Traveled: March 2016

Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, AK is a  fantastic landmark that is disappearing! Ok, so it is disappearing slowly but still, go, before it is gone. It is easy to get to/from and cheap!

Getting there:

You will need to fly in, but there are several options with Alaska Airlines
as it is part of their “milk run” (flight originating in SEA and stopping in several cities on its way to ANC). From the airport head straight out (there is a hotel in the way, go around) and you will find Glacier Hwy. There is also a nice, local diner on the way, stop in for a bite. Head across Glacier Hwy so you are on the other side of the street and go to the bus stop (it should be just to your left). Check the times and wait for route 3 (to plan ahead go to Juneau’s Capital Transit site and select “Current Local Schedule. But you do not need to, there are several busses). Take that to the Dredge Lake Road stop. From there it is a little over a mile walk to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreational Area. The walk is paved and very pleasant. To get back, reverse all of that.

At the Glacier:

The visitor center looked amazing! But it was closed while we were there. They are only open May-September. So we stuck to the trails. There are signs posted with the different trail information. But you may want to check the map out ahead of time just to orient yourself.
We were a bit strapped for time so we only did the Photo Point Train and half of the Trail of Time. But I will definitely be going back to check out the other trails. Specifically, Nugget Falls Trail.
Check out the info boards that are scattered around. They have pictures from way back of the glacier and it is incredible to see how far it has receded.

Trail of Time:

Very easy trail and has some points of interest with some history of the glacier and past visitors. There are also a couple of cool bridges.