Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska

The Mendenhall Glacier is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Juneau, Alaska. Approximately 700,000+ people visit this glacier and recreation area each year, with daily visits reaching as high as 25,000 people during the busy cruise season in the summer.

Unlike many other glaciers in Alaska that require flights or long boat trips to access, you can reach the Mendenhall Glacier via an easy 30 minute drive from the cruise port in downtown Juneau.

Given it’s popularity and easy accessibility, the big question is whether this Alaska cruise ship excursion is worth it.

The short answer is that it depends on your interests and how much time you have in Juneau.

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is a good option if you’re looking for an easy, low stress activity. The shuttles pick up cruise ship passengers within steps of the port. The drive is relatively short, and it also provides a brief tour of Juneau.

However, if you’re looking for a more adventurous activity during your time in Juneau, there are better options.

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska cruise excursion — View of Mendenhall Glacier from the hiking trails near the Visitor Center

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska — Can you spot the canoe in the water directly below the glacier?

Nugget Falls near Mendenhall Glacier

Nugget Falls is an impressive cascading waterfall located in the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. It’s said to be 377 feet tall (115 m) and one of the most visited waterfalls in Alaska.

Getting to the waterfalls is straightforward. The Nugget Falls Trail is a 3.2 km (2 mile) round-trip hike (out-and-back) that leads to the base of the waterfall. The trail is considered easy and takes approximately 40 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on your pace.

For families, this is one of the more manageable walks in the area.

Most of the trail is paved, with a few gravel and stone sections. It has low elevation gain, so it’s not a strenuous hike.

That said, Nugget Falls trail is also one of the busiest.

During peak cruise ship hours in the summer, the trail can feel more like a steady procession than a hike, with people stopping frequently for photos.

Watch this short video of Nugget Falls and the trail. It gives you a sense of what you may experience during a visit to Mendenhall Glacier in Tongass National Forest.

Up close, Nugget Falls is loud and misty, especially after rainfall or during snowmelt.

There’s no formal viewing platform at the base, but people tend to gather on the rocks near the lake’s edge. It’s scenic, but not secluded.

Overall, Nugget Falls is worth the walk if you’re already at Mendenhall Glacier.

It’s a impressive and powerful waterfall that doesn’t require much time or effort. Just don’t expect it to feel remote or secluded.

Like much of the area, it’s popular, well-trafficked, and very much part of a curated glacier visit.

Watch this short video of Nugget Falls on our Instagram feed.

Tourists admire the views at the base of Nugget Falls near Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau Alaska, popular cruise ship excursion — Tourists admire the views at the base of Nugget Falls near Mendenhall Glacier

Searching for gold nuggets at Nugget Falls in Juneau. No gold was found.

One interesting thing about Nugget Falls is how it highlights the glacier’s retreat. The creek that feeds the waterfall is glacier-fed. Older photos show the ice much closer to where the water now runs freely.

Standing there, it’s easy to imagine how different this landscape looked only a few decades ago. It’s a sobering reality of the state of the environment.

Instead of returning to the visitor center on the main path, we decided to walk along the lake. The trail, if you want to call it that, is along a rocky beach.

We found this to be a more enjoyable option because it had few people and feels more like you’re in nature.

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center provides an excellent vantage point to view Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. It has several exhibits that explain the glacier’s history, including older photographs and video that shows how the glacier has retreated over time.

It’s an eye opening experience to see just how much the glacier has retreated in the past century. The glacier is still impressive, but it’s clearly a shadow of what it once was.

There is a $5 USD entrance fee for visitors aged 16+ during the summer season (May 1 to September 30) to access the visitor center building and surrounding trails.

The visitor center gets VERY busy at peak times. During our visit, it was shoulder-to-shoulder busy. I found it way too crowded to enjoy the experience.

It might not be that busy during your visit, but prepare yourself for crowds, just in case.

Wide paved path in front of the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center allows visitors to easily explore the area.

Above – View from Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

On a clear day, you can see Nugget Falls in the foreground with the glacier rising behind it. We lucked out with weather that day, as you can see in the photos.

It’s often gray, overcast and/or raining in Juneau, so you might not get a good view of the waterfall from the visitor center.

colourful wooden buildings and boardwalk on Juneau's waterfront, Alaska cruise — View of Juneau’s waterfront from the top deck of the Koningsdam cruise ship

Holland America Excursions for Mendenhall Glacier

You can book shore excursions through the Holland America website or onboard the Koningsdam. The main Juneau excursions are:

Mendenhall Glacier Explorer: This is the most straightforward option. It’s offers round-trip transportation and an approximately two-hours to explore the glacier area.
Mendenhall Glacier & Whale Quest: Combine two iconic Alaskan experiences in one full day. This tour includes time at the Mendenhall Glacier, plus a separate boat tour in Stephens Passage, a renowned feeding ground for humpback whales.
Mendenhall Glacier Native Canoe Adventure: For a more active and intimate experience, this small-group tour involves paddling a stable, traditional Tlingit-style canoe across Mendenhall Lake to get close to the glacier face and Nugget Falls.
Mendenhall Glacier & Glacier Gardens: This option pairs the glacier visit with a trip to the unique Glacier Gardens, where upside-down trees covered in flowers create a unique display.
Dog Sledding & Glacier Adventure by Helicopter: This tour combines a scenic helicopter flight over the Juneau Icefield with a landing on a glacier to visit an authentic dog sledding camp.
Taku Lodge, Feast & Five Glacier Seaplane Discovery: Classic de Havilland seaplane flight over five glaciers is followed by an Alaskan feast at the historic Taku Lodge.
Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest: Waterjet-powered catamaran to Stephens Passage in search of humpback whales, killer whales, sea lions, and bald eagles.

For longer shore excursions, make sure you have enough time in port. If you book an excursion through a third party tour operator (not your cruise ship), you run the risk of not making it back to the ship in time.

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska – is it worth visiting?