Running trails in Juneau, AK
Juneau has 20 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 2 boardwalk, 6 loops that return to the trailhead, 6 with a stated distance, and 15 open 24 hours. 15 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 1,140 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
West Glacier Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 276 reviews
Outdoor recreation area known for hikes, glacial views, canoeing, and a waterfall.
Mt. Roberts (Wooshkeenax Deiyí) Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 160 reviews
Destination for hiking to the top of Mount Roberts with scenic views, accessible by tram.
Rainforest Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 97 reviews
Relaxed hike, good for kids, offering forest, muskeg and rocky beach views.
Auke Lake Hiking Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 86 reviews
Hiking area featuring kid-friendly trails, a lake, and other natural features.
Mendenhall Refuge Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 82 reviews
Scenic area featuring a flat trail for hiking and biking with glacier views plus wetlands and bird-watching opportunities.
Nugget Falls Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 68 reviews
Popular route to a waterfall on the Mendenhall Glacier featuring views of the glacier.
Outer Point Loop Trail
4.9 ★★★★★ 53 reviews
Forest, bog, tidepool, beach and island hiking area offering wildlife spotting and berry picking.
Perseverance Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 52 reviews
Trail leading to a mountain overlook, plus waterfalls and creek trails in a historic area.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Juneau
- Match the surface to your legs. Juneau gives you a choice: 7 mixed, 2 paved, 2 natural surface, and 2 boardwalk. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More mixed trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 6 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Juneau is West Glacier Trailhead at 8 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 15 trails in Juneau are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 15 of the 20 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 1 is lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 11 have trailhead parking in Juneau. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 with mile markers, 1 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 8 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.