Last Chance Mining Museum

Juneau

LoginSave

Amble out to the end of Basin Rd, a beautiful 1-mile walk from the north end of Gastineau Ave, to the former Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company complex. It's now a museum where you can view remains of the compressor house and examine tools of what was once the world’s largest hard-rock gold mine.

There is also a re-created mining tunnel and a 3-D glass map of shafts that shows just how large it was. Nearby is the Perseverance Trail, and combining the museum with a hike to more mining ruins is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Four people walking on Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska, USA

    Mendenhall Glacier

    11.05 MILES

    Going to Juneau and not seeing the Mendenhall is like visiting Rome and skipping the Colosseum. The most famous of Juneau’s ice floes, and the city’s most…

  • Part of Tongass National Forest, Mendenhall Glacier and Lake are approximately 12 miles from downtown Juneau, Alaska.

    Tongass National Forest

    16.25 MILES

    Welcome to the largest national forest in the US, a tract of land almost the size of Ireland and significantly larger than adjacent Wrangell-St Elias…

  • Old pump station at the beach in the Treadwell mine historic park in Juneau, Alaska.

    Treadwell Mine Historical Trail

    2.29 MILES

    It's hard to envisage today, but the Treadwell mine on Douglas Island was once the largest gold mine in the world, set up like a minitown with its own…

  • Juneau Alaska from Mt. Roberts with tramway.; Shutterstock ID 37133203; Your name (First / Last): Alexander Howard; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Destination Next Pages

    Mt Roberts Tramway

    0.87 MILES

    As far as cable cars go, this tramway is rather expensive for a five-minute ride. But from a marketing point of view its location couldn’t be better. It…

  • The Shrine of St Thérèse church near Juneau, Alaska.

    Shrine of St Thérèse

    18.63 MILES

    Get ready for some spiritual enlightenment. The Shrine of St Thérèse is a natural stone chapel on a beautifully wooded island connected to the shore by a…

  • Nugget Creek falls cascade into Mendenhall Lake, close to Juneau, Alaska.

    Nugget Falls

    10.07 MILES

    A spectacular sight at Mendenhall Glacier is this waterfall, a mini-Niagara (in season) caused by Nugget Creek diving off a hanging valley into Mendenhall…

  • View of the glacier from the inside of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

    Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center

    9.7 MILES

    This mini-museum holds ranger talks, shows an 11-minute film and displays exhibits relating to the glacier and its formation. There are huge panoramic…

  • Alaska State Museum

    Alaska State Museum

    1.2 MILES

    Demolished and rebuilt in a snazzy new $140-million complex in 2016, the result is impressive. Sometimes called SLAM (State Library, Archives and Museum),…

View more attractions

Nearby Juneau attractions

1. Mt Roberts Tramway

0.87 MILES

As far as cable cars go, this tramway is rather expensive for a five-minute ride. But from a marketing point of view its location couldn’t be better. It…

2. Sealaska Heritage

0.9 MILES

The Sealaska Heritage Institute, founded in 1980 to promote Alaska Native culture, opened this hugely impressive facility in 2015 in the downtown Walter…

3. Sculpture of Patsy Ann

0.9 MILES

The dock has a sculpture of Patsy Ann, a white bull terrier and the so-called ‘Official Greeter of Juneau,’ thanks to her tendency to rush to meet cruise…

4. St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church

0.91 MILES

Of 1893 vintage and etched against the backdrop of Mt Juneau, this diminutive onion-domed church is the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Alaska. Through…

5. Alaska State Capitol

0.98 MILES

One of the US' more prosaic state capitols, this boxy building went up between 1929 and 1931 and looks more like an overgrown high school than a historic…

6. Wickersham State Historical Site

0.98 MILES

Overlooking downtown Juneau, this site preserves the 1898 home of pioneer judge and statesman James Wickersham. It's a steep climb, but the house has some…

7. Juneau-Douglas City Museum

1.01 MILES

This museum focuses on gold, with interesting mining displays including 3-D photo viewers, timelines, interactive exhibits and the video Juneau: City…

8. State Office Building

1.04 MILES

The State Office Building is known locally as the SOB. From the outdoor court on the 8th floor there is a spectacular view of the channel and Douglas…