What's the best way to get to and from Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau?

Our cruise is officially a week away and I'm going through our itinerary. Realized the only thing I didn't book is transportation to Mendenhall Glacier. We have a helicopter excursion in the morning, but hope to visit the glacier in the afternoon and do some hiking. I see it's 14 miles away. We don't want to take a tour that limits our time there, so that limits some options. Anyone have advice for me? Has anyone used "The Blue Bus" Glacier Express. $45 a person seems high to me, but not sure if there are other cheaper options. Also, is it necessary to book transportation now or are there enough options once we get off the ship to just wait?Thanks so much for any help.

The Uber estimate is between $28 and $35 each way. Depending on how many people are in your group, this could easily be a much more economical way to do it.

It’s probably too late at this point, but for more than 2, a car rental is usually cheaper and gives you flexibility on time spent at locations and where you can go.

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Evergreen taxi has a 35 fee per car. Google them and call them. One of their vehicles can seat 10.

Evergreen taxi has a 35 fee per car. Google them and call them. One of their vehicles can seat 10.

Evergreen charged me $32.20 one way and $33 the other. Must have been a meter. Also paid them $7 for each of us for admission to visitor center. Unless someone is alone, it makes no sense to pay for a $45 shuttle.

We definitely wanted to include the walk down to Nugget Falls while at the Mendenhall Glacier Center.

Planned tours through the ship sounded nice, but everything I read said that if you wanted to see the Falls you might have trouble getting back to the pick up point in time.

I would suggest doing a tour through Juneau Tours called "Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier Tour" (or something close to that).

We didn't feel a bit rushed. [FYI: We took the hike to the falls and did not get back in time to make the tour's pickup bus. But because they ran later shuttle buses--as promised--it was not a problem for us.]

Oh by the way.....be sure to walk down to the falls. That, in my opinion, is the best part of the Mendenhall Glacier Center experience.

I would check on the bus service. It was several years ago but my husband just hopped local bus service to get there. We were dropped off within a decent walking distance.

https://juneaucapitaltransit.org/

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The Forest Service web site has info on transportation options.

A taxi is probably your best bet. It's about a 20 minute drive from Mendenhall to the pier. Take the phone number with you and call for a pick up about 30 minutes before you're ready to leave ..... if there are a lot of ships in town you may have to wait for a ride so don't wait until the last minute!

(The city bus is the least expensive but its time consuming and drops you about a mile away from the Visitor Center)

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=stelprdb5400800

The Forest Service web site has info on transportation options.

A taxi is probably your best bet. It's about a 20 minute drive from Mendenhall to the pier. Take the phone number with you and call for a pick up about 30 minutes before you're ready to leave ..... if there are a lot of ships in town you may have to wait for a ride so don't wait until the last minute!

(The city bus is the least expensive but its time consuming and drops you about a mile away from the Visitor Center)

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=stelprdb5400800

Thank you so much! Sounds like a good plan to me.

you don't say what time your ship departs, but keep in mind that the park is open until midnight. The visitor center closes around 7pm but you can still enjoy the trails until later.

you don't say what time your ship departs, but keep in mind that the park is open until midnight. The visitor center closes around 7pm but you can still enjoy the trails until later.

Fortunately we don't leave until 9:30 p.m.! So we will have plenty of time. Thanks again for your help.

We rented a car

you don't say what time your ship departs, but keep in mind that the park is open until midnight. The visitor center closes around 7pm but you can still enjoy the trails until later.

after 7pm the locals come out. quite popular for evening walks.

I would check on the bus service. It was several years ago but my husband just hopped local bus service to get there. We were dropped off within a decent walking distance.

 

https://juneaucapitaltransit.org/

 

 

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This drop off is over a mile away from the Visitor Center and runs infrequently.

This drop off is over a mile away from the Visitor Center and runs infrequently.

If you are flying with Coastal or TEMSCO just take a cab directly to Mendenhal. Otherwise you are backtracking an additional hour.

Can anyone tell me if our National Parks Annual Pass is valid there?

Can anyone tell me if our National Parks Annual Pass is valid there?

Yes.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=fseprd502109

We definitely wanted to include the walk down to Nugget Falls while at the Mendenhall Glacier Center.

 

Planned tours through the ship sounded nice, but everything I read said that if you wanted to see the Falls you might have trouble getting back to the pick up point in time.

 

I would suggest doing a tour through Juneau Tours called "Juneau City and Mendenhall Glacier Tour" (or something close to that).

 

We didn't feel a bit rushed. [FYI: We took the hike to the falls and did not get back in time to make the tour's pickup bus. But because they ran later shuttle buses--as promised--it was not a problem for us.]

 

Oh by the way.....be sure to walk down to the falls. That, in my opinion, is the best part of the Mendenhall Glacier Center experience.

Did you have to pay for the shuttle to take you back to the ship or was that included in the tour? Thanks

Some ships dock closer to the center of Juneau than others. To see the different dock locations, look here: http://cruiseportwiki.com/Juneau

Then look here to see if the port schedule for Alaskan ports shows which berth you'll use in Juneau: http://claalaska.com/?page_id=1551

If you're down at AJ dock, you'll (hopefully) have a shuttle, for free or for pay, to take you from the dock up to the tram area, where I believe the shuttles to Mendenhall pick up and drop off. If you're docked right near the tram, there will probably be no need to take a shuttle back to the ship and you can just walk.

Evergreen charged me $32.20 one way and $33 the other. Must have been a meter. Also paid them $7 for each of us for admission to visitor center. Unless someone is alone, it makes no sense to pay for a $45 shuttle.

There is a thread somewhere here in this section that explains the $7 fee for entry. I forget the details, but taxis are apparently required to charge it. I think if you already have a National Park Pass, though, you may not need to pay it.

We took The Blue Bus to Mendenhall a couple weeks ago. There are cheaper options, but I will pay a little extra for convenience any day. We walked off the ship on our own time, up to a tour kiosk, bought our tickets, climbed on the bus and were on our way within 10 minutes. The bus driver doubled and tripled as a tour guide AND a comedian. :D It was an enjoyable drive. We loved walking the trails and taking our time at the glacier, knowing that the Blue Bus returned for a pick up every 30 minutes all day long. We were there between 3 and 4 hours total. We had a different driver on the way back, who shared different information about Juneau than the first one did. All in all, I highly recommend The Blue Bus if you don't want to bother with calling for and waiting on taxis and ubers. After paying the entrance fee (which is included in the shuttle price) IMO the price difference is pretty negligible anyway.

Is it still $20 round trip for the shuttles that leave near the tram?

Also - there's a trail that starts to the right hand side of the visitor center and connects to the east glacier trail. That goes up into the rain forest and eventually comes up to near the top of the falls - I highly recommend that :)

Is it still $20 round trip for the shuttles that leave near the tram?

 

:)

I believe $ 45 r/t is the price now, based on previous quotes. But I believe that includes the $ 5.00 entrance fee.

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Is it still $20 round trip for the shuttles that leave near the tram?

 

 

Also - there's a trail that starts to the right hand side of the visitor center and connects to the east glacier trail. That goes up into the rain forest and eventually comes up to near the top of the falls - I highly recommend that :)

The Forest Service link I posted earlier in this thread provides contact info for the various means of transportation to Mendenhall. Here it is again .... it's a good resource.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=stelprdb5400800

Also information about the trails.

The Forest Service link I posted earlier in this thread provides contact info for the various means of transportation to Mendenhall. Here it is again .... it's a good resource.

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=stelprdb5400800

 

Also information about the trails.

Thanks! Can't believe the shuttle is up to $45 now. Guess I'll rent a car ;)