Conceptual drawing of Goldbelt Aaní Cruise Port in West Douglas
New Cultural Cruise Destination Planned for Juneau
Goldbelt Aaní, located on 251 acres of lush temperate rainforest on the west side of Douglas Island, will be Juneau’s first cultural cruise destination. Preliminary development has begun on the new West Douglas port. The development is nestled between coastal bluffs and towering stands of spruce trees on Goldbelt, Inc’s Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) lands. Goldbelt Aaní—which meaningfully translates to “Goldbelt Land”— reflects our deep commitment to honoring our responsibilities under ANCSA. Arriving at the port, visitors will be astonished by the glacially sculpted landscape with its sharp mountain peaks and rolling hills. Guests will be enveloped in a habitat teeming with wild berries, devil’s club, goose tongue, and other edible and medicinal plants that have sustained Indigenous peoples for millennia.
The diverse coastal terrain is abundant with muskeg, ponds, meadows, and creeks cascading down the backside of Eagle Crest Mountain. The port’s two floating berths will overlook the Chilkat mountain range. Mooring alongside Stephens Passage positions cruise ships directly in the major Alaska shipping routes.
Walkway leading to Welcome Center
A port serving Juneau on the backside of Douglas Island has been part of Goldbelt’s long-term vision dating back to its 1972 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) lands selection. In 1995, Goldbelt and the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) worked on a master plan to jointly develop sites where Goldbelt and CBJ holdings adjoin. According to municipal records, Goldbelt and CBJ signed an MOA that included a series of agreements that had been updated between the parties over the preceding decades. In 1999, this partnership culminated in the municipality appropriating $600,000, hiring an engineering firm to develop a master plan. Today, that original vision is taking root as Goldbelt Aaní (Land) Cruise Port. While leaning into Tlingit culture and history, Goldbelt Aaní is a world-class destination that addresses long-term industry and community needs while providing a sustainable economic driver for Juneau and future generations of Goldbelt shareholders.
A Purpose-Built Destination
Goldbelt Aaní Cruise Port will welcome travelers ashore and into an immersive Tlingit-themed and inspired modern cruise destination. Dual-curved trestles will extend from the towering Welcome Center’s totem poles to the two state-of-the-art floating cruise berths. The curved walkways will welcome travelers while honoring the area’s pristine beauty and preserving the environment along Alaska’s Inside Passage.
Since Time Immemorial
Staying true to Goldbelt’s mission as Juneau’s Urban Native Corporation, the West Douglas Island cruise port will be a first of its kind cultural destination for Juneau. The port is designed to replicate an 1800s Tlingit Native Village where visitors will interact with Southeast Alaska Native culture, art, foods, and be invited to explore the history of Goldbelt’s ancestral people. Throughout the experience, 10,000 years of Tlingit ways of knowing and ways of being will come alive. From the iconic Bentwood Box centerpiece welcoming guests to Lingít Aaní, or land of the Tlingit people, to the forest trails dotted with interpretive stations translating the Tlingit place, plant, and animal names. Goldbelt Aaní will offer a unique cultural experience unmatched anywhere else in the world.
The Welcome Center and its iconic Bentwood Box welcome arriving cruise visitors.
‘Steps’ Into Alaska
Goldbelt Aaní is not a gangway to souvenir-shop lined streets. It is a gateway to Alaska’s indigenous past. It will sit on pristine shores along Juneau’s world-famous humpback whale watching grounds framed on the horizon by the rugged snowcapped Chilkat Mountain Range. Visitors will step directly from their ships onto wilderness tours they will cherish for a lifetime. Adventurous travelers stepping to the left will board Alaska float planes thundering to speed across the waters of the Inside Passage for flights over the Mendenhall Glacier and the massive Juneau Icefield. Travelers stepping to the right will stroll along Goldbelt Way, leading to the Peterson Creek trailhead for an invigorating journey into Alaska’s past through the lush temperate rainforest.
Celebrate Alaska’s wilderness, wildlife, and cultural traditions. Step into Goldbelt Aaní.
