique view so if you're not planning on doing a Glacier hike, at least do this one.
4. Mount Roberts
This hike would rank higher if the first hour and half wasn't so boring. Once you get to the top of the tram though, you start getting really nice views of the channel and the surrounds. If you don't have a dog with you, I recommend taking the tram up and hike from there to cut out the boring muddy bits.
5. Salmon Creek
I used to do the lower half of the trail to the power house all of the time. This was actually probably my favorite short hike that I tried to do on a regular basis since it's on a service road and it was a good length to do even on a weeknight. If you have more time though, the rest of the trail is also nice with a view of the reservoir at the end.
6. East Glacier
This is also another great 'short' hike when you don't have too much time to spare. The trail is mostly in the woods, but it's a good one for moderate exercise.
7. Eagle Glacier
Even though the hike was a disaster, there's a variety of scenery here and a view of a glacier at the end. People seem to recommend doing this in winter when snow is packed because the trail can be muddy in the summer. After our experience pot holing the whole way, I can't recommend going in Spring.
8. Perseverance
This trail is popular with locals and tourists alike, probably because it's fairly easy and a really nice trail. It's not high on my list though because I worry too much about Millie when on this trail. If it's not the cliff edge or the porcupines or bears, it's the fast flowing stream that ends in a huge waterfall that scares me. She jumped into the stream once and got swept downstream a bit before she managed to get out.
9. Dan Moller
There are really no bad trails in Juneau as it's pretty almost everywhere. Dan Moller trail takes you through the woods and the bogs to a nice cabin up top. I'm not a fan of planks, especially when wet, so I recommend going on a dry day.
10. Peterson Lake
I struggled with this one a bit because it was soooooooo muddy. I still enjoyed the hike though and the view up top is nice with the huge lake. There's also a cabin up there so it might be nice to book it for a night or two and make a weekend of it.
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