When in Juneau, Alaska one of the most touristy things you can do is take a ride on the city tram. At $33 it is an expensive way to get a view of the city, but one that is absolutely worth it if you are a hiker like myself. On top of this small mountain is a trailhead that leads to a nature trail, historic cross and two fantastic Alaskan summits. I only had a small amount of time so I did the cross hike and here is all of the information.
Details
- $33 for an all day pass
- There is a restaurant at the top
- Miles of hiking trails
- Bald Eagle area with an eagle they are rehabilitating where you can see an eagle up close
Right outside of the main downtown street in Juneau is the entrance to the tram. From here it is a 5 minute ride up 1,300 feet to the building above. Here is a timelapse of the trip.
The view from the top is amazing as you can easily see downtown Juneau, cruise ships and surrounding peaks on a clear day.
After taking in the view you can proceed down the stairs to visit the one-eyed bald eagle that they are rehabilitating. It was a little sad but it was cool to see the animal up close.
The shop and nature center has a lot of stuff for sale along with a $1 trail map that shows all of the area’s trails. We headed out on the one-mile loop that took us up 500 feet to Father Brown’s Cross.
The Trail
The trail started in the forest and headed through a shaded area before coming out and providing an amazing view of the surrounding peaks.
Just taking the quarter-mile walk to this area is worth the price of admission in and of itself. The mountains that surround you are awe-inspiring and gigantic. I kept taking pictures as it was amazing in every direction.
The trail had a short flat area where it provided a vista point of the ocean and the city below. It also had a map that showed what mountains you were looking at, which was nice as I was not familiar with the area.
From here the trail started heading up on switchbacks and you could see the end destination of the cross on the hill above.
We saw a few bald eagles flying here and even a marmot scampered across the trail.
After reaching the end, the 15 foot cross was right before us and it provided a beautiful foreground element for pictures of the city below.
We headed up about 100 feet more so we could get a vista of the mountain that was behind us but after that, we headed back down to the tram station.
I wish I had more time here as I would have liked to hike to one of the summits, but even without that it was an amazing way to explore a truly beautiful part of Juneau. If you have a few hours to explore then the $33 price tag is totally worth a trip up to the top of the Juneau tram. Let me know if you have been below.
