Juneau tour company hopes to offer e-bike tours on Douglas Pioneer Road

In winter, the Juneau Nordic Ski Club grooms the West Douglas Pioneer Road. A handful of skiers were there on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (Photo by Katie Anastas/KTOO)

Guided e-bike tours could come to Juneau for the first time this summer.

iRide Alaska has applied for a permit from the city to use the West Douglas Pioneer Road for e-bike tours. According to the permit application, the company would offer three tours per day, six days a week from May 1 to Oct. 30.

Reuben Willis, one of the co-owners of iRide Alaska, spoke at a Juneau Assembly Lands, Housing and Economic Development Committee meeting on Friday. He told city leaders the e-bike tours would help the company offer more activities to tourists and generate sales tax for the city.

“We think this could be a win-win,” Willis said.

Tours would cost $149.95 per person, he said, and a small portion could go to the city. iRide Alaska pays a $3 user fee per person to the city when they take tourists to the Rainforest Trail. Willis said they could have a similar policy for the West Douglas Pioneer Road.

That extra funding would be welcome, said Juneau Lands and Resources Manager Dan Bleidorn. At the meeting, he said upkeep for the city-owned road costs $10,000 to $20,000 per year.

In the summer, Bleidorn said, the gravel road is used for hiking, biking and firewood harvesting. The Nordic Ski Club grooms the trail in the winter. The city has also allowed the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to study bats there and the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor nearby streams.

“This actually isn’t a trail, it isn’t a road, it’s more like driveway access to city property,” Bleidorn said.

Whether it’s a trail or a road could make or break iRide Alaska’s plans for e-bike tours. Christopher Mertl, chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, said e-bikes aren’t allowed on Juneau trails because they’re considered motorized.

“The Parks Service, the Forest Service, everybody is trying to figure out where this gray mode of transportation fits,” Mertl said. “I just want to offer a little bit of caution before we jump into this with both feet into the pool here, that it may have repercussions beyond just this one proposal before us.”

The lands committee forwarded the permit application to the full Assembly. The Assembly’s next meeting is on Monday, Feb. 27.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications