Mendelhall rafting trip AND hiking?

[neminem]

I've had it on my bucket list to visit Alaska for ages, and I'm finally going to be checking that off, next spring - just snagged a particularly juicy deal on a Celebrity cruise for the last week of May. I'm researching excursions now, and one that jumps up at me as being particularly fun is the Mendelhall rafting trip. One issue: I also see that the Mendelhall glacier area itself has a huge number of very cool-looking hiking trails, and it seems entirely silly to take a half hour ride from the cruise terminal just to raft back down immediately, and miss everything else there is to see there, when we'll be in Juneau for 12 hours! So I was wondering if anyone knew of any tour companies that either provided morning transportation before an afternoon rafting trip, or that did just the rafting portion by itself and let you make your own travel arrangements? I couldn't find any in a quick search, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't exist, so I figured I'd ask if anyone had heard of anything like that? Thanks!

[mapleleaves]

Where is the put-in location for the raft trip ?   

 

And are you talking about these trails near the Visitor Center ?https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd604841.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[neminem]

Yes, those are the trails I'm referring to, for sure - I got there via Thrillist, but I just checked, and yes, those trail names all line up with the official brochure you linked.    No idea where they put in for the rafting, though, since all the tours I could find (including the official ship one - presumably all basically the same under the hood) just say something along the lines of including "transport to Mendenhall Glacier", no more specific than that.

 

Might be a moot point, though, since if you add up all the hiking, that's several hours of hiking, so I might not even have time anyway, if I wanted to do all the trails. 😄

Edited December 5, 2019 by neminem

[mapleleaves]

Call a few vendors to find out where the put-in point is.  It's probably shared.

Hopefully it's close enough to the Visitor Center that they will drop you off there.  From the Visitor Center you can take one of the shuttles or call a cab when you're ready to return to the ship.  If by cab, have their numbers in your cell phone and call about 30-40 minutes before you're ready to go. The cabs are sitting there and may have to come from downtown.  You may find other people who will share the cost with you, so don't be shy about shouting "anyone wanna share a cab? "  Either way will probably cost you about $45.  Transportation companies listed in this link: 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/tongass/about-forest/offices/?cid=fseprd495443

 

The trails are pretty easy and will only take 2-3 hrs, unless you plan on doing the East Glacier trail which is marked as challenging.

You're going early in the season so check ahead of time for conditions .... ie snow or thick slush in case you need boots for the walk.

[Glaciers]

If you’re into hiking the East Glacier Trail is superior to anything on the west side of the glacier.  Another consideration for the Mendenhall float is that it’s pretty mild. Not something if you’re looking for a lot of white water.  You’ll float past a lot of back yards of the homes along the way down the river.

 

Personally, I couldn’t imagine going to Juneau and not doing a whale watch tour. It’s one of the best spots in the state for humpback sightings.

[neminem]

Thanks for the responses, both of you! I figured I'd take the shuttle, seemed easier, since it comes every half hour, and I don't have to figure out how to call a cab - and I definitely wouldn't want to pay the full cost of the rafting trip including transportation and then not use the provided transportation, I was hoping there was someone who'd just do the rafting trip without all the transportation. That said, I definitely was planning on doing the east glacier trail, since that seemed like by far the best view. And I wasn't necessarily expecting a lot of white water (I can get plenty of that in California), but I was expecting a better, or at least substantially different, viewpoint from the water. If it'd end up being just a lot of suburbia anyway, then that sounds even more like I could save the money, skip it, and just have more of a leisurely time walking.

 

Glaciers: significantly better than Icy Strait? I'll also be in Icy Strait, I heard that was some of the best whale watching, and also didn't seem to be that much else to do there that would be particularly convenient... though I'm looking now, and it looks like we could get a whale watching tour plus shuttle to/from Mendelhall in Juneau for about the same price as just the whale watching in Icy Strait, so that's pretty tempting. (But then the question is, what should we do at Icy Strait?)

Edited December 5, 2019 by neminem

[Glaciers]

Whale watches are good in ISP as well although I'd give the edge to Juneau. Yes, given all of the things to do in Juneau, it may be a better choice to do that in ISP although I'd being doing the whale watch tour in both places.