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HOW TO GET HERE
Located in Juneau, Alaska's capital city, Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center overlooks the Mendenhall Valley. Visitors may reach the visitor center by city bus, taxi, tour bus or rental car. The city bus drops visitors a mile and a half from the visitor center. Those choosing to walk should be prepared for changing weather conditions. The path is flat and paved.
From downtown: 12 miles. Take Egan Drive and turn right at Mendenhall Loop Road. Mendenhall Loop Road turns into Glacier Spur Road and ends at the visitor center.
From the Juneau International Airport: 5 miles. Turn left onto Glacier Highway. After a quarter mile, the road will curve right and become Mendenhall Loop Road. Follow this road across Egan Drive. Mendenhall Loop Road eventually turns into Glacier Spur Road and ends at the Visitor Center.
From the Juneau International Airport: 5 miles. Turn left onto Glacier Highway. After a quarter mile, the road will curve right and become Mendenhall Loop Road. Follow this road across Egan Drive. Mendenhall Loop Road eventually turns into Glacier Spur Road and ends at the Visitor Center.
From the Alaska State Ferry Terminal: 7 miles. Turn right onto Glacier Highway. After a mile and a half, the road splits at Auke Bay. Take the second right on the roundabout onto Mendenhall Loop Road. After four miles, it will intersect Glacier Spur Road. Turn left onto Glacier Spur Road
ACCESSIBILITY
Basic facts about the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center's accessibility to visitors with disabilities:
» The visitor center has two accessible entrances - an upper entrance with a ramp and a lower entrance with elevators.
» The first parking lot offers two restricted parking spaces for vehicles displaying the international symbol of access or official identification issued by a city or state. There is also a loading/unloading space available for loading/unloading passengers, but please do not park here.
» The visitor center's film and video exhibits are captioned. Personal listening device may be checked out from the Information Desk for the Magnificent Mendenhall movie.
» Photo Point Trail and the salmon viewing boardwalk are accessible.
CLIMATE AND CLOTHING
Mendenhall Glacier is located in a rain forest. Come prepared for and expect changing weather patterns. Staying warm and dry while is critical to both preventing hypothermia as well as making your visit more enjoyable.
Come prepared with clothing that is warm even when wet - such as wool and polar fleece - and with items that can be layered. Raingear, hats, gloves and sturdy shoes or hiking boots are strongly recommended. Juneau's weather is fairly mild. Summer highs hover in the upper sixties and summer lows drop to the mid-fifties. Winter highs reach to 45°F. and winter lows stray into the mid-twenties.
SAFETY ON ICE AND AROUND BEARS
The environment isn't the only potential hazard here. If you are going to visit the glacier, please read up on ice safety, and more about bear safety.
CBJ MGVC city bus message
Residents, Agencies, Businesses:
The Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area has a mandate to be open to the public.
As a public transit authority, Capital Transit is not allowed to restrict use by visitors.
Both the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area and Juneau Capital Transit experienced excessive use by visitors in 2023.
For the 2024 season, Capital Transit will add capacity, and local tour operators are adjusting their offerings to help manage the expected volume of visitors. We are all hopeful these adjustments will help ease the impacts to Capital Transit that occurred during the 2023 season.
Visitors:
The Mendenhall Glacier is just one of Juneau’s many attractions. To make sure we maintain the vibrant ecosystem while providing a quality visitor experience at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, tour and commercial transportation capacity is limited. Visitors are advised to book tours or transportation in advance.
The public transit system does not go directly to the Glacier. The nearest bus stop is approximately 1.5 miles (one way) from the visitor center. There are no services between the bus stop and the visitor center. Visitors arriving on foot or without a tour operator can purchase an entrance pass at the visitor center.
