My family and I are going to be in Juneau in May on the HAL Zaandam. We have investigate various tour options, and also found some good websites on self-guided hikes. The thing I am having trouble figuring out is how to get to the hiking trails if we do it on our own. Does anyone have experience with transportation in Juneau? Where does the ship dock? Do we need to rent a car, or does the city bus take you near the hiking trials? Or should we ride the Sky Tram and hike from there? We are thinking of hiking the West Glacier Loop Trail or someething like it. Any ideas?

I am not too familiar with the West Glacier Loop trail, but I do know The East Glacier Loop Trail is a good option that is easy to access. The trail starts off of the Visitor's Center at the Mendenhall Glacier. Climb the stairs leading above the Center, walk a few blocks and the trail begins on your left. It takes about 2-3 hours to complete and offers great views of the valley and the glacier. You can also take the short hike to Nugget Falls from the Visitor's Center. Public busses run regularly to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Center and you can catch one right at the port (very inexpensive).

Moved Reply:

What is the cost of the bus from the cruise docks to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center? Is it one of the regular city bus routes, or a special shuttle bus? Where is the bus stop? Thanks.

There is a bus that you can catch right at the parking lot in front of where the cruise ships dock that will take you directly to the Visitor's Center at the glacier. It runs quite regularly and on my last visit it was either $3 for round trip or $1 each way - I can't remember for sure. When you get off the ship ask anyone where to catch the bus to the glacier and they will point out the stop.

The MGT shuttle was $7 per person each way last year. Rumor is it's going up a buck this year, but we won't know for another few weeks.

This is NOT the city bus... the city bus has its nearest stop just over a mile from Mendenhall Glacier.

Also, to the OP: The West Glacier Trail is much more difficult to access, as it's on the other side of the lake and river... I'd guess 3-5 miles on the back-loop highway from the visitor center on the East Side.

Other ways to get to either trailhead: taxi will run $30 (ish) which isn't bad if you've got a group of 4 or more. Some excursion vendors (whale watching, sport fishing, etc.) can drop you at the glacier after a tour and save you some shuttle time.

There are also several great hikes around downtown. Perseverance trail, the flume, Mt. Roberts, Sheep Creek and Pt. Bishop are all within a walk or very short cab ride of the ship terminals...

Have fun!
-Case