Cycling Juneau, Ketchican, Haines

[Hobbit]

My husband and I are going to be on Holland America Line with port stops in Juneau, Ketchican and Haines in mid-september. We will have our bicycles with us*. Does anybody have any suggestions of places to cycle to/see, or anyplace you'd recomend seriously avoiding on a bicycle? We are both experienced cyclists, a ride of 30 miles is not a problem for us, but we want to lean towards using the bicycles to get from the ship to interesting stuff to see as opposed to just riding.

Thanks,

Hobbit

Queen Mary May 17, 2006

Statendam September 29, 2006

 

*A quick note about budget shore excursions, Holland America Line allows you to bring your bicycle on board with you, fully assembled. You keep it in your cabin and have it to use at your port stops. Airlines charge around 100.00 to bring a bicycle and they must be partially dissasembled and boxed. Amtrak allows bicycles on board.

[mytime53]

You can easily cycle around Juneau, even going to Mendenhall Glacier http://www.juneaualaska.com/visit/stories/2005/glaciers.shtml and across to Douglas Island. A bicycle would be nice because you have the option of stopping in places where a car is too large to park. The main road is fairly flat, and follows the coast. The website I attached a link to shows you maps of Juneau's roads.

[Budget Queen]

Essentially, in Ketchikan and Juneau, you either go north or south. :) With your cycling priority, I would head north out of both areas, Juneau- to Mendenhall Glaicer and further out to the end of the road perhaps? Can hit the Brewery, hatchery and Glacier Gardens, if of interest.

 

Ketchikan, again north on the Tongass Highway, side trip to Ward Lake, and/or continue to Totem Bight and beyond??

 

 

Haines- go both directions out to Chilkoot Lake, be on the lookout for bears along the river, and then up the Haines Highway.

 

 

I would definately have a full rain suit packed along with layers. You are going in the timeframe of the worse potential weather. Dusk will be 7pm so keep that in mind.

[fti]

My husband and I are going to be on Holland America Line with port stops in Juneau, Ketchican and Haines in mid-september. We will have our bicycles with us*. Does anybody have any suggestions of places to cycle to/see, or anyplace you'd recomend seriously avoiding on a bicycle? We are both experienced cyclists, a ride of 30 miles is not a problem for us, but we want to lean towards using the bicycles to get from the ship to interesting stuff to see as opposed to just riding.

Thanks,

Hobbit

Queen Mary May 17, 2006

Statendam September 29, 2006

 

*A quick note about budget shore excursions, Holland America Line allows you to bring your bicycle on board with you, fully assembled. You keep it in your cabin and have it to use at your port stops. Airlines charge around 100.00 to bring a bicycle and they must be partially dissasembled and boxed. Amtrak allows bicycles on board.

 

That is a great idea - to bring your own bicycle. Note that airlines charge about $100 each way in case anyone else is interested in doing this.

 

Please report back after your cruise how the bicycling was, if you incurred much rain, etc. Thanks.

 

John

[tee_harbor]

This sounds like a great way to see AK off the tourist track.

 

I'm afraid I'm not home in Juneau and able to consult my 'materials' so I'll try to help from memory and what I can find online.

 

It's possible to reach The Valley from the downtown docks by road, but you're not allowed on the Egan Expressway. Keep to Old Glacier Hwy and the segments which were incorporated into Egan have bicycle bypasses. However, to maximize your time, I'd take the city bus to The Valley and start exploring from there. I believe all buses have bike racks, but perhaps check with City Transit to find out. http://www.juneau.org/capitaltransit/

 

My suggested itinerary would be to take bus #4 out into the Valley, saving the ten mile ride for better sightseeing. (If you can time it for the Express, even better.) After leaving Nugget Mall, tell the driver you want off at the stop right after Brotherhood Bridge. (the bus goes over Mendenhall River, then ding.) Ride back a few yards to the large parking lot and take the obligatory photo of the glacier. There's a paved path that follows the river, cutting all the way across the valley through the forest. You'll see the woods up close and there's several places to get down and see the river.

 

You pop out on River Road, which leads to The Back Loop road. Once up there, right takes you to the Glacier Spur road to visit the glacier's observatory. If you go left, then right onto Montana Creek Road also gives you glacier views, only without the crowds. If you continue along the Back Loop to Auke Bay, it's a breathtaking view as you come down the hill. (I did it doubling on a banana seat bike as a kid, so it can't be that steep. :D ) There's several dining/resting options here.

 

From there, you could continue Out the Road, which follows the ocean for miles, but does have some more hills, or go back to the Valley by completing the loop. The bus only goes as far as Auke Bay, but if you decided to ride further out, you can catch it there for a ride back downtown.

 

If you decide to go over to Douglas Island, going left over the bridge takes you to the town, which isn't a long ride at all, while right is nearly flat all the way, with good water views along the way.

 

There's also going south from downtown, on Thane Road. Hardly anyone out there, gorgeous waterfalls and ocean views.

 

I agree, bring waterproof gear. Locals ride even in snow, but naturally, caution is wise. I'd also make sure I had reflectors. Keep an eye out for wildlife popping out of the roadside bushes. (A bear just brought down about four motorcyclists on the Kenai Pennisula making his dash.) Local drivers are generally careful, but I've heard complaints from riders about drivers not giving way enough. Roads are well-paved, and there's also a lovely paved trail for non-motor traffic which follows the road through the valley. (Is that a clock you hear ticking, Senator Stevens?)

 

Don't know anything about Ketchikan, but I'd also recommend heading out Haines Hwy to follow the Chilkat River. Perhaps the cottonwood trees will be turning yellow by then? The Mountain Market, at 3rd and Haines Hwy, would be a place to pick up a sandwich for lunch.

 

Good luck, and we do want to hear how it goes!

[Hobbit]

Wow, Tee Harbor, this info is SO COOL! Thanks everyone for your information!

Our iteniary for Alaska is thus:

Arrive Fairbanks, assemble bicycles, pack food etc.

Train Fairbanks to Denali

Camper bus to mile 85, Wonder Lake Campground Denali.

Cycle from mile 85 to the park entrance over 2 days.

Train from Denali to Anchorage.

Cycle Anchorage to Seward on Seward highway over 2 1/2 days (125 miles).

Board HAL Ryandam.

We'll be riding fully loaded with all of our camping gear etc. We live in Seattle and cycle year around so we're used to rain and have good gear.

Definately keep the information about cycling the port stops coming. I know this isn't the exact forum, but if anybody knows anything about cycling the Denali Park Road or the Seward Highway, let us know.

Tripping over the bicycles in our cabins will be kind of a pain, but they sure will be fun to have on the port stops.

We'll be doing a web site so start checking www.evilscoutmaster.com after the beginning of September for a log of our trip.

Thanks everyone,

Hobbit

Queen Mary 2 May 17th. 2006

Statendam September 29th 2006

[tee_harbor]

Wow! You go!

 

I'll just add a few things after seeing the detailed trip itinerary.

 

Use a lot of caution on the Seward Hwy. Not to make you paranoid, but it's the site of many of our state's horrible car accidents, often involving drunk drivers. Not sure why; when I drove it, I found it to be a well-maintained, not white knuckle road, but perhaps it's the perfect storm of location and driver types. And I know there's not much you can do, as a rider, about someone coming up behind you at 70 mph, but just stay alert.

 

Will you be bringing off-road tires? If that's the case, many of the hiking trails in Juneau allow bicyclists. There'll be a sign if not. There's also a lot of unleashed dogs on our trails, so keep an eye out for them and their little gift piles. :(

 

Pretty much the only crime in SE AK is stealing bikes and cell phones because they're something the thief can use. I wouldn't say you need to be locking your bike everytime you stop to take a photo, but if it's going to be out of your view for any extended time, I'd lock it so your trip's not ruined!

 

Oh, and in my original comment, the Haines Hwy is in Haines. That would seen obvious, but since I mention it in the same sentence as Ketchikan, wanted to make sure I was clear.

[Hobbit]

Thanks again for more good info. Especally the part about locking our bicycles up. We are going to bring a lock but it's good to know that we really have to be diligent about using it.

Because of the distances we are traveling our tires are in-between off road and road slicks. Kind of like rain-tires. So we aren't planning on doing anything more complicated than gravel roads.

We got lucky. For the second part of our Anchorage to Seward ride we are going the same direction as the big MS fundraising ride. So there will be about 250 other riders on the road from the junction of the hope highway and the Seward highway, down to seward. There is a seven mile section that does not have shoulders that the MS ride is going to 'sag' their participants over. We are hoping they'll take pity on us and let us 'sag' with them.

And yes, I figured out the Haines highway was in Haines :D

I printed out your post to take with us when we go visit Alaska. I'm so excited!

You are totally awesome, I can't thank you enough for the information. If you think of anything else, definately let me know.

 

Anybody else out there have any ideas of places to cycle to in Juneau, Haines or Ketchikan?

 

Thanks,

Hobbit

[wolfie11]

When are you planning on travelling mid-September and do you have reservations for the campground/shuttle bus in Denali already? Denali closes September 13th and Wonder Lake can be closed by snow by the second week in September.

 

Otherwise it sounds like a great trip!

[fti]

Camper bus to mile 85, Wonder Lake Campground Denali.

Cycle from mile 85 to the park entrance over 2 days.

 

I assume you are doing this in September 2007. As was mentioned, first of all do you have campground and camper bus reservations - I assume so. Secondly, the bike regulations inside Denali NP are pretty strict. I believe (though check www.nps.gov/dena) that you can not leave bikes on the side of the road and you can not bring them into the backcountry. So for the night you are overnighting en route from Wonder Lake to the park entrance, you might need to leave them at a campground. That means getting to the next-closest campground from Wonder Lake, which is quite a ways from Wonder Lake.

 

If you plan to spend the night in the backcountry that you spend between Wonder Lake and the park entrance, you need a backcountry permit, only obtainable at the WAC upon arrival, only with bear orientation and only subject to availability. My guess is that you want to aim for a reserved spot at a campground for that in between night.

 

I was at Wonder Lake about Sep 13 three years ago and we had more than 1 foot of snow at the campground one night, there were almost two feet of snow on some of the mountain passes and there was no snow near the park entrance. So be prepared for very changeable weather and the possibility of snow.

 

John

[Hobbit]

Two feet of snow in September! :eek:

We have made reservations for a camper bus, we have made reservations for a campground, but we have not made reservations for snow!!

We are camping at WonderLake on night number 1, then at the campground at mile 29 on night number two.

But thanks for the heads up about snow. We're geared up for cold and wet as two separate entities, not as one together! I'll be getting our snow contingency plan together now.

Thanks,

Hobbit