Juneau has been called America's most scenic state capital. For raw beauty, Juneau is hard to beat. In addition to the waterways of the area, and the lush rain forests on the surrounding mountainsides, there are high mountain lakes and - a different form of water - the 1,500 square-mile Juneau ice field capping a sprawling mountain range between Juneau and Canada, some 25 miles to the east. This is a world of stark beauty.

Juneau is famous too, for Mendenhall Glacier, a "drive to" glacier that sprawls between mountains for some 12 miles before showing its ice face across Mendenhall Lake from the U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center. Several trails provide access to stunning overlooks of Mendenhall and the valley beyond.

When all is said and done, however, it is likely to be Juneau's first impression that will be the most lasting-a picture book community nestled along the base of the mountains with winding streets, totem poles, brightly painted store fronts, and more than 30,396 friendly people who wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world!

HISTORY
Juneau was incorporated on October 4, 1880, not too long after Chief Kowee led prospectors Joe Juneau and Richard Harris to what seemed to be a very promising streak of gold in nearby Gold Creek. The promise was fulfilled as that strike and others in the general area eventually turned out more than $150 million in gold. And that was when the price of gold was $30 an ounce.

Although Juneau was founded on gold, government began its takeover in 1906 when the state capital was moved from Sitka. By the time the last gold mine closed during World War II, it had taken over as the mainstay of the economy. Today it is estimated that 75 per cent of Juneau's economic base can be directly traced to government-city/borough, state, and federal.

But gold is not forgotten and those who visit Juneau today still gaze in awe at the remains of the old A-J mine complex on the flanks of Mt. Roberts near the edge of the downtown area. The A-J mine operated until 1944 when rising prices and a pegged price of gold made the mine fail. The Treadwell Mine, which was on Gastineau Channel in Douglas-across from downtown Juneau-closed in 1917 after the under-channel mine tunnels flooded and collapsed.

Juneau Travel