Page 17 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

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Skagway; grab a recliner in the
lounge or the heated solarium,
and watch the stunning scenery
drift past, catch up on a book, or
chat to your fellow passengers.
It’s a 22-hour trip; if that’s an
adventure too far, travel by air
instead (you’ll probably need
to transfer in Juneau).
Day 5: Skagway
In Skagway (see pp150–51) it’s
hard to escape the town’s Gold
Rush history, so dive right in.
Top attraction is the scenic,
sometimes hair-raising Summit
Tour on the narrow-gauge
White Pass and Yukon Route
Native arts and artifacts on display at the Alaska State Museum Railroad (see pp153), following
the trail of the prospectors.
A Week in Gold Rush Mount Roberts Tramway
Territory (see p143) from almost sea level Day 6: Sitka
to 1,800 ft (550 m) up Mount Take a small plane from
• Getting there Juneau has an Roberts, for a wide-angle Skagway to Sitka (see pp140–41)
international airport, or, from view of downtown and the to explore this Baranof Island
Anchorage, take a tour bus, Gastineau Channel. city, the 19th-century hub of
plane, or train. Russian-American culture. Tour
• Transport The itinerary is Day 3: Ketchikan the city’s historic buildings and
planned around internal Take the short flight to learn about the Tlingit people
flights, ferries, and guided Ketchikan (see pp128–9) in at Sitka National Historical
day trips and tours. time for a lunch of fresh fish Park (see p141). Stay overnight;
by the cruise ship docks, or a Sitka has some excellent hotels
brew at the Arctic Bar, a local and restaurants.
Day 1: Juneau favorite for almost 80 years.
Make your first port of call Explore the arty district around Day 7: Sitka to Juneau
from Juneau (see pp142–3) the Mission, Main, Front, and Creek With its access to the open
Mendenhall Glacier (see p45), Streets, perhaps picking up ocean as well as inland waters,
calling into the Visitor Center for some original art and finding Sitka offers excellent sport-
an interpretive talk then hiking somewhere for dinner. fishing opportunities. Take a trip
through the rainforest. You’ll with a local charter captain and
pass by waterfalls and streams, Day 4: Ketchikan to Skagway wait for the tug of a fish on your
with views of the base of the Take the Alaska Marine line. Return by air to Juneau for
glacier itself. Have a light lunch Highway (see pp290–91) to dinner on the waterfront.
and spend the remaining
daylight hours strolling and
shopping for Native art and
limited-edition local designer
goods in the Mendenhall Valley
shopping districts or downtown
on South Franklin Street.
Day 2: Juneau
Visit the expanded Alaska
State Museum (see p142) for
a broad overview of Native art
and culture, as well as state
history. The Last Chance
Mining Museum (see p143)
celebrates the city’s mining
history. Have a lunch of
fresh seafood in one of the
downtown restaurants just
a few blocks from the docks.
In the afternoon, ride the Creek Street has a notorious past as Ketchikan’s former red-light district (see p128)

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