Next in the Alaska travel videos, we went to see a glacier!
In Juneau, Alaska there are tons of things to do and one of the most popular is taking a trip out to see the Mendenhall Glacier.
According to Wikipedia, Mendenhall Glacier (also Sitaantaagu) is a glacier about 13.6 miles long located in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles from downtown Juneau in the southeast area of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Tongass National Forest.
In Juneau we decided the only thing we wanted to do was seethe glacier because it was so highly rated. There are tons of tours you can do from walking on the glacier to kayaking in the lake nearby to exploring the glacier caves. We decided to keep it simple and took a bus with an informative tour guide out to the park and visitor center.
Even the “simple” option of just going to the visitor center and seeing the glacier from the trails is very impressive! I was awed by the size of the glacier and the nearby huge waterfall feeding into the lake. It was fascinating to see the glacier and where it had been in the past. It’s slightly scary how much it has receded over the last few decades.
The walk from the visitor center out to the waterfall is a gentle hike along well maintained trails. There are a ton of people at all times and it was especially busy when we went on a day with beautiful weather and sunshine. I enjoyed exploring this trail and a few others around the area. Unfortunately I dropped my phone on one of the trails while walking with family. It shattered the screen which put a damper on the excursion but I was still so happy to be in Alaska in such a beautiful place that I didn’t care about my broken screen!
If you ever plan on visiting and want a quick trip, I highly recommend taking a bus out to see this glacier. There was still plenty of time in the day to do other excursions on our cruise stop so it’s a nice way to spend part of your visit to Juneau.