HotelTonight – Nearby Juneau Hotels
I've always had a thing for capital cities, and in recent years it's become a bit of a mission of mine to visit all 50 state capitals in the United States. Some cities are easier to reach than others, but when an opportunity arises to see a new capital, I always do what I can to make that happen. Recently, I was flying through Alaska on business when I encountered an unexpected stopover in Juneau. I could either wait for a flight on standby or just book the same flight I was supposed to take 24 hours later. I chose the latter, and that meant that I'd have a full day to explore a capital city I had yet to experience. Until that point, I hadn't even given lodging a thought, but then again I rarely do ahead of time these days. That's because I travel with my handy dandy HotelTonight app. I knew I'd be able to book a Juneau hotel room within a matter of seconds as soon as my day was complete and was ready to get some sleep. I'd done it too many times in the past to worry.
The Size
I've seen capital cities large and small, and I knew from firsthand experience that Alaska is an enormous state in a physical sense. I guess that's why I expected Juneau to be much larger than it is. Only about 32,000 people live here, but that size lent itself to a homey and quaint feeling that emanates from just about every building in the city. I walked around downtown and took a lot of different photos of the colorful shops, the clock in the middle of town and of course the rolling hills that seem to fall directly into the city.
The Hiking
I'm an avid hiker, so any time I can strap on my shoes and head out into the wilderness that's exactly what I'm going to do. I found out that there are more than 250 miles of hiking trails in and around Juneau, so as soon as I saw a trailhead I reached into my backpack, pulled out my shoes and made my way into the wilderness. I didn't know this until I got there, but there is a rainforest nearby and that environment when mixed with the mountains and the whitecaps in the distance made for perhaps the most unique hiking experience of my life.
The Cuisine
After all that hiking and walking around before that, I had worked up a voracious appetite. When you're in Alaska, you should probably enjoy some of the freshest seafood served anywhere on the planet. A local lady told me about a place that was known for its Alaskan crab legs, and that whetted my appetite immediately. I walked in was taken aback by the frontier-type, shack-like atmosphere, but the place smelled incredible. The crab legs were seemingly as long as my body, but the meat almost fell out of the shell. It was a delicious meal.
HotelTonight – Juneau Hotels
It had been a fun and active day and I was more than full. I was ready to sleep. I opened my HotelTonight app and booked a Juneau hotel room in seconds. I couldn't wait to walk over there and crash, happy that I had seen another capital city.
