Mendenhall Glacier Guided Hike Juneau
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Juneau, USA
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
- Hiking adventure that will get you panoramic views of the Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding mountain peaks
- Learn about the Tongass National Forest, the largest temperate rain forest
- Explore the lush wilderness and wind pass beaver ponds and rock scrambles
- Hotel and cruise ship pickup available
What's Included
- Professional guide
- Hotel pickup and drop off
- Hearty snack/bottled water
- Backpack, rain jacket and pants -- please advise supplier of rain gear sizing
- Roundtrip transportation from designated meeting point
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Itinerary
The Mendenhall Glacier Guided Hike is suitable for most ages and abilities, but you need to be in shape: the trek lasts up to 6 hours, and covers about 7 miles (12.8 km) total. You’ll wear a backpack weighing up to 15 pounds (7 kg) that is includes snacks, water, and any extra clothing you bring. Professional guides will be present the entire journey to make sure you remain safe and enjoy your time hiking to the glacier viewpoint.
The day begins with pickup from your Juneau hotel or the port. When you arrive at the trailhead for the Mendenhall Glacier, follow your guides on a 3.5-mile (6-km) trail through the rain forest along Mendenhall Lake. While the first mile is on a well-maintained path with a few switchbacks, the rest of the trail involves hiking on bedrock and rock scrambling in steep areas.
When you reach the panoramic viewpoint, take the time to enjoy a light snack and take photos. Upon leaving the glacier viewpoint and reflecting on it’s unforgettable experience. Afterward, head back down the trail and enjoy a relaxing ride back to your drop-off location.
The day begins with pickup from your Juneau hotel or the port. When you arrive at the trailhead for the Mendenhall Glacier, follow your guides on a 3.5-mile (6-km) trail through the rain forest along Mendenhall Lake. While the first mile is on a well-maintained path with a few switchbacks, the rest of the trail involves hiking on bedrock and rock scrambling in steep areas.
When you reach the panoramic viewpoint, take the time to enjoy a light snack and take photos. Upon leaving the glacier viewpoint and reflecting on it’s unforgettable experience. Afterward, head back down the trail and enjoy a relaxing ride back to your drop-off location.
1
Mendenhall Glacier
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Tongass National Forest (Pass By)
2
West Glacier Trailhead
Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a strong physical fitness level
- Please note, this tour requires a minimum of 4 to operate. If minimum requirement is not met, reservation is subject to change or cancellation.
- Minimum age is 10 years. For families with children between 8-9, we can customize a private trip.
- All clients must be in good enough shape, conditioned and capable of hiking up to 4 hours, covering about 7 miles roundtrip.
- 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.
- A specific amount of time spent at the glacier viewing area cannot be guaranteed. The amount time is dependent on the group's pace and weather conditions.
- With group departures we try to maximize our trip capacity and subsequently may need to alter the time to accommodate additional customers. If your trip's departure time changes we will notify you as soon as possible.
- Clients must disclose information regarding pertinent medical conditions/history, allergies and any type of restriction or limitation that might introduce a higher degree of challenge on this trip.
- A rescue fee of $250 per client will be charged for any rescue based on the client’s inability to complete the trek due to undisclosed medical conditions/limitations or an insufficient level of physical fitness that significantly inhibits the group’s pace.
- RELEASE OF LIABILITY/ASSUMPTION OF RISK FORM: Every participant on the trip must sign a Release of Liability/Assumption of Risk form at the start of the trip. Alterations and/or deletions to the waiver are not permitted.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Alyssa_S
This is a hard hike but so worth it. The guide Heather was so good at telling you where to place your feet and hands when it comes to the scrambling part. Heather was informative about the area, knew the answers to all of our questions. Highly recommend if you want quite a challenge to reach views like no other.
Reviews
4.9
based on 125 reviews
Maycie_E, Sep 2025
Reina and Katie were excellent guides, very passionate about nature and considerate towards the group. They helped us go everywhere we wanted to on the hike but also provided great easier options for any who weren’t comfortable. Would definitely recommend.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much for your review! We're so happy to hear you enjoyed your time with Reina and Katie. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we hope you join us again for another adventure!
Alyssa_S, Aug 2025
This is a hard hike but so worth it. The guide Heather was so good at telling you where to place your feet and hands when it comes to the scrambling part. Heather was informative about the area, knew the answers to all of our questions. Highly recommend if you want quite a challenge to reach views like no other.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Alyssa, thank you so much for your review! We are thrilled to hear you enjoyed your time with Heather and got some beautiful rewarding views. We hope to welcome you back again soon!
superjimbriner, Jun 2025
Great hike, great guide, great comms, great company. Adventurous hike (wet/slippery, varied terrains, scrambles) - exactly what we wanted!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Wow, thank you for this kind review! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed every aspect of your experience with us from the communication to the tour itself. We appreciate you choosing us and hope to see you on the trail again someday!
Premal_p, Jun 2025
Our guide was amazing. Told us lot about the area, glaciers and wildlife.
Suggested some local food and brewery, which we enjoyed.
Will definitely recommend this excursion.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave us a positive review! We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your hike with us, and even learned quite a bit about the area! We appreciate the recommendation, and hope to host you on another adventure soon.
Ron_A, Aug 2024
Julia and Ian were amazing guides. They were respectful of the native land and were so informative. Would 1000% recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Thank you for your kind words about Julia and Ian. We're so glad to hear that they provided you with an informative and enjoyable experience. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you again soon!
Cynthia_M, Jul 2024
Julia is an excellent trail guide. She knows and shows how to navigate each section of the trail from the rainforest to the rock scramble. A good guide makes the trail successful for all and Julia did exactly that. The view of the glacier after a challenging scramble was glorious.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Julia truly is an amazing guide who is passionate about her job. We are so grateful to have her on our staff. It is so geed to hear that you felt safe and encouraged while on tour with her. We will be sure to pass along your kind words. Thank you for taking the time to write such a wonderful review on our Mendenhall Glacier Guided Hike.
Allie_W, Jul 2024
My fiance and I did the guided hike with our tour guide, Josh, and it was by far the highlight of our trip. Josh was very knowledgeable and passionate about both hiking and the flora native to the area. He made us feel safe and confident throughout the hike. It was raining steadily throughout the entire hike, we were very glad to have waterproof hiking boots, wool socks, and rain gear. The provided gear was great to switch into a dry jacket half way through. The hike does include some rock scrambling/climbing that seemed daunting at first, but was very doable. It does require decent flexibility and both upper and lower body strength. If you are adventurous, want to spend time out in the Alaskan wilderness, and see the glacier (which is absolutely incredible), definitely do this hike!!! Cannot recommend it enough!
Response from Host, Jul 2024
It is so great to hear that Josh provided you with a top-tier tour! We will pass on your wonderful words of praise. We pride ourselves in giving each guest the opportunity to experience the Alaskan Wilderness with the correct and durable gear, so we are so happy to hear that the provided light-weight rain jacket and pants were the perfect option for you on your hike! We hope to see you again soon.
stephanie_v, May 2024
We had such a memorable experience and our tour guide Halle was amazing. The tour provides some hiking gear that is very helpful. Be prepared for beautiful views, and a challenging hike that includes some scrambles, and switchbacks. The snacks provided were so good too. We had a great time and can’t wait to visit again soon.
Response from Host, May 2024
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for such a stellar review, we are so happy to hear that you enjoyed your time with Halle! Our team takes great pride in delivering exceptional service. Thank you for choosing us, and we can't wait to have you join us again on another adventure!
amcaranfa, Jul 2018
Great tour guides but was extremely disappointed that the ice caves described as part of the tour no longer exist and haven’t been for at least a year possibly two. My trip plan included Juneau at significant cost just for the caves. You can Imagine my disappointment when our guide informed us a third of the way in that the caves no longer exist. I understand glaciers change, but significant time has passed that the advertising should be changed. This said, time on the Glacier was enjoyable.
Steven_B, Jul 2018
We were blessed with two very experienced guides and great weather. The hike to the glacier was challenging but even though we were 70+, in good shape, we made it. This trek was one of the highlights of our Alaskan cruise and I highly recommend it for those adventurous spirits who are in good shape.
Sanjoy_K, Sep 2016
Excellent tour, well planned along with the guide being very professional and helpful and experienced!!
Roger S, Jul 2016
Fantastic day. Our guides were great, helped us along every step.
John_P, Jul 2016
Unbelievable! Magical experience. A challenging, yet beautiful hike brought us to the ominous Mendenhall Glacier. Wow! Our very small group with Above and Beyond Alaska (ABAK) ran into another ABAK group and was able to discover a brand new (that day!) ice cave! Amazing experience. A must!
Roger E, Jun 2016
Kate and Jessica were exceptional guides. Trek is not for the faint of heart. I am 62 and thought I was in pretty good shape. The 9 mile trek left me aching for two days, but hiking on the glacier and exploring the ice cave was truly the highlight of our cruise. A bucket list experience!
Maria_M, May 2016
Amazing!!! Elliot and Brad were fantastic guides and the Ice caves under the glacier was incredible!!
Highly recommend this company and trip
Linda W, Sep 2015
Great guides who made the trip lots of fun, despite the steady all-day rain. This is not a trip for the out-of-shape.
Eric P, Aug 2015
This trip was the highlight of our Alaska and BC trip. Thanks to our wonderful guides Kirstin and Sam. The hike to the glacier, onto the glacier and under the glacier ice caves was great, especially the ice caves. Well worth doing.
You really do need to be in good shape to do this hike.
Eric Prydatok
Stephen B, Jul 2015
Awesome hike. Got to see some amazing ice caves and our guide Corey was the best.
DILIP D, Jul 2015
I indeed wanted to let you know that this trip was amazingly awesome and this has been one of my most wonderful trip to the Mendenhall Glacier.
The day was completely awesome without much rain and sun with a lot of hiking in a green rain-forest which was very fantastic and post that we had spectacular views of the Glacier mountain which is out of the world experience. I would definitely recommend this trip to others. Also, if you can please pass on the comments to our Guide Hanna - Above and Beyond Travels who has been cordial and very patient to travel along with us and made this trip an amazing one. We had got in a great information while trekking to the Glacier and had a great summary of rain-forest along with the Glacier with the amazing Ice Caves views that was spectacular and an unforgettable experience.
Thanks again.
Craig S, Jun 2012
Unbelievable! My wife and I took a 7 day Inside Passage cruise and this was by far the best experience of our trip. Climbing down into a cave under the Mendenhall glacier was something unexpected and was the best part of the trek. The hike to and from the glacier is no joke so be prepared for a very challenging day. I have climbed many mountains in Colorado and this was as difficult as any of the climbs I have done.
Elaine, Aug 2009
The best excursion in Alaska! We have been on 8 cruises and always book excursions and this was without a doubt the best. You definitely need to be in shape as it is challenging.
Sharon C, Sep 2008
This trip is definitely for people who are in good shape and not afraid of hiking in a little rain. The day we spent in Juneau was very wet, but the experience of climbing on a glacier was worth the discomfort. The guides were experienced and enthusiastic. Make sure you bring comfortable hiking boots, it's best if they are waterproof.
Likely to Sell Out
From $225.08
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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