Alaska´s capital city, accessible only by boat or by plane, may be geographically secluded, but it´s a sociable spot.

Juneau serves as a hub to numerous Southeast communities; it is host to legislators from across America´s largest state; it is home to more than 30,000 residents; and it will welcome close to a million adventure-seeking visitors this year.

The city sits on the rugged shores of Gastineau Channel, its skyline dominated by immediate mountains. The famous Mendenhall Glacier rests in Juneau´s back yard. Area waters are home to humpbacks, halibut and an array of salmon. The national bird flies local skies. Roughly 50 percent of the world´s population of eagles resides in Alaska.

Bears, mountain goats, sea lions, seals and various other wildlife also inhabit the area. Admiralty Island hosts the region´s highest concentration of brown bears, which can be viewed in excursions to Pack Creek, among other spots. Tucked in the midst of a rain forest, Juneau has an average of 222 days of rain or mist each year. The abundance of rain creates a living landscape of lacy ferns, vivid wildflowers and lush forests that enhance the lofty peaks, massive ice fields and profuse waterways.

Ample adventures await outdoor enthusiasts who take on camping, hiking, skiing, kayaking, rafting and fishing, just to name a few. Other popular activities include whale watching and sight-seeing. A zip up the Mount Roberts Tramway or a tour of Glacier Gardens offer panoramic views. Local attractions and spectacular scenery can be further observed via helicopter tours, floatplane rides, bus travels, boat trips or by simply walking around town.

There is a lot to see in Juneau. The city was built on the back of a gold rush, the remnants of which can be spotted and even experienced throughout the town and its museums. Juneau´s history begins with the Tlingit people, and Native Alaska culture remains influential in the city today.

Today Juneau is home to numerous visual, musical and theatrical artists who are drawn to the area´s scenery and its serenity. The community boasts several theaters and galleries, as well as a symphony, a lyric opera and much more. Annual events include the Alaska Folk Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics, salmon derbies, Native Alaskan celebrations, among other things.

But that´s not all. Juneau has a regional hospital, a university, a salmon hatchery and even a local brewery. Juneau further offers a multitude of distinctive shopping and tasteful dining opportunities in its quaint downtown atmosphere.With such a wide array of activities and attractions, it´s no surprise that Juneau remains one of Alaska´s top travel destinations. When it comes right down to it, Juneau has something for everyone. .

A walking tour of beautiful downtown Juneau
Don sturdy walking shoes and trek up the steep streets to experience some of what makes downtown Juneau special. Waterfront walks, wildlife watching, forest hikes and historic building tours are also free or inexpensive. Grab a Juneau walking tour map available from the airport, information kiosks at Marine Park and the cruise ship terminal, Auke Bay ferry terminal, hotels or the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau information center located in Centennial Hall.

Mt. Roberts Tram
The Tram: A six-minute ride that takes you to the top of town. In Juneau, you can soar from sea level to a mountaintop in mere minutes, and maybe learn something while you're at it. From 27 to 2,000 feet, the Mount Roberts Tramway puts Juneau's waterfront within six minutes of the alpine environment. Ascend Mount Roberts in one of two 60-person tram cars adorned with Native Tlingit artwork. En route, the tram car conductor will acquaint you with local and natural history, Native culture and personal stories about living in Alaska.

Peer out at a breathtaking panoramic view of the Inside Passage, the Chilkat Mountain Range, the mouth of Taku Inlet, Gastineau Channel and the communities of Juneau and Douglas. The mountain complex is set in the forest primeval, a world reminiscent of the ice ages, where you can experience firsthand the importance and beauty of Alaska's fragile rainforest environment. Even on wet days, the cloud cover ceiling is typically about 2,500 feet and you can still see much while experiencing the grandeur of the rainforest in comfort.

A nature center offers interpretive information, displays and the option of purchasing a guided alpine walking tour. It's a smooth ride to the top and all sections of the complex are wheelchair-accessible. Tram builders made safety a priority.

Native themes are accentuated throughout, including carvings along the trails, traditional and modern artwork, samples of Native foods and the employees, many of whom are Natives who share their rich heritage with the guests.

Mendenhall Glacier
The Mendenhall Glacier is a tongue of ice, stretching 12 miles and reaching 1-1/2 miles across the Mendenhall Valley, with ice 400-800 feet deep. Twelve miles is about the same distance as cruise ship passengers travel from the dock up to the glacier. Although it's only minutes from downtown Juneau, a trip to the glacier transports visitors to a primordial past, when much of North America was buried under ice.

Naturalist John Muir named it the "Auk Glacier" after a local Tlingit Indian village when he visited Southeast Alaska in 1879. In 1892 the name was changed to honor Thomas C. Mendenhall, superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. His administration surveyed the international boundary between Alaska and Canada.

Since the mid-1700s, the glacier has been retreating. Before 1750, the face of the glacier reached two miles farther down the Mendenhall Valley. Theories differ, but some suggest that a slight change in climate could make it advance again. It takes the ice about 250 years to flow from the Juneau icefield (which is itself a glacier) to the terminus at Mendenhall Lake.

The glacier's blue color often surprises visitors. Like minerals, glacial ice has a unique crystalline structure that absorbs and reflects light. As snow accumulates, its weight compacts snow layers from previous years into dense ice. This glacial ice absorbs all colors of the spectrum except blue, which gives the ice its blue appearance.

The most intense blue colors occur in crevasses and when ice breaks off, or calves, from a glacier's face. The blue color fades as the ice is exposed to air and the crystalline structure begins to break down. As the ice breaks down, it becomes porous, and allows all wavelengths of the color spectrum to pass through, creating a white appearance. Visitors to the Mendenhall should not let gray skies discourage them. Glacier viewing is often best on overcast and rainy days.

Commercial operators who have special-use permits for the Tongass National Forest (in which the Mendenhall Glacier lies) offer a variety of tours in the summer, including hiking, biking, rafting, canoe and kayak trips and bus, van, taxi and shuttle tours. Experienced guides pilot large rubber rafts down the glacier-fed Mendenhall River or canoes and kayaks on Mendenhall Lake. Thousands of visitors each year also take flightseeing tours by helicopter or fixed-wing plane. Some land on the Mendenhall and other Juneau Icefield glaciers.

The Forest Service maintains several hiking trails near the visitor center. Signs in the parking lot steer visitors to the gentle 1-1/2-mile Moraine Ecology Trail. The 1/2 mile Trail of Time, a self guided interpretive/nature trail meant to be enjoyed at an unhurried pace, circles up and around the Visitor Center. There's also the fully accessible 1/4 mile Photo Point Trail, which overlooks the glacier and Nugget Falls.

Glacier Gardens: A colorful adventure in the rainforest
At Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventures, where uprooted trees become gardens and a flooded streambed is transformed into a sprawling trail of ponds and creeks, even the boardwalks seem to be part of nature. "Only a few trees were removed to make this boardwalk," manager Brad Hartman explained. Co-owner Steve Bowhay "wanted it to follow the lay of the land and give people a place to stretch their legs."

For most of the Glacier Gardens tour, visitors sit in small golf carts, winding their way through a largely untouched forest. Small landscaping touches ­ such as log borders on the path ­ are visible along the way. "Flower towers," upturned trees whose sprawling root structures have been transformed into flower beds, are the primary attention-getter for tourists.

"It's so beautiful," said a visitor, staring up at a tree spilling over with flowers. "I have a garden at home, but nothing like this." Cultivated plants, including begonias, fuchsias and petunias, fill the towers and the greenhouse at the base of the hill. But for the most part, the Bowhays and their staff prefer to exploit the natural materials and lay of the land, Hartman said.

"Most (of the tour) is indigenous forest," Hartman said. "Where we've done restoration, there's some landscaping." Glacier Gardens opened six years ago, but Steve and Cindy Bowhay began working to develop the area in 1994. At that point, they owned seven acres ­ most of which was covered with mud and rocks from a landslide.

They purchased 43 more acres of land from the city in 1997. The main arm of the trail, reaching up to 600 feet from ground level, was built during 1997 and 1998. Easy access for the elderly and disabled was always a key element of the project, Steve Bowhay said. "I would say that the most rewarding part ... is being able to wheel someone in a wheelchair out on that boardwalk," he said. "It's a feeling you can't duplicate and you can't explain. It's something that they don't think they're ever going to get to do again and then they get to."

Numerous small touches and another extension of the trail have been added since the gardens opened. An agreement with the U.S. Forest Service allowed its construction; the winding path to the bottom passes through Tongass National Forest land and gives visitors another glimpse of Alaska wilderness.

- Genevieve Gagne-Hawes
Information from this section found at www.juneaualaska.com