Perseverance Trail Self-Guided Audio Tour

About this tour

Juneau isn't just Alaska's capital. It's a city that gold built — and this trail is where it all happened. The Perseverance Trail Audio Tour takes you deep into the canyon above downtown Juneau, where layers of history are buried beneath your feet and embedded in every rock face around you. You'll pass through the corridors of political power, into the ruins of one of the most ambitious industrial operations in American history, and out into wilderness that hasn't changed since prospectors first pushed up this creek in 1880. Along the way, you'll uncover the backroom deals that shaped Alaska's laws, stand at the edge of a void that swallowed a mountain from the inside out, cross paths with ghost camps and avalanche scars, and learn how a single canyon produced enough wealth to build a capitol, decide the fate of a capital city, and permanently rewire the ground beneath your boots. The story stretches from the Tlingit guides who first led outsiders up this route, to the hard-rock miners who hollowed out 120 miles of tunnels — tunnels that still shape what comes out of Juneau's taps today. This is a walk through living geology, forgotten industry, Indigenous history, and Alaska politics all at once. The trail is free. The story, you won't find anywhere else.

Stops on this tour

1. 1The Power Players
2. 2The Russian Orthodox Pivot
3. 3The Wooden Artery
4. 4The Trailhead
5. 5The 90-Cent Mountain
6. 6The Lungs of the Mine
7. 7The Twelve-Hour Shift
8. 8Ebner Falls
9. 9Turn Right
10. 10Ebner Falls & The Tunnel Mouth
11. 11The Old Toll Booth
12. 12The Ebner Mine Mouth
13. 13John Muir's Warning
14. 14The Glory Hole
15. 15The L-208 Moment
16. 16The Ghost Camp (Silverbow Basin)
17. 17Snowslide Gulch
18. 18The Real Locals
19. 19The Hidden River (Drainage Adit)
20. 20The Gold Creek Legacy

Route map