Juneau Travel GuideNo roads lead to Juneau, Alaska. Despite it's distinction as the only U.S. capital that sits on an International border, Juneau is reachable only by air or by sea. Surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the world, Juneau has served at the state capitol of Alaska since 1906 when the seat of Alaskan government was moved north from Sitka. Juneau is visited each year by more than one million cruise goers. In 2007, thirteen cruise lines brought forty of their ships up the narrow finger of water, called the Gastineau Channel, to the capitol city. Sitting at sea level, Juneau spreads out along the banks of the Channel beneath tall mountains atop which sites the Juneau Icefield, a large mass of ice that feeds more than 30 glaciers. Two glaciers, the Mendenhall glacier and the Lemon Creek Glacier are visible from Juneau and are a short helicopter ride away. Like many of Alaska's cities, Juneau's origins are rooted in Native American history. Once a rich fishing ground for the Tlingit Indians, the area was also rich in gold-bearing ore. Prospector George Pilz offered a reward to any local Tlingit chief that could lead him to gold-bearing ore. Chief Kowee brought him ore and prospectors Joe Juneau and Richard Harris to Gold Creek to investigate. The men came back empty-handed. But, upon Chief Kowee's insistence, the men were sent back to the Gastineau Channel, to the head of Gold Creek, the Snow Slide Gulch where, it is rumored, they found nuggets "as large as peas and beans." On October 18, 1880, thirteen years after the US purchased Alaska from Russia, the two prospectors surveyed out a 160 acre plot that quickly became a mining camp and then a town. It was first named Harrisburg, after Richard Harris. The name was changed to Rockwell, at one point. But, in 1881, the miners met and voted to name the town Juneau, after prospector Joe Juneau. As a port city, Juneau had an official greeter, a faithful soul who welcomed visitors from the steamships of the 1930s. Patsy Ann, a white bull terrier and deaf from birth, had an unerring sense of when cruise ships would arrive. How she knew when each vessel would arrive remains a mystery, but she was never wrong. She was named “Official Greeter of Juneau, Alaska” by Mayor Goldstein in 1934. Between ships, she made the rounds of local businesses for snacks and spent her nights in the Longshoreman's hall, sleeping peacefully among friends. And that's where she died in 1942. She is immortalized in a bronze statue commissioned by New Mexico artist Anna Burke Harris in 1992. Mixed in with the bronze is dog hair from all over the world, uniting the spirit of dogs everywhere. JUNEAU QUICK STATISTICS Population: 30,987 JUNEAU VISITOR INFORMATION Juneau Chamber of Commerce Juneau Visitors Information Center Informational websites: JuneauAlaska.com and Juneau.com READ UP ON JUNEAU Juneau Empire Southeast Alaska's oldest continuously operating church is Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Juneau. JUNEAU SIGHTSEEING Alaska-Gastineau Mill & Gold Mine Tour Alaska State Museum The Juneau-Douglas City Museum The Last Chance Mining Museum & Historic Park Alaska State Capitol Centennial Hall Visitor Center Red Dog Saloon St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church Alaskan Brewing Company JUNEAU HOTELS AND LODGING Alaskan Hotel and Bar Frontier Suites Airport Hotel Goldbelt Hotel Juneau Pearson’s Pond Luxury Inn & Adventure Spa Alaska’s Capital Inn Baranof Hotel Grandma’s Feather Bed The Prospector Hotel Silverbow Inn Driftwood Lodge Extended Stay Deluxe Sentinel Island Lighthouse JUNEAU FOOD AND DRINK Pizzeria Roma Gold Creek Salmon Bake / Alaska Adventures Hangar on the Wharf Twisted Fish Douglas Cafe The Island Pub Heritage Coffee Company Rainbow Foods Multiple glaciers and an ice field are only minutes INTERNET ACCESS Juneau Public Library The Triangle Club Bar Heritage Coffee (several locations) Copy Express Electronic Adventures JUNEAU TRANSPORTATION Car Rentals: Hertz, Avis, Budget, Alamo, National all at airport Taxis: Capital Cab - Phone: (907) 586-2772 Bike Rentals: Driftwood Lodge JUNEAU AIRPORT Juneau International Airport FISH & GAME Fish & Game Department, Juneau Office FOREST SERVICE Tongass National Forest Juneau Ranger District HOSPITALS Bartlett Regional
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