Mendenhall Glacier Trek

Spend your time in Juneau on an Alaskan wilderness hiking adventure as you get up close to the Mendenhall Glacier! This exhilarating tour will show you a stunning piece of Alaskan nature as you hike through the Tongass Rainforest towards the glacier. Then explore the edge of the glacier on foot where you could see ice caves, dramatic crevasses, and fascinating glacial formations.

Due to the dynamic nature of the Mendenhall Glacier features are in constant change. Your guide will assess each available feature prior to accessing to determine if it’s safe to explore. The Mendenhall Glacier is receding on a daily basis and due to this we are seeing significant changes to the surface of the glacier. There are very limited safe areas to access and explore on the ice with crampons. Safety is our number one priority and we can not guarantee every trip will hike on the glacier.

Itinerary

This hiking tour to Mendenhall Glacier begins with 4 miles through towering Sitka Spruce and Hemlock in the largest temperate rainforest in the world. The trail becomes less defined as you follow your guide through dense brush, beaver ponds, and up rock scrambles. The trail is strenuous with about 800 feet in vertical elevation gain and requires you to be sure-footed while crossing slippery stones and rock screes. It is all worth it when you climb the final ridge, and the jagged face of the glacier bursts into view with its river of ice coursing behind it.

The glacier is in constant change and its features disappear and reappear over the course of the season. Your guide will take you on a tour of the glacier's accessible features along the edge, which may include exploring the other worldliness of an ice cave, hiking by glacier blue conduits and ice tubes, or peering into the deep blue well of a moulin.

Endless adventure awaits along the edge of the glacier!

Stop At:

• Above & Beyond Alaska, 2767 Sherwood Ln # C, Juneau, AK 99801-8546
• Mendenhall Glacier, Mendenhall Valley, Juneau, AK