Juneau, the state capital of Alaska, is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and is across the channel from Douglas Island. With a population of 32K, it is the third-most populous city in Alaska after Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the sixth-least populous U.S. state capital.  Juneau is unique among U.S. state capitals in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state or to the contiguous United States. Honolulu, Hawaii, is the only other state capital which is not connected by road to the contiguous United States. The absence of a road network is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city. In turn, Juneau is a de facto island city in terms of transportation; all goods coming in and out must be transported by plane or boat despite the city’s location on the Alaskan mainland.

For us, we had another day of wondering the streets, looking at the scenery, and having lunch. We’ve been to Juneau a couple times before, and after that long sea crossing, it just feels good to be on solid ground walking around with no agenda. Juneau, however, has a very different atmosphere from Skagway in that it is a real city, with a real government function. There are also fishing and mining industries, besides government and tourism, that contribute to the economic health of the area.

We met some friends at a local restaurant, Imperial Bar and Billiards, which was off the beaten path and not touristy. There were Juneau locals and ship’s crew there, and you knew the food was going to be good. The menu had many Mexican items and they were excellent. Not to be too sentimental, but this place could have been in the 1990’s TV show Northern Exposure and we loved it!

We wanted to take the aerial Goldbelt Tram ride to the top of Mt. Juneau but it was closed. The previous day, an accident occurred when one of the cable cars came into the station too fast. There were 5 employees onboard and two were injured, though not seriously. Today was supposed to be the opening of the tram for the 2026 season. As we didn’t get our ride, we were back onboard with plenty of time before our 4pm sailaway.

We like Juneau…from walking the quaint streets, to canoeing to the Mendenhall Glacier, to singing gold-rush songs in the Red Onion Saloon. We’ve had some great times here over the years and look forward to returning.

Tomorrow: Sitka, Alaska