Juneau, Alaska, USA

JUNEAU : Overview

OVERVIEW

Juneau, the capital of Alaska is a beautiful city with astonishing wildlife – bald eagles, seals, whales, and bears to name a few – everywhere you look. Despite being a small city (~30,000 people), it is full of great sites. There are some wheelchair accessible hiking trails where you can observe impressive glaciers and ice fields. If you enjoy the outdoors, Juneau is a great place to visit for its scenic beauty. Accessibility is relatively good in Juneau for a disabled holiday.

LANGUAGE

The official language of the United States is English.

CURRENCY

The official currency of the United States is the US dollar.

QUICKLINKS

LOGISTICS: Air – Water – Ground
ACCOMMODATIONS: Hotels – Resorts
ENTERTAINMENT: Tours – Activities – Restaurants & Nightlife
EMERGENCY SERVICES: Hospitals – Medical Equipment
ABILITYTIPS: Precautions

JUNEAU : Logistics

AIR TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORT

Juneau airport (JNU):The airport has an elevator to easily access other levels of the airport. The Juneau airport also has a jet bridge to board and de-board the aircraft. Contact your airline to plan ahead for assistance or for an aisle chair for transfer into the aircraft.

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GROUND TRANSPORTATION

TAXI

“There is a wheelchair accessible taxi available in Juneau. You just need to request it. Princess tours/Grayline have wheelchair accessible tour buses. Allen Marine whale watching tour on their 150′ catamarans are also accessible. I’ve lived here for 36 years, 10 in a wheelchair, and I love the place!” Cathy, 1/13/2011

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SHUTTLE

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RENTAL CAR

Juneau airport Rental Car Agencies:

National/ Alamo
Phone: 907-789-9814

Avis
Phone: 907-789-9450

Budget
Phone: 907-790-1086

Hertz
Phone: 907-789-9494

At this time, there is not a rental car company that offers wheelchair accessible vehicles in Juneau.

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TROLLEY

Historic Trolley Tour:  The Historic Trolley Tour is a fun and accessible way to explore Juneau, however it does not have a lift or ramp. This tour is a 45 minute tour and you can also get on and off at places of interest by obtaining an all day pass.

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BUS

Capital Transit: The Capital Transit bus is not equipped to accommodate wheelchairs at this time, however a Para transit system is offered.

Care-a-Van (Para transit system): “The Care-a-Van is strong. They have a small, tall bus with a wheelchair lift, and will provide door-to-door service.” David, 10/7/09

Care-a-Van offers transportation around Juneau and must be scheduled in advance.
907 463-6194.

Alaska Coach tours: Tours through Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines are ADA accessible. The vehicles must be reserved in advance and can be done so through the Shore Excursion Department on board the ship. Unfortunately the trolley tour that is offered through Alaska Couch Tours does not have a lift or ramp for wheelchairs.

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TRAIN (Light Rail)

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TRAIN (Heavy Rail)

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JUNEAU : Accommodations

HOTELS

Prospector Hotel: “The outer door is manual. Very nice wheelchair accessibility, except that doors operated with a key rather than a card. Rooms are large with lots of extra space. The room had a very large bathroom with roll in shower and bench seat. The hotel had a wheelchair accessible restaurant attached. The hotel was centrally located downtown, and there was a wheelchair accessible grocery store a few blocks away.” David, 10/7/09

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JUNEAU : Entertainment

SIGHTSEEING TOURS

Alaska Coach Tours: Accessible tours are offered through Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines, which can be  booked through the excursion department on board the ship. Contact Alaska Couch Tours for further details.

ShoreTrips: If contacted ahead of time, ShoreTrips can make the Mendenhall Glacier trip accessible (according to their website).

The State Capitol: Offers wheelchair accessible tours during the summer months. There is one disabled parking spot nearby, adjacent to the building.

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ACTIVITIES

Era Alaska Flight Seeing Tours: This is a fixed wing or helicopter tour of glaciers around Juneau. There is a wheelchair lift to assist passengers with mobility challenges with boarding the aircraft. For further questions, call ERA Helicopters 907 586-2030, or visit their website. You can read more about accessibility under FAQ on the ERA website.

Alaska State Museum: The museum is accessible and has a ramp that leads to the entrance. The museum has a wheelchair for visitors to use if needed. The museum offers a docent for people who have visual impairments. Signing and tactical materials are also available at the museum; however the museum should be contacted in advance for these services.

The Canvas: “Juneau has a great community art studio and gallery, The Canvas. It supports community wide art, including classes and adaptive equipment for people with disabilities.I took a pottery class and had a lot of fun.” David, 10/7/09

Mount Roberts: “We took the tram up to Mount Roberts. Overall it is a beautiful view and wheelchair accessible. At the top there is a visitor’s center and restaurant, with an elevator to a short boardwalk outside. When we were there the elevator was broken, but to see the view through the window was still breathtaking.” David, 10/7/09

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center: “The beautiful Mendenhall Glacier has an accessible boardwalk and you can get a great view of the glacier. The Visitor’s Center is accessible and very informative.” David, 10/7/09

Brotherhood Bridge Trail: “The Brotherhood Bridge trail is a flat 2-3 mile trail (but watch out for the mosquitoes). We went on a spectacular hike on the Flume Trail. Most of it was level and workable with my manual chair, but there was one part where it was very tough to cross some stones. We were told of some other accessible hikes as well, but didn’t check them out.” David, 10/7/09

Adventure Bound Alaska: “We took a daylong cruise with Adventure Bound to see some wildlife and glaciers. Spectacular scenery – whales, seals, glaciers, mountains, but the cruise was not wheelchair accessible. I had to be lifted up a step onto the boat, and then once on the boat, over the step into the airplane-type seats. The back of the boat was open and I could sit outside in my wheelchair and view the scenery.” David, 10/7/09

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RESTAURANTS/NIGHTLIFE

There are several great restaurants in Juneau, wheelchair accessibility presented no problem.” David, 10/7/09

“The Twisted Fish, Island Pub (on Douglas Island), Paradise Bakery and Sandpiper were accessible restaurants with great food. The Hangar and Silverbow were also accessible.” David, 10/7/09

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JUNEAU : Emergency Services

MEDICAL SERVICES/HOSPITAL

Bartlett Regional Hospital

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MEDICAL EQUIPMENT RENTALS

South East Alaska Medical Suppliers

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JUNEAU : AbilityTips

PRECAUTIONS

“Juneau is a very hilly city, so it might be tough to propel your own manual chair. My family pushed me. The climate can be very rainy, so we were prepared with rain gear, but actually had some lovely sunny days. Curb cuts and sidewalks were good, and most places were wheelchair accessible.” David, 10/7/09

 “The biggest challenge for my family was that there were no wheelchair accessible rental vans in Juneau. So, after much deliberation, we decided to leave my power chair at home and use a manual chair. We rented a regular minivan, and my dad lifted me into the van.” David, 10/7/09

“Southeast Alaska Independent Living (SAIL) was very helpful in answering questions about Juneau before we traveled.” David, 10/7/09

JUNEAU : Questions and Responses

“I have done a few carribean cruises on Carnival and loved them. The staff was great and very helpful. I would love to travel to Alaska, but would like to know more. If anyone has ever gone and can recommend a ship PLEASE SHARE. You can also email me at [email protected] “  Joe, 9/22/10 

“My grandmother and I took a trip to Alaska this past summer. She is on oxygen and only able to walk short distances so we used a wheelchair for most of the trip. We traveled with Royal Caribbean on their ship “Radiance of the Seas.” My assessment:

PROS:

+ Staff was very accommodating and willing to help my grandma in and out of her wheelchair when needed (at meal times, when boarding smaller vessels, etc)

+ If they take any excursions where they need to travel by smaller vessels to reach land, the smaller vessels abord the ship had wheelchair “parking” and they had a ramp for my grandma

+ A wheelchair ramp and crew assistance was always provided upon entering/exiting the ship

+ On a few occasions we had to take a bus or taxi. Official bus drivers of Royal Caribbean (those responsible for shuttling you to and from the airport) had wheelchair accommodations and knew precisely what to do to help us.

+ The ship was well equipped with wheelchair accessible restrooms and several family restrooms.

Because my grandmother had some mobility, we did not stay in a room designed for a wheelchair so I cannot comment on that.

CONS:

- The hallway to our room was VERY narrow. There was enough room to push a chair through, but hardly enough room for use to maneuver around people standing in the halls leading to the rooms. I’m not aware if the hallways leading to the wheelchair accessible rooms are different.

- If you’re traveling with batteries, be ready to have some spares on hand. Because my grandma had oxygen and the tours would take us far from the ship, we carried around 8, dry cell batteries with us at all times. That was a hassle.

- Icy Straight Point (Royal Caribbean’s own port of call) had wheelchair accessibility in the main shopping area, but accessibility is limited if you want to watch people go down the zip line or eat at the main restaurant.

- In Juneau there are numerous tour buses ready to take you on (overpriced) tours, however it did not appear that many of these had good wheelchair access. We opted for a taxi – a much better option from the reports we got from our friends on the cruise.

- Most of the excursions were too rigorous for my grandma. Additionally, many did not seem to be very wheelchair friendly.

OVERALL: Royal Caribbean is great and we’d all do the cruise again! However, if you’re looking to really get off the ship and have some adventures, be sure to look carefully at the accessibility since many excursions take you into the wilderness and off the beaten path.” Dusitn, 9/23/10

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