The Treadwell Mine tour is both a historical tour and an augmented reality tour, featuring 11 compelling stories of Alaska mining history. Pairing modern technology with fresh air and expert interpretive guides creates a truly unique Juneau mine tour experience that puts Treadwell mine on the list for Best Family activities in Juneau (and best mining activities for kids).
While many visitors to SE Alaska are aware of the Klondike Gold Rush, most of that focus is drawn Northward to Skagway, where miners crossed the Chilkoot Pass in search of riches. What many people don’t realize is that gold fever in SE Alaska started years before the Klondike Gold Fields were discovered.
Working as an operating mine for almost 40 years until a tragic flooding and collapse forced most of the mine to cease operations in 1917, Treadwell was the most prosperous mine and largest city in Alaska at that time.
After the 1917 collapse, much of the town that surrounded the mine was abandoned and left for nature to overtake. In present day Juneau, you can walk along the Treadwell Historic Trail which takes you through many of the still standing buildings and machinery that were left behind.
This tour follows the historic trail with a guide taking you through the story from the discovery of gold through the 1917 collapse. Using cutting edge augmented reality software, guests have the chance to see the town as it originally stood.
What drives this experience home is the combination of being onsite among the old ruins, and then overlaying them with full size (hundreds of feet long in some cases) models that show what life and work was like in this challenging environment.
We believe that Treadwell is the hidden jewel in the stories that are still told about that era. When you walk the trail and explore the ruins, you can’t help but understand that you are walking through history.
FAMILY FRIENDLY: All age groups can enjoy this tour, whether you are an adult looking for light exercise, a child or young adult fascinated by modern technology, or someone older outdoor Juneau museum or historical tour. This is a low risk mining activity for kids that avoids all the mess of actually letting them mine!
FRONTIER LIFE: Visitors to Alaska frequently think of homesteading and what a homestead tour would look like. On the Treadwell tour, visitors will get a unique understanding of the hardships that homesteaders and frontier travelers experienced upon arriving in Alaska.
ALASKA MINING: Mining has long been a part of the SE Alaskan economy, with a number of mines still currently operating. This tour is a way to understand the origins of the industry and the lengths that miners went to in an effort to find personal riches.