After we finished our whale watching adventure, another tour guide (Corey) from Alaska Galore Tours picked us up from the harbor to take us to Mendenhall Glacier. Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area is only about 5 miles from Auke Bay Harbor, so it was a quick trip to get there.
Corey dropped us off and went to park the van. The glacier was literally right there. I was stunned at how close we were and how beautiful it looked. It’s tough to beat a view like this right off the parking lot of a recreation area.
Mendenhall Glacier is 13 miles long and ends in Mendenhall Lake. Dawes Glacier, which we had seen on our scenic cruising of Endicott Arm, ended in a 600 foot tall wall of ice. By contrast, Mendenhall seems to simply flow into the lake, making it look like a river of ice that just empties into the water below. It was neat to be able to compare the two glaciers.
We took the easy, 1 mile trail to Nugget Falls. The trail is mostly gravel and packed dirt and winds along the lake to bring you to the base of the waterfall. It is a great hike for young kids, although there are warnings that black bears frequent the area so follow proper precautions and make sure your kids stay on the trail.
Before reaching the beach at the end of the trail, we got a sneak peek of the waterfall and glacier. It was stunning.
I was surprised at how close we were to both the base of the waterfall and the glacier. Standing on a beach, listening to the sound of the rushing water while viewing a glacier in close proximity really makes this a completely unique experience. It’s amazing to see two of nature’s greatest wonders this close together.
The waterfall was really powerful, with the water dropping in two tiers for a total of 377 feet and crashing into the lake below.
The kids were definitely impressed by the waterfall’s size and power and how close we could get to it. But kids are kids, and after a few minutes of appreciating it, it was time to skip some stones into the lake.
Aside from being able to get right up next to the base of the waterfall, we also got an amazing view of the glacier from the beach. It felt close enough to swim to, although I would guess those icy waters make that inadvisable. We got some fantastic views of the glacier up close, including seeing some impossibly blue streaks of ice.
We spent about 20 minutes on the sandbar enjoying the natural beauty surrounding us before heading back. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go into the Visitors Center or wander around other trails in the park. We definitely would have enjoyed some additional time there but fully appreciate that we were able to see what we did, especially on top of our whale watching adventure.
I felt like Mendenhall Glacier was a high return on investment – it was an inexpensive add-on to our excursion, an easy hike, and a small time commitment to get to see such a gorgeous glacier and waterfall. It is well worth the trip and should not be missed if you are visiting Juneau.
