14 Best Sights in Juneau, the Inside Passage, and Southeast Alaska, Alaska

The Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building, which houses the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum, opened in 2016 on the site of the old state museum and is among the most impressive cultural attractions in Alaska. In the permanent gallery, visitors weave through interconnected spaces that present Alaska's unique stories through carefully selected objects and culturally diverse narratives. Three temporary galleries host an ever-changing selection of solo shows and exhibits, offering in-depth views of notable contemporary Alaskan artists and art forms. Kids will love the pirate ship (built for them to climb on) and the eagle tree in the lobby, viewable from multiple levels. The state-of-the-art building also houses Alaska's most important books, photographs, and documents, offering opportunities for researchers as well as more casual visitors.

One of Southeast's most popular tourist attractions whisks you from the cruise-ship docks 1,800 feet up the side of Mt. Roberts. After the six-minute ride, you can take in a film on the history and culture of the Tlingits, visit the nature center, go for an alpine walk on hiking trails (including the 5-mile round-trip hike to Mt. Roberts's 3,819-foot summit), purchase Native art and peruse the on-site gallery, or enjoy a meal while savoring mountain views. You can also get an up-close view of an "education" eagle in her mew. A local company leads guided wilderness hikes from the summit, and the bar serves locally brewed beers. Plan to spend one to two hours at the top. For a workout, hike up the mountain from town or hike to Father Brown's Cross from the top; each takes about an hour.

Glaciers are abundant in Southeast Alaska, but only a very few are as accessible as Mendenhall Glacier. Alaska's most-visited drive-up glacier spans 12 miles and is fed by the massive Juneau Icefield. Like many other Alaska glaciers, it is retreating, losing more than 100 feet a year as huge chunks of ice calve into the small lake separating the glacier from the Mendenhall Visitor Center. The center has interactive and traditional exhibits, a theater and bookstore, and panoramic views. Nature trails lead along Mendenhall Lake, to Nugget Falls, and into the mountains overlooking Mendenhall Glacier; the trails are marked by posts and paint stripes delineating the historic location of the glacier, providing a sharp reminder of Mendenhall's hasty retreat. An elevated viewing platform allows visitors to look for spawning sockeye and coho salmon—and the bears that eat them—at Steep Creek, a half mile south of the visitor center along the Moraine Ecology Trail.

Several companies lead bus tours to the glacier; ask at the visitor information center. You can also get within a mile and a half of the glacier on the city bus, which is $2 one-way. For a different perspective, you can travel by helicopter to the surface of the glacier, or hire a guide to take you right up to the edge. Note that because the ice is inherently unstable, the Forest Service doesn't recommend self-guided tours.

Constructed as part of a long-range waterfront improvement plan, Juneau's Seawalk currently exists in two unconnected segments, both of which offer opportunities to explore local art, culture, and history. The southern portion, which includes the Juneau Visitor Center and a colorful mural of Tlingit civil rights hero Elizabeth Peratrovich, runs from the end of South Franklin Street to Marine Park. Keep an eye out for the statue of Patsy Ann, a beloved local dog known for greeting ships in the 1930s. Once you hit Marine Park, continue down Egan Drive to reach the northern section of the Seawalk, an elevated walkway along the shore offering beautiful views of Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island. All along both sections of the Seawalk is the impressive Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), a series of totem poles carved by regional Indigenous artists and erected in 2023 by Sealaska Heritage. The 12 unique poles honor and recognize local tribes and clans; read the detailed signage at the base of each pole to learn about the significance of the figures represented. At the end of the Seawalk, in Overstreet Park near the Juneau-Douglas Bridge, Juneau's iconic bronze sculpture of a life-size, breaching humpback whale rises above a fountain, providing the perfect backdrop for photos and an opportunity to rest up for the walk back.

Dedicated to the preservation and continuation of Alaska Native art, this nonprofit organization occupies what was Ft. Seward's hospital. You can watch artisans doing everything from carving totem poles to creating delicate silver jewelry.

Above Indian Creek, a 20-minute walk from downtown, Alaska's only full-service avian hospital rehabilitates from 100 to 200 birds each year. Well-versed guides provide an introduction to the center (there's also a short video), and guests can visit with one of these majestic birds. The primary attraction is an enclosed 20,000-square-foot flight-training center, built to replicate the rain forest, where injured eagles relearn survival skills, including flying and catching salmon. Visitors watch through one-way glass windows. A large deck out back faces an open-air enclosure for eagles and other raptors whose injuries prevent them from returning to the wild. Additional mews with hawks, owls, and other birds lie along a rain forest path. The gift shop sells all sorts of eagle paraphernalia, the proceeds from which fund the center's programs.

The main focuses at this natural history museum are bald eagles and associated fauna of the Chilkat Preserve. Lectures, displays, videos, and a taxidermy-heavy diorama help tell their stories, and there's a raptor center that has live presentations and an aviary displaying live eagles.

Salmon are integral to life in Southeast Alaska, and Alaskans are proud of their healthy fisheries. A visit to the hatchery is a great introduction to the complex considerations involved in maintaining the continued vitality of this crucial resource. Watch through an underwater window as salmon fight their way up a fish ladder from mid-June to mid-October. Inside the busy hatchery, which produces almost 125 million young salmon annually, you will learn about the environmental considerations of commercial fishermen and the lives of salmon. A retail shop sells gifts and salmon products. The salmon hatchery is part of a larger nonprofit, Douglas Island Pink and Chum, Inc., and is usually referred to locally by its acronym, DIPAC.

An independently operated animal rescue center, Fortress of the Bear offers the chance to see bears up close without worry for safety. The center, 5 miles east of Sitka, shelters a handful of brown and black bears, both adults and cubs, in large enclosures that allow them to interact and play. In addition to creating a hospitable environment for bears that might otherwise be euthanized, the center educates visitors about proper human–animal interaction.

Exhibits at this city-run museum interpret pioneer, mining, and Tlingit history. A diorama of a fire assay lab shows how the Bureau of Mines measured the gold content of rock samples, and there's a reconstructed Tlingit fish trap. Pioneer artifacts include a century-old store and kitchen. Digital story kiosks shed light on Alaska's quest for statehood, how government works here, civil rights in Alaska, and the cultures of Juneau. In the hands-on room, youngsters can try on clothes similar to ones worn by the miners and look at gold-rush stereoscopes. Engaging historic walking tours of downtown ($31.50) take place three times a week from May through September; other tours, scheduled periodically, include a stroll along the historic Treadwell Mine Trail.

A 2-mile hike (uphill) or shuttle-bus ride from town, this small museum is housed in the former compressor building of Juneau's historic AJ Gold Mine. The collection includes old mining tools, railcars, minerals, and a 3D map of the ore body. If you didn't arrive on foot, it's well worth scheduling some extra time for meandering along Basin Road. Though the road itself is fairly flat, the surrounding country is steep and wooded, with abundant waterfalls and trails leading in all directions, including one to the summit of Mt. Juneau.

The exhibits and activities at this waterfront facility highlight Sitka's role as a regional hub for whale biologists, fisheries-management experts, and other specialists. Attractions include touch tanks, six wall-mounted aquariums, an 800-gallon saltwater tank, a killer-whale skeleton, and a fish hatchery. Well-placed signs throughout this working science center describe what's going on, providing a great introduction for kids to hands-on environmental science.

This impressive public lands interpretive center contains exhibits—including one on the rain forest—that focus on the resources, Native cultures, and ecosystems of Southeast. The U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies provide information on Alaska's public lands, and a large gift shop sells natural-history books, maps, and videos about the region's sights. National Park and Federal Recreational Land Passes are accepted and sold.

This small waterside park sits in the trees 4 miles east of Sitka right off Sawmill Creek Road. Boardwalk paths lead to five viewing platforms and steps lead down to the rocky shoreline. A gazebo next to the parking area contains signs describing the whales that visit Silver Bay, and you can listen to their sounds from recordings and an offshore hydrophone.