Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center

Is there something I missed about this place? It’s the ultimate tourist trap. In fact, everyone that was here came from one of the cruise ship (us included). It’s so touristy, that even the visitor center charged a fee. Really?! I was already charged a fee to come here!
In terms of nature and all that glacier jazz, the view and the waterfall, were just not that exciting. The hike was created so ALL visitors could «hike». It’s about a half mile flat surface to the small water fall. I’ve seen better. In fact, Glacier Bay tops this glacier by 10 000 times. I’ve been to many places in the short life that I’ve lived and I can’t even place Mendenhall glacier on the top half of beautiful places. Perhaps, it’s better a different angle, but definitely not from the POV of a cruise ship excursion via bus.

The Mendenhall Glacier visitor center has a nice elevated view of the glacier. They have educational tours of the visitors center and some nice displays. There is a unpaved walking path that leads closer to the glacier. It is not wheelchair or walker friendly and is about a mile walk out. If you are able to it is well worth the walk to get a closer look at the glacier and you can get fairly close to the waterfall next to it. Great place for pictures and breathtaking views

Certainly one of life’s wonders — that we are loosing to climate change. Locals have said they have seen in their life time how astonishingly the glaziers have receded.
So enjoy the beauty of this glacier while it’s still visible. You can hike to the Nugget Falls or the hidden trails to the glacier itself.
The staff are friendly and helpful. Be sure to visit the Visitor Center.

This place is absolutely gorgeous.
AND IT WAS RAINING LIKE CRAZY when I went and it was STILL beautiful. You could still see the waterfall and glaciers and the beautiful sights. The Visitor Center was huge and had food, drinks, and souvenirs. It also was educational inside with details about the glaciers. It was nice to hide out there during the rain.
When it wasn’t raining, there are some hiking trails that total 2 miles to and from the location. You have to have a lot of time. We didn’t unfortunately, so we just went to the photo op area.
The place is just beautiful.

Absolutely SPECTACULAR! We visited Mendenhall Glacier during our Juneau, Alaska port day while on the Disney Cruise. $ 40 round trip bus ride for our family of four brought us to this incredible site. The ride is a short 20 minutes from where the ships dock. The Glacier up close is magnificent! We visited during the last week of July and It’s pretty remarkable to see such a vast body of ice, on a sunny, warm day.
The real highlight however, is the hike out to Nugget Falls. It’s about a mile in, and a mile out, and is an easy, flat, paved hike that is suitable even for kids. Our 4 year old was able to walk to entire hike in and out with ease. The hike itself is beautiful with small waterfalls and forestry all around you. Once you get to the falls, be prepared to stand in awe! It is a massive, raging falls and if you’re not impressed, then you must be pretty hard to please. Standing on the shore, with a raging waterfall to your right and a grand glacier to your left, you can’t help but feel so small (in a good way) in this great big world.
There are park rangers outside near the visitor center, and they were excellent in interacting with the kids and educating them about glaciers. TIP: Do not plan to pack a snack or meal and it eat here, as NO FOOD is allowed anywhere outside. This is because there are bears around (though unfortunately we did not see any on the day we visited) and the food attracts bears. If you must eat, visit the Visitor Center and eat inside. No food is sold anywhere on the property.
Mendenhall Glacier park is a must see FREE attraction while visiting Juneau!

What an amazing, FREE way to see a glacier up close! Take the walk out to the waterfall viewpoint; it’s well worth it. Plan at least an hour round trip. Mostly flat, fairly easy walk, suitable for almost any fitness level/​ability level.
Really just an indescribable, up-​close experience with amazing nature!
Suggestion: use the restroom at the visitor center before heading out on the trail… there are no restrooms out there!

The Mendenhall Glacier is absolutely gorgeous! I love that there are various paths in this area that you can take to see it from various points as well.

A trip to Mendenhall Glacier was our shore excursion in Juneau (combined with a whale and wildlife watching boat trip). Choose this if you have the chance!
You get close. Not step on the glacier close (that costs 3−4xs as much), but close enough to get beautiful views and pictures!
We had less than an hour for our stop so we did the 10 minute stroll to the observation area. There’s a 40 minute (round trip) hike that will take you right to the front of the falls next to the glacier. Some of the more adventurous people in our group did this and enjoyed it.
The visitor center also gives a spectacular view of the glacier and falls. There’s some good information in there too.

Um, yes, yes, and more yes. The first thing we did upon arriving in Juneau was check out the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. As a visitor center should in a park, it truly set the tone for the unreal experience we’d have at Mendenhall Glacier. All of the park rangers were knowledgable, informative, and very friendly. We were able to touch 200 year old ice and learn about the history Mendenhall Glacier. Although we didn’t watch the video, we learned enough to set out and experience the glacier and surrounding area.
Arriving early — and thus before all the tourists from the cruise ships — we hiked to Nugget Falls and took some amazing photographs of the waterfall, the glacier, and the summits. This was our introduction to the great state of Alaska and wow, it completely exceeded expectations. When we were out enjoying the waterfall I noticed some people on a small boat near the glacier. Little did I know, that would be us the following day!!!
Our host in Juneau and his friend took us out for some ice climbing. Yes this is probably considered dangerous but they are very well experienced and completely trustworthy and great teachers. We canoed out roughly 2.5 miles (but seemed like many more with the catatonic winds) and arrived at the glacier. WOW. It’s even more impressive when you’re walking on it with the proper gear!!! We were able to go into an ice cave and see a lot of scary crevasses in the glacier. Like I said before, the experience was unreal. Better than I would have ever expected and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to truly explore Mendenhall Glacier. It is to my understanding there are a number of trails that once can take if they want to explore the glacier. Naturally, use extreme caution.
Towards the visitor center there are some more well marked trails and probably safer as well. As always, watch out for bears and other wildlife! The wildflowers were coming into bloom when we visited in late May. I highly, highly recommend Mendenhall Glacier for its shear beauty, outstanding visitor center, and surreal nature.

Such beauty! I wish we had more time here. They have trails and sights for every skill and age. There’s an elevator that goes up to their nice Visitor Center, which I believe is $ 3 admission.
Mondays during the spring/​summer are a nightmare getting here, due to the cruise ships docking in Juneau on Mondays and the countless number of charter buses causing traffic jams by noon. If you plan to come here, plan to do it before 11:00am. For your departure… good luck! Just have patience and enjoy the majestic view of the beautiful glacier :)
Note, no food allowed anywhere here except for at the foot of Nugget Falls, or inside the Visitor Center (for emergency eating) due to BEARS! :)

Mendenhall Glacier is gorgeous! A must see for sure!
The walk from the parking lot to the glacier viewing area takes only a few minutes. There are longer trails to get closer near the waterfalls but we didn’t have time to get out there (our cruise ship excursion gave us a little less than an hour here — full hiking trail map here:
). Still, there isn’t a bad seat in the house; all vantage points offer spectacular views, especially on a summer day.
The visitor’s center is a bit small and cramped but the video they play on the evolution of the glacier is super interesting and excellently produced. Staff are friendly and very nice.

The Mendenhall Glacier is a sight to see. It’s not everyday I would see this beauty in front of me. This huge block of ice provides free air conditioning to the area. I don’t think Alaska really needs AC but they have it here. We were lucky to visit the glacier on a beautiful sunny day. It’s a natural beauty!
There are several areas you can visit here: Photo point, photo point trail, steep creek trail and nugget falls. There are restroom facilities here but I would recommend not using them. They were barely tolerable to be in. The stench is horrendous along with the uncleanliness of the stalls. It didn’t look as if they cleaned them very often. With the amount of visitors here, I wish they would be a little more attentive.
When in Alaska, Mendenhall Glacier is a beautiful stop to enjoy the view!

The glacier was awe-​inspiring and breath-​taking. Earlier in the day, we were disappointed by the views of Tracy Arm Fjord while on the cruise ship. Not much ice there. Ladies & gentlemen, global warming is REAL, with Tracy Arm Fjord as evidence. A couple of fellow cruise guests had visited couple of decades ago when it was an actual glacier. Now, it’s mostly landmass and trees, but I digress. It was great to be in the presence of a real glacier. You can walk all the way up to the water and/​or walk towards the waterfall. Because we only had an hour before our shuttle arrived to pick us up, we chose to walk towards the water and glacier. Mendenhall glacier looks like a frozen waterfall. It’s a mind trip. The visitor center housed historical information, theater for a short film, and a souvenir shop.

Not everyday you get to walk to a glacier with such ease. The Mendenhall Glacier is roughly 12 miles in length. You don’t appreciate the size until you walk out to Nugget Falls and stand next to it. Nugget falls is a giant 377 ft gushing waterfall of glory. In the pics it looks small and insignificant. But when your standing by it you realize how small you truly are. This place is beautiful! From the trees, floating ice, and mountaintops you will be in love. I had to face time my brother so he could see it all. I also did the short loop trail at the beginning with the salmon run. However, it was not that time of year thus no salmon. I would have liked to try the other two trails but ran out of time. However, you must take the short walk to nugget falls it’s simply beautiful. The ranger quoted a 45 min walk, it’s 1 mile, try more like 15 mins. It’s gravel but flat, there was tons of elderly doing it. This is a must see on any trip to Juneau. I read about the ice caves on the glacier and do not recommend anyone try to reach it without a proper guide and being in the best shape of your life mixed with part crazy. But seriously, be safe and respect Mother Nature and all its glory.

The Glacier was amazing!!! The visitor center definitely helped because it gave a breakdown of history and trails. When in Juneau you must drive over and make sure to go hike towards the waterfall just across from the glacier. The scenic views are some of the best beauty you can see in Juneau. On the trail we saw Black Bears (we kept our distance) and there were no problems. Additionally, make sure to make some time to spend at the waterfall. The sounds of the water, as well as the peace and quite of nature let you relax very well.
I would recommend this not only to family and friends visiting Juneau, but reach out to folks we met in Juneau during our time there to remind them to go back and take in peace and serenity. This will be a place I will be coming back to years down the road.
As mentioned this is great for hikers and joggers, or just the everyday walker looking to get some exercise or view a beautiful site. Be sure to give the glaciers a stop next time you are in Juneau or are planning to visit.

A couper le soufflé!
Juneau faisait partie des escales lors de ma croisière de 7 jours en Alaska, et j’avais vu que ce Glacier était à un must de la ville.
Situé à 5 min du centre ce qui rend la chose encore plus incroyable, un glacier majestueux d’un bleu magnifique.
On a un très beau point de vue dès le parking ou le visitor center mais je conseille de faire la petite rando jusqu’aux pieds des chutes, c’est très agréable et le chemin est plat.
Apparemment on peut y voir souvent des ours grâce aux rivières de saumon surtout les mois d’été, nous y étions début sept donc un peu tard
Prévoir deux heures pour la visite du lieu et n’oubliez pas votre appareil photo!

We came on a foggy rainy day, but it was still beautiful! The glacier was a little hard to see clearly through the haze, but the waterfall is gorgeous! Worth the short rainy hike to Nugget Falls! Make sure you wear waterproof gear, cuz I got soaked during my time here.
On the way back from Nugget Falls to the Visitor’s Center, make sure to walk along the beach. It provided closer views of the icebergs. And the backdrop of the glacier and falls were great to see at a different angle.
I didn’t pay to go into the Visitor’s Center, but I did use the restrooms and they were nice clean.
I wrote this as a tip too, but if you’re taking the express bus, book that off the cruise from a local vendor. They’ll haggle with you. We got a round trip ride for two for $ 20 +$ 1 tax. Score!

If you want to come at least 1 mile away from a glacier, then this is the place to be! Once we arrived through the shore excursion hosted via Dolphin Jet Tours, we were given 1 hour to visit the glacier and visitor center. My husband and I didn’t have enough time to visit the visitor center, but we did go on a hike to the waterfall, which is the closest trail to the glacier itself.
It takes about 15 – 20 min to walk to the waterfall with some breathtaking views of Mendenhall Glacier & Nugget Falls. So many people were there and it was great to get some mist from the water fall to cool down. :)
There are some pit stops along the way to take photos.

Only one word to describe… «WOW!»
I have never seen anything like this in my life! There are thousands of glacier in Alaska, only a few that you can see it by car… others you have to take the planes.
Once we got off from our cruise on Juneau cruise port. Tons of local vendors selling excursion. YES, way cheaper than the excursion package on the cruise. We did whale watching and Mendanhall Glacier for $ 110 compared to the cruise charging $ 210. That is a big saving! If you just want to see the Mendanhall Glacier, round trip bus $ 20.
When we go off the bus, we could see the glacier from far… THE COLOR IS JUST GORGEOUS! The sky blue color makes it so dreamy and unreal. The bloating ice look like cotton candy~
There is stairs to go all the way down to the water. YES, you can really touch the icy cold water!
Then there is a path way to guide you to as close as possible in front of the glacier. OMG!!! Now I truly appreciate what nature have created this amazing view!
There is a waterfall right next to the glacier, about 1 mile walk.
If you are in Juneau, DEFINITELY have to check out Mendenhall Glacier! You won’t regret!

Now a lot of people are reviewing the actual Glacier itself… however this review is for the Actual Visitor Center. It is on a very steep incline to reach the top of the center… so it is not for everyone that is for sure. There is the ramp… stairs…or elevator you can take to get up there… however the elevator is only built for 8 people at a time. The day we visited the elevator actually broke down because people didn’t know how to read the sign…8 PASSENGERS ONLY AT A TIME… Reading is so fundamental people… LOL!!!
Once your actually in the center there are plenty of artifacts on display for you to see and the views of the Glacier are awesome. My favorite artifact in the whole place was an actual piece of the melting Glacier that you were actually encouraged to touch… it was awesome. It was pretty crowded that day but as one other Unilocaler stated it gets pretty crowded when there are 4 cruise ships docked in Juneau at the exact same time. Now with all that being said this place is to NOT be missed if your ever in Juneau. Eat, Drink, and be Merry my Friends!!!

The Husband and I visited the Mendenhall Glacier and adjoining Visitors Center while in Juneau because it was part of the excursion that we booked on our cruise ship and we both really enjoyed what we saw!
We took a bus to the glacier which is only a short walk from the parking lot. You can either take the path to the left to view the glacier from straight on but a little further distance, or you can take the path down the middle where you can view the glacier from the side, but closer up. The Husband and I chose this path and got a lot closer to the glacier as we climbed some rocks (path was flooded) to the edge of the water almost right in front of the glacier. Great view! Lastly, you can take the path to the right and take a 30 – 45 minute walk up to the large waterfall next to the glacier. We unfortunately weren’t able to do this because our bus was going to leave in 45 minutes and we didn’t want to risk being stranded.
The Mendenhall was my favorite glacier that we saw on our trip because it’s the one we were able to get the closest to. I also liked viewing the glacier over the calm water of the bay as icebergs sat in the water. Beautiful!
The visitors center building was nice as well, with various displays on the glacier and how it has receded over the years. Also about what is in a glacier, what causes a glacier and other glacier facts. There is also a small gift shop and theater where they play short films about every 30 minutes.
I would highly recommend this stop when in Juneau! It’s just a short bus or car ride from where the cruise ships dock (30 – 45 minutes).