What do you DO all winter?

One of the more frequent questions from summer visitors after, “What is there to do here?” is, “What do you do all winter?”

The answer? SO MUCH! When the summer tourism season finally winds down, contrary to popular belief, things just get rolling in Juneau. The weather often turns rainy and windy in late fall and is followed by the occasional snow, storms, rain, and so on until lovely spring days appear. So what do we do?

Outdoors:

We still get outdoors all season long and simply dress for the weather, which means good raingear and waterproof footwear for hiking, dog walking, and mushroom hunting. Snowy weather is still great for hiking, and that beautiful fresh snow brings the added value of getting to strap on snowshoes, cross-country skis, or heading up the mountain for downhill skiing. (If you’re visiting, local outdoor outfitters rent the gear.)

Did you know that we have a community-owned ski area? Located on Douglas Island, locals from the very young to the very young-at-heart enjoy minimal lift lines, no expensive parking fees, and a short drive to the mountain. And this is no rinky dink ski area! Eaglecrest Ski Area boasts 640+ acres of skiable terrain, backcountry access, and a 1620′ vertical drop, challenging even for our most experienced skiers.

For those of us who enjoy ice skating, Juneau has a wonderful rink with all the amenities of a larger city.  Generally uncrowded, the fees are small but the fun is big.  Speaking of big, the outdoor ponds around Juneau are a big draw for ice skating, and anyone can join a pickup game of ice hockey.  We also ice skate (and snowshoe and cross-country ski) on the lake in front of the Mendenhall Glacier. A finer backdrop you will not find!

Arts & Culture:

Complementing the many winter outdoor adventures, we delight in the fact that Juneau is an arts town! We boast a symphony, an opera company, several professional theatres, drag shows, community concerts, a wearable arts competition, an annual gallery walk (early December) and numerous art classes. We find our niche, no matter what that might be, and if it doesn’t exist, we create it!

Education:

It’s never too late to learn! If education is more your thing, there is a winter Fireside Lecture Series on Friday evenings at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center where you can learn from the best and brightest in many fields of study from January through March. To get an idea of the variety, here is a link to last winter’s classes.   Juneau Community Schools also offers a wide range of classes for community members to share their expertise and experience with others.

Community:

Soup weather also brings people together, and many Juneauites host dinner parties, game nights, and movie nights (replacing the beach picnics and camping activities of summer). The degree of richness of a Juneau life is measured by the number of XTRATUFs^© and other boots piled at the front door.

Sitting idly by and letting our fabulous winter pass us by isn’t our way.  We participate in (or instigate) the activities of this wonderful season, sharing the love of the stunning scenery and the closeness of our remote wilderness capital city. It’s what we do.