Shoes for Alaska??

[Chemist]

We are booked for Alaska next July.

In Juneau we plan to go to Mendenhall Glacier.
Definitely planning to walk to Nugget Falls, not sure what else.

In Skagway we are renting a car and going to Carcross, sled dogs, maybe going as far as Emerald Lake.

What will our footwear needs be?

Husband and I both have waterproof hiking boots.

Currently the boys (7 and 12 at sailing time) do not.

Will they be okay in tennis shoes?
(Will we be okay in tennis shoes?)

Or should we go ahead and buy them decent hiking boots that are waterproof (or at least water resistant)?

Thanks!

 

[lklgoodman]

When we went we each took a pair of boots and tennis shoes. You never know if you will have rainy days or not. We were lucky and only had one rainy day at Ketchican. If you wear tennis shoes at the ports, you may want an extra pair in case they get wet and aren't dry by the next day. We wore boots at each port and tennis shoes on the ship. My dd was 6 yrs old when we went. I think I got her some boots at Wal-mart, no need to get really expensive ones unless they will use them later.

 

[GPaLarry]

Most of the trails near Mendenhall and the Visitors' Center are paved or gravel, so sneakers will work. I don't know about going to the falls. There are other trails that are not paved or improved, just dirt or mud, depending (a big depending) on weather, for which Alaska if famous. It can rain at the drop of a....well, a lot. I would recommend having boots for all if you do extensive hiking. We did the loop trail near the glacier and it was wet and slippery. We also did the Perseverance Trail out of Juneau and others in Alaska (not a cruise) that were not sneaker-friendly. Alaska is awesome. No other state quite compares to it.

 

[lorimay]

We wore sneakers that we sprayed with waterproof spray before we left home, worked great.

 

[Geomom]

We had waterproof hiking shoes for our whole family for the ports--they were perfect for the rain we had in Ketchikan and Juneau (we did the Nugget Falls walk at Mendenhall as well). We also used the waterproof hiking shoes on our Baltic Sea cruise and they were perfect for walking around the cobblestones in the European cities, as well as for our 1 nature walk in Finland.

 

[Mich123]

We did the same excursions last June in Alaska with our kids who wore sneakers and had no problems. Our trip purchases included fleece and raincoats for everyone, but no shoes! It’s an awesome cruise, have fun planning.

 

[watergal]

Any kind of comfortable walking shoe will do the trick. I stick with hiking shoes for traction and comfort. It's what I wear all the time here in Juneau.

 

[blackpearl77]

Merrell has some great kids shoes. My son has the chameleon - they are like a cross between a hiking boot and a sneaker. Waterproof too. Around $50. My son loves them - he calls them beakers (cross between boots and sneakers).

 

[Chemist]

Thanks for the feedback!

I will keep an eye out for better shoes for my guys.
(They currently only wear Vans, even the little one. They are probably the worst ever for staying dry!)

Unfortunately my older guy is a man now. Or at least, the shoe sizes and prices say he is a man!

 

[auntlynne]

Keen sandals (closed toe, fisherman style) are great, too, in the summer. And many are machine washable. I wore those or sneakers to Carcross & Emerald Lake and Mendenhall.

In 2015, the walk to Nugget Falls was a solid, wide path. So different than in earlier years where you had to cross thru water to get to a sand bar.

We used the bus to Mendenhall instead of a tour. We had previously done two whale watching + Mendenhall tours. Bus drops you off <100 ft from where a tour would.

Mendenhall Glacier, w/Nugget Falls, Emerald Falls, Carcross Desert



We went to Whitehorse, Yukon, but did not do an activity like your dogsled.

 

[gcoolie]

We used Merrell shoes on our trip and they worked well. Not the boot, but more of the cross between a tennis shoe and a hiking boot.

 

[xlxo]

In addition to rain... there is a risk of the trail to Nugget getting flooded. So glad I had my hiking boots when there was an inch of water for about 200 feet.

 

[jetskigrl]

We brought waterproof hiking boots since we had a couple of excursions planned and they were a lifesaver. On our Juneau day it rained like crazy. But our feet stayed nice and dry for our whale watching trip and visit to Mendenhall. We did the walk to the falls and the path was completely flooded in some spots so we were forced to walk through the water.

If the weather had been nicer, I'm sure tennis shoes would have been fine. But we were really glad we had the hiking boots with us. They were also very comfortable for our other full day excursions.