Juneau: Alaska Native Totem Tour & Mt. Roberts Tram Combo

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.88 (179 reviews) 92% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellation

1/9

Duration1h–4h

GroupUp to 10

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Totem stories, mountain air and native wisdom in Juneau

You’ll step among ancient totems in Juneau with a local guide sharing real family stories, ride the Mt. Roberts Tram up through misty forest, and taste fresh Alaskan flavors over lunch with mountain views. It’s not just sightseeing—it’s feeling history under your fingers and hearing it in someone’s voice.

1h–4h

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Alaska Native Culture and Tram Ride

Join Alaska Native Tour at Totems
Learn about culture and nature
Ascend Mount Roberts by tram
Visit restaurant and shops atop mountain

The Experience

I didn’t expect to feel nervous stepping off the cruise dock—maybe it was the damp air or just that sense of being somewhere totally new. Our guide, Anna, greeted us with this quiet warmth and a little joke about Southeast Alaska rain (“We call it liquid sunshine,” she grinned). Right away, we were standing among these tall totems, each one carved with faces and animals I didn’t recognize but somehow felt familiar. Anna told us about her grandfather’s stories—how every carving has a purpose, how even the wood’s scent after rain means something here. I tried to listen past the nearby traffic; there’s a kind of hush that hangs over these poles.

The Alaska Native Tour isn’t just walking from one totem to another—it’s more like wandering through someone else’s memories. Anna pointed out how the eagle’s wings curve for protection, or how certain patterns show respect for salmon runs (I never knew salmon could mean so much). She let us touch the old cedar—rough in some spots, smooth where hands have passed for years. There was this moment where a raven called overhead and everyone just stopped talking at once. I still think about that silence.

Afterwards we took the Mt. Roberts Tram up—only a few minutes but it feels like rising above everything you thought you knew about Alaska. At 1,800 feet the trees looked like mossy broccoli (not sure if that makes sense), and you could smell spruce sap on the wind. Lunch was included at the top—a hot bowl of salmon chowder that tasted way better than anything I’d expected from a mountaintop café. The view out over Juneau Bay kept pulling my eyes back; honestly, I lost track of time up there.

What’s included

Your day includes all entry fees and taxes for both attractions plus breakfast, lunch or dinner at the mountaintop café after your tram ride—so you don’t need to worry about extra costs or finding food while exploring with your local guide.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Goldbelt Tramway