Mendenhall Lake Canoe Tour

4.9

77 reviews

Excursion Overview

Explore the Mendenhall Glacier Lake by canoe!

Prepare to come face to face with the magnificent Mendenhall Glacier on this ultimate Alaskan adventure. Traveling with a small group in a canoe, your guide will help you navigate past icebergs, waterfalls, and steep cliffs once carved by ice. You will help paddle the canoe as close as possible on the expedition toward the face of the Glacier.

This small, intimate adventure begins by meeting your professional guide at Mt.Robert's Tramway building. You will enjoy a narrated scenic drive to a more remote part of the Tongass National Forest, where you will first lay eyes on the ever-changing Mendenhall Glacier. One of the most beautiful and accessible glaciers in North America, the Mendenhall Glacier is just 12 miles from downtown Juneau but feels like a million miles away from the everyday. The 13-mile-long river of ice, which ends on the far side of Mendenhall Lake, is one of Alaska's shining gems. A half-mile wide with ice up to 1,800 feet deep, it's no surprise that Mendenhall is the most-visited glacier in Alaska.

Gaze upon the other-worldly beauty and serenity of Mendenhall Lake from the seat of your canoe as you paddle across the lake. Keep an eye on the cliffs adorned with nests of Arctic terns, a giant waterfall, and wildlife while navigating past beautiful blue icebergs. You will come as close as possible to the face of the Mendenhall Glacier and be rewarded with front-row views of the "icefalls", where miles of glacier ice flow steeply over the mountainside, and continue down to the lake in front of you. Your guide will steer the canoe to the best viewpoints of the glacier's towering ice seracs and blue crevasses. So make sure you bring your camera!

Group sizes are kept small and personal, with a maximum of 8 to 10 guests. You will be equipped with top-quality gear including rain pants, rain jackets, waterproof boots, and everything else you will need to ensure your comfort and safety. Each guest is provided a dry bag filled with bottled water and snacks, to be used to store personal belongings while canoeing.

Important notice: This tour is canoe only and does not include hiking on a glacier. For a glacier tour experience, please view our Mendenhall Glacier Ice Adventure Tour.

Things You Need to Know

Inclusions:

Roundtrip transportation from the cruise ship terminal
Rain jacket, rain pants, Xtratuf rain boots, paddling gloves, and a dry bag for personal items
Bottled water, snacks, and hot beverage

Requirements:

Minimum age: 12 years old
Minimum weight: 90lbs
Maximum weight: 240lbs
Not recommended for guests with back, shoulder or hip problems
Pregnant guests are not permitted on this tour
Full use of limbs for up to 2 hours canoe paddling
Signed liability waiver

Duration: 4 hours (Roundtrip from cruise ship terminal.)

30 minutes - narrated transport to the glacier launch site
20 minutes - equipment and safety briefing
2+ hours - canoe paddling
20 minutes - equipment unload & break with hot chocolate
30 minutes - transport back to port

Meeting Instructions:

This tour meets in front of the Goldbelt Mt. Robert's Tramway building. Fully detailed instructions are included on your finalized ticket vouchers.

ADA Accessibility of Tour:

This tour is not wheelchair or limited mobility accessible.

Refund Policy:

You may cancel for any reason up to seven (7) days prior to the date of the tour for a full refund.
Please see our Refund Policy Page for complete details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, everyone is expected to paddle along with your guide.

There are 2 different sizes of canoes that are used. One style holds up to 10 guests and the other holds up to 14 guests.

Our guides will bring you as close to the glacier that is safe and accessible. The distance ranges depending on the weather as well as the group, but typically around 200 meters away.

Bald eagles, herons, shorebirds, arctic terns, mountain goats, and porcupines are all common sights, but this is not a designated wildlife tour and nothing can be guaranteed.

This really depends on the weather. Typically the wind coming off the glacier causes it to be around 5-10 degrees cooler. We suggest you to be prepared for everything!

We provide everything you need to stay dry. Rain pants, rain jackets with hood, "Alaskan Sneakers" a.k.a Xtratuf rain boots, as well as paddling gloves. We suggest dressing in layers and according to the weather that day. Sunglasses if it is sunny and if you tend to get cold, please bring a hat/beanie as well as gloves.

Small backpacks are allowed on this tour. We provide dry bags that contain bottled water as well as snacks that may be used to store your personal items during the paddle.

Minimum weight is 90 lbs and maximum weight is 240 lbs to fit into the required lifejacket. You must be able to get in and out of the canoe and full use of limbs. You must be able to paddle for 2-2.5 hours on the canoe. We take frequent breaks to enjoy the surroundings and take photographs.

Yes, we encourage you to take photographs. We take frequent breaks to enjoy the glacier, the waterfalls, as well as the beautiful Alaskan wilderness.

Guest Reviews

Alexandrea A

On Oct 2024

Our guides were so great! Even though it was cold and rainy the entire time they kept a positive attitude and made it so fun. We would highly recommend this tour!

Bilaal S

On Sep 2024

This was an incredible excursion! Our tour guides were wonderful, despite the not as wonderful weather. In fact, one of our guides was an employee that opted to row along with us to help out since it was only me and my partner in the canoe. We were able to get incredible photos and get super close to the glacier!

Laurel J

On Sep 2024

We had an amazing day on the canoe trip. Paddled up close to the glacier and an amazing waterfall. Dawson, our guide was fantastic. He was extremely pleasant and very knowledgeable. From start to finish this was a great adventure. Thank you!!

Stephanie P

On Sep 2024

J ai adore l experience de canoe sur le lac pour aller voir le glacier. C etait ma premiere experience en canoe et apres 8Km j aurais continue encore. Mike etait notre guide pour l excursion ; il connait beaucoup de choses sur l environnement, sur l histoire de la ville et avec ses experiences personnelles, ce fut vraiment agreable de discuter avec lui sans oublier ses supers jokes qui ont amenees du piquants a la journee. De plus, Mike est vraiment patient et attentionne avec les participants ; il prends le temps de repondre aux questions, prends le temps pour les photos ce qui m a vraiment mis en confiance tout au long de l activite. Finalement, lequipement etait fournis ce que j ai trouve vraiment bien ainsi que la petite collation, la bouteille d eau et le petit chocolat chaud a la fin. L activite inclus aussi le transport aller retour.

Michael G

On Sep 2024

The BEST excursion! The guides were fantastic! Very knowledgeable, and also quite funny! Just very customer driven. We were lucky that the weather was great. Thanks!!

$239.00

Best Price Guarantee!

$239.00

Duration: 4 hours

Best Price Guarantee!

Duration: 4 hours

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Adult (18+): $239.00

Child (12-17): $239.00

Mendenhall Lake Canoe Tour

Excursion Overview

Explore the Mendenhall Glacier Lake by canoe!