The remains of the Treadwell Mine, destroyed by the collapse and flood of 1917, offer a fascinating peek into the past. Pick up the Treadwell Mine Historic Trail brochure from the Juneau-Douglas City Museum (4th St. and Main St.) for a description of the area.

The trail starts from the south end of St. Ann’s Avenue in Douglas and passes the crumbling remains of old buildings. Get there by catching the hourly Douglas bus ($1.50) in Juneau and riding it to the end of the line at Sandy Beach.

Keep right on the main trail to reach the Treadwell Glory Hole, once the entrance to a network of shafts under Gastineau Channel but now full of water and wrecked cars. A waterfall drops into the hole.

Return to the fork in the trail and continue down to the shore to see remains of more buildings and pieces of old mining machinery. Mine tailings dumped into Gastineau Channel created an attractive sandy beach along the shore here (Sandy Beach Park). Just to the south is a steep-sided pit where the mine collapsed in 1917.

Walk back along the beach and past the Small Boat Harbor to Douglas Post Office, where you can catch a bus back to Juneau.