Is your cruise ship docked in Juneau and it's a gray, cold, rainy day (very possible!)? A trip to…read morethe Alaska State Museum is a great way to spend some time and get out of the elements! That's the exact weather we were faced with and we found the museum about a 15 minute walk from the port. This was the largest museum we encountered on our Alaska cruise and one of the best. Lovely displays of native art and key moments of Alaska history. Nice lockers for all your cold weather/rain gear as well! Definitely worth a visit.

An excellent museum, particularly impressive collection of native Alaskan art and artifacts.read more

We visited Sealaska Heritage, a Native nonprofit, in downtown Juneau. (It is easily accessible from…read morethe cruise terminal). The museum focuses on the story of Southeast Alaska's Native people that began 10,000 years ago and continues today. The centerpiece of the museum is a replica of a clan house, as well as exhibits with one-of a-kind Native art. Admission to the "Nathan Jackson Gallery Exhibit" was $7.00 for me; $5.00 for my elder (65+) husband (June, 2025). There is also a large shop with authentic, unique, and high-quality Native arts, as well as other souvenirs. Visits to the museum and purchases directly support Alaska Native artists, workshops, indigenous language revitalization, and cross-cultural programming. The building itself, as well as the tall totem poles outside, are photo-worthy. We have mixed feelings about our visit. It was confusing upon entering the building. The gift shop was on the left; museum on the right -- but it wasn't clear where to buy tickets for the museum. After buying the tickets in the gift shop, we proceeded to the museum. No staff were on-site. While well-maintained, it was quite small with only a few rooms -- the clan room/auditorium and rooms with individual art and artifacts. However, there was no context for the significance of these items to the Native cultures. Others have commented on the usefulness of on-site docents; unfortunately, this was not our experience. We're atreating our visit as a donation towards the objectives of the Institute; otherwise, the price of admission is high given the experience. As for free activities, it's definitely worth a visit to see the totem poles and to drop-in to the excellent gift shop.

This building stands out, so you cannot miss it if you are wandering around downtown Juneau. There…read moreis a very fine shop filled with quality Alaska carvings, art and artifacts. Well worth your perusal as it is a quality shop. The Nathan Jackson Gallery Exhibit is a collection of stories and art from the SE Alaskan native Americans. A very dignified docent takes you on a tour of a tribal meeting and living building, displays of native arts and historical video and slide shows. Cost is $7 for people aged 7 years old and up. Seniors are $4. You cannot enter without a paid ticket. Nothing is in depth, so it will not take you long to take it all in. But Alaska IS different from lower 48 cultures and peoples. Certainly this is well worth your time when you are passing through Juneau.

Me and the wife went in Aug of 2026. Overall the museum was interesting with some old "cool"…read moreartifacts from the Gold and Silver mining Rush of days gone by. BUT Was very disappointed that the lane going to the bridge at the bottom of the hill the Museum sits on was locked (for no apparent reason) and parking is very scarce and shared with parking for a well known trail head. After barely finding a spot to park a sub compact, we walked a trail to a bridge at the bottom of the hill (Museum sits at the top) then we had to hike up hill several 100 feet to the Museum. Definitely not for handicapped or elderly persons with weak knees, hips or backs.

Cool little museum that appears to be family run. Emery for adults in $5 and we're not charged for…read morean 11 year old. Takes about 15 minutes to get through the museum. Best part was purchasing a plastic gold pan kit for $8 and then actually panning and finding gold flakes in the river below. Tip: Take taxi / ride share up to the mine and then walk back to town about 30 minutes, it's beautiful.

If you're visiting Juneau, the hike to Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls is an absolute must. The…read moreviews are breathtaking from start to finish, and seeing the glacier up close with Nugget Falls cascading beside it is something you won't forget. Money-saving tip: Skip the expensive excursions and take the Juneau Capital Transit bus from downtown to Dredge Lake Rd., which is the closest bus stop to Mendenhall. From there, it's about a 1.7-mile walk to the Visitor Center, followed by an easy 1.5-mile hike to Nugget Falls. The trail is well maintained and suitable for most people. The bus costs just $2 each way. Be sure to bring exact change or download the Token Transit app from the App Store to pay your fare. The bus system was easy to navigate, and we had no trouble figuring it out. In my opinion, this is one of the best values in Juneau. You get the same incredible glacier views and unforgettable experience that many people pay hundreds of dollars for on organized excursions. If you're comfortable walking a few miles, this is absolutely the way to do it!

Very accessible Visitor Center with views of the Glacier just a short distance from the bus and…read moreshuttle drop off location. Visitor center has an elevator to the 2nd floor that provides insight, views, and toilets. If in Juneau via a cruise ship you can access the park via both shore excursions and tour operators. No real complications on May 5, on that clear dry day, though 5 cruise ships were in port making the park entrance busy with both tourists and transports. It was a nice way to see a glacier, but the initial park area was crowded, so do not expect to escape from the bustle of tourists unless you explore deeper into the park.

A really steep walk but worth it for the views. The guide was very sweet and informative. Told us…read morethe best stories.

If you time your visit correctly, there are free guided tours during the work week at 1:30 PM and…read more3PM from June 1 to September 24. They last about an hour, and you sign up the day of in the lobby. The docent we had was very interested in the art and paintings hanging in the hallways of the capitol building, and so the tour was mostly art focused, fine by me. If you can't make the guided tour times or can't spare the full 60 minutes, there are self guided audio tours as well as printed brochures to help point out areas of interest. If you're a free spirit, you can just wander the halls as you please. While there are people working in the building, the staff don't mind as long as you aren't disturbing anyone. There are metal detectors and X-ray tunnels for your personal belongings at the entrance, but they weren't being used the day I visited. Neat stop.

This is the smallest state capitol of US. The place is a short walking distance from the cruise…read moreterminal and the visitor center. They offer free tours of the building and is a great learning experience especially for tourists. There is a small gift shop for souvenirs. A great spot to take the picture is from the small park overlooking the statue of William Henry Seward.

The downtown area is walkable, with plenty of shops, eateries, and a public library. Spend a…read morepleasant afternoon in the comfort of laid-back Juneau.

The Port of Juneau is a popular, large cruise ship port with a few piers where the cruise ships…read moredock or possibly tender. The tender option is a pain! The 3 main docks are AS, CT, and FKL docks and are located in the heart of downtown Juneau and these docks are a quick walk into the middle of town with all the shops, restaurants, and excursions. The AJ Dock is a bit further out, about a mile south of downtown. It's a 15-25 minute walk, but most folks hop on the free shuttle that runs regularly between the AJ Dock and the downtown cruise terminal. Once you get to the downtown area, most of the food and shopping is within walking distance. If you want to venture out a bit further, taxis and ride shares are available, although they can be limited during peak cruise season.

What can I say about Juneau that hasn't already been said? We know that it's Alaska's state…read morecapital. That's a given. What I thought was interesting is that you can't actually get to it by roadway. You can drive to Alaska, but at some point you will need to drive your car onto a ferry. Juneau is only accessible by air, or by water. With that said, it's a great city to visit by cruise ship. There's so much to do here for nature lovers and outdoorsy people. There are lots of shops, restaurants, bars, and museums that don't require a tour. The Goldbelt Tram tickets can be purchased in town if you want to explore Mount Roberts. Otherwise, there are tours that can be booked for glaciers, hatcheries, whale watching, dog sledding, fishing, and hiking. There are seaplane tours. We personally had a great time just watching them take off and land in the channel. We didn't get to stay too long. We had a whole morning to explore the city before heading to Dawes Glacier that afternoon. I was shocked that we didn't experience any rain that day. It was a beautiful and sunny day in Juneau. It's a very walkable town that I'd love to visit again.

3.5 stars I came in…read morevia the cruise port. Since my ship was the first of the season (too early by some peoples' opinions), the downtown area wasn't too crowded. I thought downtown is really cute and easy to walk around. There's plenty of gift shops & a ton of jewelry stores. There's a museum nearby that I didn't get to go in. It closes at 4pm. The views are stunning no matter where I looked. Definitely a city worth visiting at least once in a lifetime.

This was one of the three stops on our tour/excursion in early June 2026. Spent about an hour here…read morebut it could have been shorter as there was not much to see. Sadly, there were no salmon running yet, but we did get to learn about the different types of salmon and the important work the hatchery does.

This stop was included in our Juneau excursion that we purchased through celebrity cruises…read more You really only need about 30 minutes to see everything. There is a pier that overlooks the outside of the hatchery. It has gorgeous picturesque views. There is also the inside part of the hatchery where the young salmon are hatched. Last there is a gift shop that also has a tank with some interesting sea creatures as well as a petting tank. You can sample some of the smoked salmon in the gift shop. Overall, it was a unique experience, and we enjoyed it.