Point Bridget State Park

With a surplus of year-round activities, adventurers of all skill levels delight in this state park close to Alaska’s state capital.

Juneau's only state park is Point Bridget State Park, a 2850-acre unit overlooking Berners Bay and Lynn Canal, 39 miles north of downtown.

THINGS TO DO

The park is a popular destination for birding, beachcombing, wildlife viewing, boating, and hiking. Salmon fishing is excellent off the Berners Bay beaches and in Cowee Creek. The area features several miles of trails that showcase views of meadows, cliffs, and beaches, leading to three public use cabins. In the winter, the meadows and forest are popular for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

Point Bridget State Park has almost 10 miles of trails. The most popular hike is Point Bridget Trail, a 3.5-mile, one-way walk from the trailhead on Glacier Highway to Point Bridget, where you can spot sea lions and seals playing in the surf. Within 2 miles of the trailhead you pass through Beaver House Meadow, surrounded by old growth rainforest and the park's largest Sitka spruce trees.

WILDLIFE AND LANDSCAPE

Point Bridget is offers a scenic combination of meadows, rocky shoreline, cliffs, and streams. Wildlife is plentiful in the area. In the spring, black bears feed on sedges in the meadow, and in late July they feast on the salmon runs in Cowee Creek. Sea lions and harbor seals are frequently seen frolicking along the shore. From April through September, humpbacks feed in the area and it's not unusual to see them spouting, displaying their massive tail flukes, or even breaching. The area’s forests and wetlands provide habitat for porcupines, squirrels, and beavers.

HISTORY

The park stands on land once occupied by the Auks, a group of Tlingit Alaska Natives, who built summer homes and harvested the area's natural resources. Point Bridget was named by Captain George Vancouver in 1794, presumably after his mother, Bridget Berners. Cowee Creek is named after the Auk Chief who guided Joe Juneau and Dick Harris to the gold in Silver Bow Basin in 1888, which led to the founding of Juneau. The park was created in 1988 after a decade and a half of lobbying by locals and conservationists who thought Alaska's state capital should be home to a state park.

FACILITIES AND CAMPING

There is no campground at Point Bridget but there are three public use cabins located along the trail system. All are accessible on foot in the summer and on skis or snowshoes in the winter. Two of the cabins are along the beach and also accessible by kayak or canoe. Blue Mussel Cabin is the most popular due to its location along the ocean and opportunities to view marine wildlife.

GETTING HERE

Point Bridget State Park is accessible by road from Juneau. The park is near the northern terminus of the Juneau road system, located at mile 39 of Glacier Highway.

Explore more things to do in the Juneau area.

For more information, visit the Point Bridget State Park website.