Juneau Shore Excursion: Mendenhall Glacier Guided Hike
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Juneau, USA
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Hike through the wilderness for stunning views of the Mendenhall Glacier on this half-day shore excursion. Join a small group and experienced guide for a trek through the glacial terrain of Tongass National Forest. Emerge from the forest with views of the glacier's blue crevasses, icefall, surrounding mountains, and Nugget Falls. Enjoy time to take photos and enjoy a well-deserved, hearty snack before heading back. Note: this tour is suitable for those in good physical shape with exceptional balance and sure-footedness.
- Walk through a rain forest, steep bedrock, and pass various glacial formations
- Snacks, water and equipment provided
- A small group means more attention from your guide
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Hearty snack
- Backpack, rain jacket and pants -- please advise supplier of sizing
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Itinerary
Getting a little stir-crazy from being on the ship? Stretch your legs on vast, rugged terrain on this day-hike shore excursion. The Mendenhall Glacier trek is suitable for most ages and abilities, however, you should be in good enough shape to hike for up to 6 to 6.5 hours, covering about 8 miles (12.8 km) round-trip. You’ll be wearing a backpack, weighing about 10 to 15 pounds with snacks/water, and any extra clothing that you’d like to bring.
Your Alaskan glacier adventure begins on a 4 mile trail through the Tongass National rainforest. This rocky terrain is challenging and not for the fainthearted. While the first mile is easy enough, on a well-maintained path with a few switchbacks, for the rest of the trail you’ll be hiking on bedrock in steep areas.
Your route gets you great views of crevasses, and other beautiful glacial formations. With plenty of gorgeous pictures taken, enjoy transport back to port.
Your Alaskan glacier adventure begins on a 4 mile trail through the Tongass National rainforest. This rocky terrain is challenging and not for the fainthearted. While the first mile is easy enough, on a well-maintained path with a few switchbacks, for the rest of the trail you’ll be hiking on bedrock in steep areas.
Your route gets you great views of crevasses, and other beautiful glacial formations. With plenty of gorgeous pictures taken, enjoy transport back to port.
1
Goldbelt Tram
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
West Glacier Trailhead
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
3
Mendenhall Glacier
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
West Glacier Trailhead
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
5
Goldbelt Tram
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Clients need to wear sturdy hiking boots that provide good ankle support while hiking on uneven, rocky terrain . All clients will need to hike with a backpack the entire way on this trip.
- Due to the inherent risks involved, we do not permit pregnant guests to participant.
- This tour does not include trekking on the glacier or exploring around the glacier's edge, but will get groups to the glacier view vista.
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 71 reviews
Rachel_M, Aug 2025
I highly recommend this excursion! We had 7 travelers in our group and besides the occasional group passing by on the way up, we had the entire trail and the Glacier viewing area to ourselves. Our guide Heather was super personable, knowledgeable and attentive to the group. The trail itself was pretty easy to navigate, with the exception of a few slick rock spots and the last part of the trail where you have to climb up/down some rocks to view the Glacier. But even then, going slow and being intentional with your hand/foot placements was just fine. Gorgeous view of the Glacier and Nugget Falls. Very appreciative of the generous snacks provided as well. This was our first excursion not booked through the cruise line and we had 0 worries about getting back on time as Hesther made it clear (and showed) they are pros with timing. 10/10!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you for sharing such a detailed review! We’re thrilled Heather made your excursion safe, enjoyable, and stress-free, and that you got to enjoy views of the Glacier and Nugget Falls. It sounds like a perfect day spent in Juneau, and we truly appreciate your recommendation!
Sergio_F, May 2023
Pretty intense hike at time. And im a backpacker... Still very fun. Got to see wildlife up and close. Including a bear that at times were as close as 25-30yards. Unfortunately, the glacier had receded to a point you cant get very close.
Response from Host, May 2023
We are so thrilled you had a fun time adventuring with us! Seeing a bear that close is an unforgettable experience!
Steve_H, Sep 2022
We met our guide HaIlie at the cruise port and she shuttled us to the warehouse where we were outfitted with backpacks, rain gear, hiking poles and snacks. We were joined by another couple so the group was 4 hikers plus Hailie. The trail started out easy but became increasingly difficult. We bushwhacked through the rainforest crossing several streams. We scaled rock ledges. Hailie is very patient, helpful and knowledgeable about the landscape and plant life. We stopped for lunch with a panoramic view of the glacier. The final .7 mile hike to the tip of the glacier was an easy track. We were shocked about the rate that the glacier was melting. The glacier started at the trailhead in 1910, so 4 miles melted over the past 112 years but the rate has increased drastically. The total distance (out and back is 7.5 miles). The track is challenging. This hike was a great experience - an opportunity to see an ancient glacier up close. Be prepared for a vigorous workout.
Pamela2021-July, Jul 2021
Totally AWESOME… Love the size of small Hiking group… Our Guide was outstanding, very helpful and knowledgeable…
Pamela
David M, Aug 2017
My boyfriend and I got incredibly lucky and this trek turned out to be the highlight of our trip to Alaska, though our experience was a bit unique. We were originally set to hike with 5 other travelers, but when we met the guides in the morning they informed everyone that due to very poor weather conditions, we likely wouldn't make it to the glacier they offered everyone the option to cancel with a full refund. After a pretty convincing you-should-probably-cancel pitch from one of the guides, who we think may have been exaggerating a bit the other 5 travelers canceled and we ended up with a de-facto private tour with another guide Madisyn, who was awesome and just as gung-ho as we were to attempt the climb despite the torrential rain.
Madisyn did so much to make our trip great and get us onto the glacier despite the earlier warnings that it was perhaps inaccessible. She thought to bring waterproof boots, which made it possible for us to hike through the flooded terrain. We never would have made it in sneakers or even hiking boots... we were literally hiking through 8-9 inches of flowing water at times. She was friendly and helpful, and really made the extra-wet adventure fun. She even brought hot chocolate for us, which was a fantastic touch.
After a couple of hours spent hopping across quick-running streams and scampering up slick rocky terrain, we reached the glacier and ice caves underneath, both of which were stunning. Madisyn plus other guides from the company who had hiked earlier to scout the area worked to find an alternative way for us to get onto the glacier, since the river between the trail and the access point was flooded. We were eventually able to explore the ice caves and climb the glacier itself, and while the micro-spikes we strapped onto our boots took a little getting used to, the gear all worked fantastically on top of the ice.
We really couldn't believe how lucky we got -- not only were we able to complete the whole hike in surreal and wild conditions and walk on the glacier itself, but we practically got the whole mountain to ourselves because so many other tours were cancelled due to the weather. Madisyn was instrumental in making this happen, and she was super fun to hike with. Our trip may not have been 100 representative of the larger group tour that it should have been, but we definitely got the impression that Above and Beyond Alaska works hard to make their treks fantastic for their clients, and we were so glad we didn't miss this.
Doug S, Aug 2017
Stunning hike, helpful and experienced guides, lots of time on and in the glacier. We were able to walk through ice caves, rappel into holes in the glacier, drink from glacial streams - absolutely amazing!
Kristen M, Jul 2017
I was actually super excited for this excursion after reading the reviews and especially after hiking on a glacier earlier in my trip. I would have given this review more stars if it was advertised as a Hike and possible glacier viewing because that would have been accurate. 90 of this trip was spent hiking through the woods to get to the glacier, and according to our guides some groups don't even make it that far depending on the fitness levels of the group. From the description I was expecting a glacier trek AND climb and in reality we stepped on the glacier for all of 20 minutes. Meanwhile we spent 6 hours on a hike which was a GREAT hike but when you are expecting the trek and climb on glaciers durng an 8 hour excursion expectations are to be on a glacier. I guess if the glacier wasn't receding so fast over the years we may have gotten there sooner and had more time to explore the glacier. I understand there isn't much a tour can do about global warming effects, but the title of the excursion needs to be changed to provide a more accurate expectation. This was definitely a mountainess hike, not a glacier trek and climb.
Carolyn G, Jun 2017
The hike was amazing!! Our guides (Katie and Emma) did a wonderful job and very informative! Would highly recommend this.
NAIGANG_T, Sep 2016
Very impressive view. This trip is amazing even it's raining in Juneau.
Steven_G, May 2016
This excursion was probably the best I have ever done on any cruise and I completed it with my wife on our honeymoon. Our tour guides were Kit and Casey and they were awesome! We really got to experience everything throughout the 8 mile hike including the rainforest, the Mendenhall glacier, and even got to go inside of an ice cave. My only recommendation is that you definitely have to be in pretty good shape as you truly do scale walls, climb down rough terrain, and scale the glacier throughout the advanced hike. You get all of the necessary equipment provided i.e. raingear, backpack, harness, walking stick, and spikes for your shoes and they give you plenty of snacks and water. I would recommend this excursion highly as it is WELL worth the price! Thanks so much for an awesome time and memorable experience!
From $234.09
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Juneau Shore Excursion: Mendenhall Glacier Guided Hike
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