Port of the Month - Juneau, Capital of the Last Frontier

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Few Alaskan cities can match Juneau for scenic lookouts. The city is built up against a hillside, tucked between Mount Roberts and the Gastineau Channel. In fact, it's been called "The Little San Francisco of the North" for its steep and sometimes winding streets. The best view in town begins at the Mount Roberts Tram, a cable car that boards passengers right at the docks. At the top of the tram lie natural trails, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a theater -- all perched 2,000 feet above the harbor.

A short trip beyond downtown yields a number of impressive mountain views, too. The Mendenhall Glacier is located just 10 minutes from the city center. It's known as one of Alaska's "drive-up glaciers," so-called because they are accessible by road. Views of the Mendenhall are featured on many Juneau shore excursions, including the standard city tour or the rafting tour that beings near the face of the glacier. For the truly adventurous, glacier heli-hiking will take you deep into the Juneau Icefield, source of the glacial flow.

But since the face of the glacier is only a short drive from the docks, you don't need to sign up for a ship-organized tour. Capital Cab (907-586-2772) will take you there and back for about $50. At the glacier, there's a visitors center run by the U.S. Forest Service. The glacier lies within the Tongass National Forest, which covers 85 percent of Southeast Alaska and is the largest temperate rain forest in North America. From the visitors center, you can walk right up to the glacier.

A little farther from downtown is the aptly named Glacier Gardens. With a typical touch of Alaskan whimsy, upside-down tree trunks are used as planters for wildflowers, Golf-cart-like vehicles take visitors on a ride through the rain forest, stopping along the way for an explanation of the local flora. The highlight of the ride is a stop at a scenic overlook for a panoramic view of the mountains and the Mendenhall Valley. Several cruise lines offer Glacier Gardens as a shore excursion, or you can visit independently; admission is $14.95 per person.

No cruise of Alaska would be complete without a stop in a Far North saloon. Fortunately, Juneau is famous for them. The Red Dog epitomizes the saloons of days gone by. The atmosphere is pure frontier--swinging doors, sawdust on the floor, and moose heads on the walls. A little more genteel is the lounge at the Alaskan Hotel--its bar evokes a Victorian-style ambiance circa 1913. Also close to the docks is the Hangar on Fisherman's Wharf. Its picture-windows face the water and the mountains, still covered in snow in summer. So you can have your beer and drink it with a view--of one of the most scenic ports in the world.

Copyright 2001 Cruise Travel Magazine