Mendenhall glacier

[NKcruise13]

Going to be in Alaska for the 2nd week of July, anyone been to mendenhall glacier? That is one of my excursions. If so what should I wear? Should I wear rain pants over my jeans with a lite rain jacket? What type of weather should I expect? Any help would be much appreciated!!

 

Thanks, Gary

[awestover89]

I've been twice, it's always a good idea to have some sort of light jacket, glaciers tend to have stronger winds than the surrounding area and it can get a little cold. Light rain is also possible, but weather changes a lot, no way to really tell if it will be rainy or not when you go in July. I personally went in jeans and brought a light rain jacket with, just in case.

 

There are 4 main trails, East Glacier, West Glacier, Trail of Time, and Nugget Falls. Trail of Time and Nugget falls are both excellent and easy trails, the East and West glacier trails are a bit longer.

[sbbquilter]

We did a helicopter trip to the glacier - highlight of the wonderful trip. The company

provided all gear including pants and jackets as well as correct boots. They were aware DS has Type 1 diabetes and even verified he had snacks for that time.

[Langley Cruisers]

Here is the link to the Alaska forum (a moderator may move this anyway). This has been discussed often and you can read the threads and get some ideas.

 

Have fun. :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55 <--Alaska forum click here

 

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[klfrodo]

Could be 50 and raining.

Could be 80 and sun shining

[molsonschooner]

when we were there a couple years ago it very hot and dry. Even near the glacier there was no need for anything other than shorts and a t-shirt. Actually, we had incredible weather the whole trip. I understand that we were very lucky. You never know about weather, prepare for anything

[Cissiesue]

When i went in '08, i wore jeans, a light sweater and a rain jacket and tennis shoes. The key is layers. Think fall weather

[Budget Queen]

There are several more trails than what is listed.

 

Dress based on weather that day. IF the sun is shining downtown Juneau with clear skies, you don't need to haul rain gear. A light jacket- especially one that crimps up- small is ideal. I generally always have that kind of jacket on there, including already this year. I never need hiking boots, my one pair of walking shoes do just fine, including on the East Loop which few people do. Trail of Time is a simple walk, so is Photo Point, and Steep Creek. See if they still have guide sheets in the visitor center.

[Paulinda]

NK - we just got back on Sunday from Alaska. We did the Mendenhall glacier tour on Tuesday June 7th. It was in the middle 50s and possibly even 60s. We wore fleece jackets and rain shells over those. It did drizzle for a couple of minutes however nothing significant.

 

I would skip the rain pants unless the forecast you get in Juneau indicates otherwise. The glacier is really not as exotic as you are probably imagining however it was a favorite excursion for us.

 

There are several paths you can take at the park. Be sure to do the Nugget Falls path. It's about a 20 minute walk that leads to a fantastic waterfall. The glacier can be seen from this vantage. There is a visitor center too that is very interesting.

 

There was another 'nature' path that is part raised walkway over the trout stream. One gentleman in our group walked this one and when he came back on the bus he told us he saw a black bear just in from. He showed us pictures he took. The park rangers were a bit surprised as the bears usually show up when the trout do.

 

Hope you have as good a time as we did!

[Mindershire]

It poured the day we visited last year so we were in full rain gear. You could do without the rain pants if you have something moisture wicking/quick dry or a poncho. Here is a blog post I wrote about the best gear we used for our Alaska trip http://72hourstogo.blogspot.com/2016/01/best-gear-alaska.html

 

You can read about our day in Juneau and our self guided tour of Mendenhall Glacier via the Visitor Center on my blog here http://72hourstogo.blogspot.com/2015/08/day-15-juneau-alaska.html