Alaska's cities

Juneau attractions

Capitol, museums, glacier, hatchery, brewery and monuments

Alaska.com

• State Capitol, Fourth and Main. Free tours are available in the summer starting in the Capitol lobby, and there are self-guided tours the rest of the year. 907-465-3800.

• The State Office Building, diagonally across Fourth and Main from the Capitol, houses the State Historical Library. It's on the eighth floor. 907-465-2925.

• The Governor's Mansion, 716 Calhoun Ave. It was finished in 1913 with almost 13,000 square feet of floor space. Tours may be possible. Call 907-465-3500.

• Alaska State Museum, 395 Whittier St. The museum has two parts; the other one's the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka. 907-465-2901.

• University of Alaska Southeast. One of three branches of the state university system, it sits along the Glacier Highway near Auke Lake.

• USS Juneau Memorial. On the waterfront, it commemorates the sinking of the cruiser by torpedo at Guadacanal on Friday the 13th, November 1942. Ten men survived, but 690 were lost, including the famous five Sullivan brothers.

• Mount Roberts Tramway, 490 S. Franklin St. near the dock. 888-461-3412. A day pass for the 2002 season is $21.95 for an adult and $12.60 for a child age 7 to 12. A six-minute ride glides from the dock area to an elevation of 1,760 feet, above the trees.

• Joe Juneau. The city's namesake prospector is remembered with a statue along Gold Creek at Willoughby Avenue. At Evergreen Cemetery are the graves of Juneau and his partner Richard Harris; the town's first name was Harrisburg.

• Wildlife cruises. Whales, seals and seabirds are usually found in the area. Trips to scenic Tracy Arm, Icy Strait and closer waters are available from Auk Nu Tours, Orca Eco Tours and other charter boats.

• Mendenhall Glacier, north of Juneau along the Glacier Highway: It's 12 miles long, 1.5 miles wide with ice up to 800 feet thick. The Juneau Icefield, from which the glacier descends, covers 1,500 square miles. Guides shepherd rubber rafts on the Mendenhall River; canoes and kayaks are fine on Mendenhall Lake. Helicopter tours of Mendenhall and other Juneau Icefield glaciers are available. Among the trails at the lake is one that takes hikers to the Steep Creek fish viewing site, where they can watch spawning red and silver salmon. A "fish cam" sends underwater images to a monitor near the glacier visitor center. Tours are available from downtown.

• Juneau Icefield flightseeing. The ice covers 1,500 square miles. Helicopter flights land on glacier for about $180, and there are also floatplane rides that overfly the ice.