8 Great Benefits of Visiting Juneau, Alaska in Winter

As many of you already know, I recently found myself, quite unexpectedly, heading to Juneau, Alaska in late January to spend over two months taking care of two lovely cats. In winter!

While visiting Alaska has always been a huge dream of mine, I had always imagined exploring the vast northern state in summer, like most people. It had never even crossed my mind to head to Alaska in winter, ever. In fact, 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago, I never would have considered coming up here in January and February. Up til quite recently, I’ve greatly hated cold weather, as I detailed in this article written in 2013.

But I just finished traveling around South America for nearly two years, where people don’t heat their homes, even in the high Andes mountains, even in winter! Gradually, I felt my body acclimatizing to cooler indoor temperatures and I’ve become more hearty and tolerant to cold. In fact, I’ve actually come to enjoy the feeling of cold air on my face.

I also grew up in the US, so I know that Americans heat their homes during cold weather. I knew my Alaskan hosts would have a nice warm house for me to use. Going out into cold weather is no problem for me when I know I can get back inside to warmth.

So when I discovered this pet sitting gig in Juneau, Alaska, I had no hesitations about flying on up to Alaska in winter. In fact, I was very excited to experience snow, which I rarely get to see during my world travels.

Within a week or so of arriving in Juneau and learning more about this popular travel destination, I realized that I was actually glad I had inadvertently landed here in winter rather than summer! I quickly came to appreciate the many great benefits of exploring Juneau in winter. Here’s what I can tell you, first hand:

(Bear in mind that some of these benefits may apply specifically to Juneau, not other parts of Alaska)

1. Quiet

Oh my gosh, it is soooo quiet here! It’s like paradise to me. I don’t ever have to wear my earplugs, even at the house. Not at night to sleep. And not in the daytime, either.

It’s quite rare for me to land in a place where I never have to wear earplugs. I almost always need earplugs at least at night to ensure a relaxed, uninterrupted sleep. So this is a dream location for me.

I’m staying over on Douglas Island, across the bridge from downtown Juneau, in a very small community set on the shores of Gastineau Channel. There are neighbors, but they’re all pretty quiet and mostly out working during the daytime. But at night, it’s mighty quiet, too.

But it’s not just quiet here at the house and neighborhood. Out in the forests, valleys, along the shores and even out at Mendenhall Glacier, it’s also very quiet. The wonderful natural silence of undeveloped places and wilderness!

I’m guessing that it might be a bit noisier living over in downtown Juneau. But the times I’ve passed through the residential streets there, they’ve been just as quiet as here.

2. No crowds and no traffic

I didn’t know until I came here, but Juneau is one of Alaska’s biggest tourist destinations. Mendenhall Glacier, located just 10 miles outside town, is Alaska’s most easily-accessible and well-known glacier. Visitors can see it just by arriving at the visitor’s center.

Partly for that, Juneau is the main cruise ship port for all Alaskan cruises through the Inside Passage. Every cruise ship stops in Juneau. In 2023, the town received a record 1.6 million cruise ship passengers between May and October.

Obviously, during the long cruise ship season, there are mobs of tourists downtown, out at Mendenhall Glacier, and at all the other sights around town. That also means there’s a lot more traffic. Most passengers join various sight-seeing tours, where they’re escorted by buses and vans out to the glacier, gold mine, rivers, coastline parks, Salmon Hatchery and other major places.

Luckily for me, I’m visiting in winter! It is waaayyyy off-season for tourism in Juneau. There are no cruise ships, no hordes of cruise passengers or independent travelers who flock to Juneau in summer months to witness the wild salmon spawning, brown and black bears, glaciers and other unique attractions here.
In winter, downtown Juneau is practically a ghost town. Most shops, businesses and museums are open, but there aren’t many people around.

Likewise, the museums and shops are quiet and practically empty. Mendenhall Glacier has only a handful of visitors each day. Hiking trails are nearly empty, except on weekends when a handful of locals head out to walk their dogs, let their kids play and get some exercise.

Whenever I go downtown, visit the glacier, go out hiking or visit the museums and shops, I make note of how quiet and uncrowded it is. I can just imagine what a chaotic, noisy and crowded experience these places are in other months.

Yes, I’m very grateful that I ended up visiting Juneau in winter!

3. Lots of snow! / gorgeous snow scenery

Since I was adverse to cold weather for so many years, I’ve intentional chosen to explore warm and hot destinations during my 26 years of world travels. That means that I rarely get to see snow. It’s a real novelty for me in my adult life.

I grew up in a four-season climate in the eastern US, so I greatly enjoyed snow as a kid. But ever since I started traveling in 1998, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in snow. There were a couple snowy Christmas visits to family, my Christmas ski trip in Bulgaria, a snowy Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Bosnia, and that’s about it.

I greatly enjoyed my novel heavy snow experiences in Bulgaria and Bosnia, so I was very excited to witness snow up in Alaska. And lucky me, on my third day here, Juneau had a huge dump of snow that left 1.5 feet of new fluffy white snow piled up on trees, mountainsides, houses, cars, mailboxes, roads. Everywhere! It was gorgeous and lasted about three days.

I took walks out in the gorgeous winter wonderland every day, enjoying the spectacular scenery.

That snow melted. Then we got some more, which melted away too. Hopefully we’ll have another big dump of fresh snow while I’m up here in Juneau|

4. Snow sports and activities

With snow and freezing temperatures come all sorts of exciting outdoor winter sports. I’ve mostly been enjoying hiking in snow, but I also walked across frozen Lake Mendenhall to the base of Mendhenhall Glacier one day. That was a beautiful, but rather nerve-wracking experience. I kept hearing weird booming and banging noises and coming across huge cracks in the ice. Eek! But I made it across and back safe and sound.

Besides hiking, anyone with cross-country skis or snow-shoes can traverse the trails by those more exhausting snow methods. Juneau also has a small ski resort, Eagle Ski set in the middle of Douglas Mountain and accessed by a short mountain road.

Then there are all the more casual, fun snow activities to be had, such as sled riding, snowball fights and making snowmen and/or snow sculptures. People can also skate on Mendhenhall Lake whenever there are smooth glassy patches of ice or on various other frozen ponds and small lakes in the area.

5. No bear danger while hiking

As everyone knows, bears hibernate in winter. That means that hikers out on Juneau’s 250 miles of trails don’t have to keep an eye out for bears, which can be really dangerous.

But from spring through autumn, plenty of brown and black bears are out wandering around the forests, shorelines, lakes, rivers and trails in the Juneau area. Hikers really need to take precautions against bear encounters during these months.

6. Free entry to major attractions

Another great benefit of visiting Juneau in winter is that a couple big attractions are completely free. That includes visiting Mendenhall Glacier and Juneau City Museum. Other attractions are half-price or with reduced entry fees, such as seeing the full-size indigenous Clan House at Sealaska Center.

7. Chance to see Aurora Borealis

Earth’s amazing Aurora Borealis can only be seen during winter months in far northern countries, like in Scandinavia and northern Canada. Alaska is also one of the best places in the world to witness the Northern Lights.

Juneau is located in Southeast Alaska, a narrow strip of land, archipelago of islands and channels, that’s situated far, far south of mainland Alaska. Aurora Borealis is best viewed in central and northern Alaska.

However, the Northern Lights do also dip as far south as Juneau. So it’s possible to witness them from time to time here during winter months. Unfortunately, Juneau is often extremely cloudy or foggy at night (and day times, too), so getting the right combination of clear skies and the Aurora passing over Juneau is pretty tricky and less likely than in other parts of the state. Still, it is possible.

I’ve been here three weeks so far. In that time, there have been only three of four nights with clear skies and the Aurora projected to be overhead here. Thus far, I haven’t had any luck seeing them myself. But I know of two nights during my stay when other people have seen them overhead in the wee hours of the morning.

I still have another six weeks in Juneau. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’ll get to witness the Northern Lights. It’s another of my life-long dreams!

8. Chance to see avalanches

Juneau is backed by two tall, near-vertical mountains. Avalanches occur here in winter from time to time. In fact, it’s strongly advised to not hike the mountain trails during winter for risk of avalanche. It’s best to stick to flat, coastal and forest trails.

My hosts don’t hike mountain trails here in winter for that reason. I heard about a young couple who moved to Juneau, hiked up into the mountains and were buried in an avalanche. The husband didn’t make it out. I also heard about an avalanche that fell down onto the coastal road just north of downtown Juneau. A 20-foot-high wall of snow blocked residents north of the avalanche from leaving their homes or accessing downtown for several days, while crews ploughed out the massive wall of snow.

I’m not too hopeful of seeing or hearing an avalanche while I’m here. I will definitely keep off the mountain trails! But, who knows, maybe I’ll get to witness one of those occasional avalanches that blocks roads north and south of Juneau. Or maybe I’ll hear about an avalanche nearby that I can go see after the fact. There’s always hoping!

Summary

Soon after I arrived in Juneau, I realized how lucky I was to visit Juneau in winter instead of the other seasons.

I’m blessed with quiet, near-empty streets, shops and hiking trails. I don’t have to wear earplugs, ever!

I get to witness spectacular snowy scenery and walks in a winter wonderland. I can visit all the major attractions without crowds or noise. And I have the – slim – chance of seeing the Northern Lights and/or an avalanche.

For me, and others who appreciate quiet, tranquility and solitude, Juneau is even better in winter!

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You might also enjoy:

My Introduction to Juneau

How I ended up Going to Alaska in Winter

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