Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center - Juneau, Alaska

Tim Mathias

While the visitor center is just okay...typical tourist stuff... Some interesting factoids but info movie broken and not anything exceptional... In need of an update. That being said, the views from there are exceptional of the glacier. Go down the trail past the elevators below and towards either the photo point, (easy), or nugget trail, 2 mi hike round trip), for awesome views of the glacier and waterfall.

Christena Goedtke

We spent the first half of our first day in Juneau here, and it was an excellent beginning to our trip. It was both scenic and educational. The glacier, lake, and forests are all stunning. I appreciated the informational signs talking about the history of the glacier and plants in the area. The visitor center video was worth the ~15 minutes it runs.

There are a nice variety of trails to suit all experience levels. We hiked the Photo Point, Nugget Falls, Steep Creek, Trail of Time, and East Glacier trails. They are beautifully maintained trails with good signage and frequent maps.

We were travelling independently so could come on our own timeline and didn't have to deal with the busy cruise bussing situation. We arrived early when the park wasn't overly full. When we got back to the parking lot after our last hike, it looked pretty chaotic. I think it'd still be worth visiting even when it's busy.

Lemmie Klein

When in Juneau, this is an amazing stop. Busses now are handled through the different tour groups. It's $90 for adults and $54 for children. I bought from the first vendor, if I had waited, another vendor said $80. He said it's usually $90, so see what you can get them down to.

The visitor center has a video showing the glaciers' decline. It's sad to see. Is it a natural decline? I don't know. We hiked the nugget falls trail. The 1 mile hike is beautiful, with several small streams running. Getting up next to Nugget Falls is amazing. The water's so cold and clear. The trail is an easy walk. Wheel chairs and motorized scooters can easily traverse the trail. This is a well paved trail don't be afraid to try it.

Katie Nielsen

Easy bus ride from the downtown bus terminal (30 mins) and only $2. It’s a mile and a half to the visitors center but we found the bike rentals right near the bus stop so it was a short bike ride. Super convenient and a fun adventure! The bikes weren’t in pristine condition but sufficed for a short round trip.

Terence Mok

We joined the tour via the cruise. They only gave me about 1 hour to walk around which is definitely not enough to digest all the wonderful views. I think we need at least 2-2.5 hours to walk around the park. This is a nice view still!!

Angie R

Beautiful place! Be sure to watch the movie in the visitors center because it gives a lot of cool info about the Glacier. I didn't have time to take any of the trails to the end, but I would suggest giving yourself some time there to take the trail to see the waterfall up close. Also, you might see a bear. I didn't, but maybe you will.

Shannon Smock

What an incredible experience! We were visiting from a cruise ship. We did not pay the overpriced excursion fee. We started by walking from the port to the city bus stop. Took the bus for $2 per person (must have exact cash) to the stop closest to the glacier which is then a 1.4 mile walk on a flat road to the visitor center. Some people rented bikes, others walked. Once you get to the visitor center you have multiple hikes to choose from. We decided on nugget falls which was a little under two miles. It pops you out on a beach and you can get an up close view of the glacier and literally feel the falls and glacier water surrounding the beach. We saw lots of strollers and wheelchairs and didn’t see anyone struggling to access the trail. There is a park entrance fee. I highly recommend seeing this glacier before it disappears. It is melting at approximately 160feet per year and is expected to not be visible from the visitor center by 2050.

Allen Lin

While the mendenhall glacier itself is not all that impressive, the visitor center is quite nice. There some scientific explanations going on in there, exhibits are well done and you get a nice view of the glacier as well. Having that said I am a little confused about payment, I was supposed to pay a fee but i didn’t and no one seemed to try to collect a fee or ticket