Mount Roberts Tramway
 The local native corporation,
Goldbelt, Inc., took the
initiative in 1996 to build a $17 million dollar tramway from the cruise ship
docks strait up the face of Mount Roberts.
 From the terminal at the top, one gains a bird’s eye view of the state
capital. Beautiful nature trails
with lookout points offer the lazy adventurer great photo opportunities from
mountainsides without having to do the climbing!
Inside the terminal at the top there is a restaurant, gift
shop, toilets and a movie theater showing a film about the Tlingit culture and
history entitled “Seeing Daylight.” The
movie is captioned.
To find the tramway, just step off the cruise ship!
But if you are driving in from the airport or ferry terminal take the
Egan Highway through downtown. Egan
will become the Marine Highway as it curves through downtown.
The tramway is on the right side (harbor side) of the road.
Parking for the tram is about two blocks down on the right.
There are small signs stating that the lot is for tram patrons.
Tickets for the tram cost $19.75 per person and are good
for rides for the entire day (until 9:00 p.m.).
This price includes the film. The
tram is open from mid-March through early October, depending on the weather.
There is virtually no wait as the tram runs every seven minutes.
It takes only 4 and a half minutes to gain 1,800 feet. Despite the speed, the tram is incredibly smooth and the
motion is hardly noticeable.
We were fortunate to have visited on a beautiful sunny day.
We enjoyed walking the short half
mile loop trail that begins near the nature center just outside the tram
terminal at the top. Along the
trail we saw a fat marmot munching on some leaves.
There was also a porcupine half way up a tree about thirty yards from the
trail. The trail is easy,
relatively flat and quite well maintained.
At about the halfway point around the trail there were other trails
extending out into the mountains. Time
permitting, these would also have been wonderful to explore.
Unfortunately for us, we had arrived too late in the evening to be able
the take one of the longer hikes.
Last Visited: July 2000
|
