Mendenhall Glacier kayaking?

[sstepson]

Anyone out there ever done a kayaking excursion on Mendenhall lake? If so, what did you think of it?

 

Would you recommend a guided or on-your-own trip? Also, how close to the actual glacier can you get on one of these excursions?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated!

[Budget Queen]

Anyone out there ever done a kayaking excursion on Mendenhall lake? If so, what did you think of it?

 

Would you recommend a guided or on-your-own trip? Also, how close to the actual glacier can you get on one of these excursions?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

I last did this in 2012. It is simple and easy. You do not get anywhere near the glacier. You will be told the limits when you rent. There is absolutely no need for any guide, unless, it's a cheap add on. A car is necessary to access, in my opinion.

[Dbld777]

Check out Above & Beyond Alaska www.beyondak.com. We did a guided kayak tour with them at Mendenhall Lake and really loved it. They get excellent reviews year after year for their variety of guided excursions as well as rentals. A word of caution though, water temp at Mendenhall Lake is typically near 36 F and you need to be experenced kayakers if going it on your own. Hypothermia sets in very quickly at those temps. That's why I was glad to have a couple of A&BA guides with me and my family to help keep us safe! They are locals who know the natural assets of Juneau well. The owner, Becky, even went out of her way to return a cell phone to us at the cruise ship docks, that we had left in one of the life jacket pockets!

[jmorgania]

I second above and beyond alaska. We did a self guided kayak of Mendenhal through them while in Juneau. It is to this day the best excursion we have taken. They provided a safe and reliable kayak, instructions, laminated map, snacks, etc. You can get as close as you want to the glacier and ice bergs. They obviously provide you with safety guidelines on how close to get to any of them, but on the self guided tour we were the only people on the entire lake that day and could have kayaked up and touched it if we wanted to risk it calving on our heads. It is a lot of fun and the kayak was very stable.

[sstepson]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I think we're going to look at the self-guided tour through Above and Beyond.

 

I wouldn't say we're "experienced" kayakers, but we have done some paddling before. This sounds right up our alley...!

[Assateague Island Princes]

We did the self-guided kayaking thru Above and Beyond and enjoyed it very much. My niece and I were in a tandem kayak while her boyfriend went solo. Be sure to avoid getting too close to the little peninsula in the middle of the lake if the birds are nesting. We were warned and stayed away, but others that were paddling at the same time as we were didn't heed the warning, and they were being dive bombed by the birds - we could hear them shrieking and laughing as they paddled quickly to get away:p.

 

Being close to the water in the kayak, and paddling amidst the amazingly blue bergie bits, large and small, was just gorgeous. We had a strong wind the day we were there, paddling back to the beach afterwards took quite a bit longer than paddling over to the glacier because the wind was in our face. Be sure to come well prepared with head covering and gloves, and lots of layers. They provide rain gear and you WILL feel like the Michelin man once you're all suited up, but it IS a lot of fun! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.