Biking to Mendenhall Glacier?

[sdwrdt2]

Wondering on the feasibility of biking there. What are the roads like? I can't tell if there are bike paths or just on the side of the road the entire trip.

 

Asking because I don't know if I just want to spend 2 hours there, which the Blue Bus allows - and it's the longest time allowed from all the tours I found. The only car rental I could find is $280 for anywhere from 4 hours to the entire time we're in Juneau.

[wolfie11]

It’s a four lane highway out to the valley with no bike lane.  You would have to find back roads to take you there.

[iatag]

We also wanted to do Mendenhall on our own schedule during our trip to Alaska in mid-July.  We ended up taking Capital Transit (public bus) roundtrip for around $2 each way.  The busses run every half hour (if I recall) and were not crowded.  We took the Mendenhall Express route and it was a fairly quick ride. The bus driver at the downtown terminal was very friendly and made sure we got on the right bus and got off at the stop closest to the park  The walk to the glacier is nice, and there is a very nice view of the glacier overlooking a marsh right outside of the park entrance (a very nice picture stop).  We did end up spending more than two hours at the park and were very happy with our time in port. 

[dctravel]

There is a company that does bicycle tours to Mendenhall called Cycle Alaska. We didn't end up doing that (did a cruise tour to the glacier and then the salmon bake), but I heard a review on the cruise radio podcast. It sounds like those folks had a good time on the tour. Not sure if they rent bikes without a tour, or not.

[sdwrdt2]

Thanks for your answers. I ended up booking a canoe tour where we will also be able to walk on Mendenhall.

[Glaciers]

4 hours ago, sdwrdt2 said:

Thanks for your answers. I ended up booking a canoe tour where we will also be able to walk on Mendenhall.

Look closely at the description of the tour. I’ve not heard of any recent tours that canoe and then set foot on the glacier, only to the edge of it. If you have found one that does, please post a link.

[sdwrdt2]

10 hours ago, Glaciers said:

Look closely at the description of the tour. I’ve not heard of any recent tours that canoe and then set foot on the glacier, only to the edge of it. If you have found one that does, please post a link.

Thank you for pointing that out. But it still gets me closer than anything else I'd seen.

 

[Cruzaholic41]

On 8/15/2024 at 2:02 PM, sdwrdt2 said:

Thanks for your answers. I ended up booking a canoe tour where we will also be able to walk on Mendenhall.

Good choice. Have fun. Biking to Mendenhall from downtown is not feasible. It’s possible, sure, but highly not recommended. 

[diesel1973]

If you were planning to bike this year I think a canoe would be more appropriate. Have had some bad flooding in that area. Have been up here for 5 weeks and it has been a little cooler and rainier than usual. Drove up to the Arctic Circle last weekend and went thru a lot of rain.

[FreestyleNovice]

On 8/12/2024 at 8:02 PM, wolfie11 said:

It’s a four lane highway out to the valley with no bike lane.  You would have to find back roads to take you there.

 

Are you allowed to ride a bicycle on the paved sidewalk in AK?

 

I remember seeing much of the route from downtown to the visitor center having decent sidewalks and spotted a kind of bicycle rent shack halfway along the route from the bus so I wondered, being a Dutchie.. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

If you're looking for a bike ride, the ship may offer Bike and Brew, a tour where you ride a bike from a point outside of town to the parking lot at Mendenhal and then have a walk around there. We did it maybe 15 years ago, and it was very safe, only one big hill to climb, "sag wagon" following us all the way. When we got to Mendenhal, I was surprised at how far we'd gone and how easy it was. After seeing Mendenhal, the van took us back to town for a beer tasting. Two of DH's favorite things--bike ride and beer!

[jlawrence01]

Last week, we got off our HAL ship in Juneau, walked 4 blocks to the Juneau Transit Center and boarded the #8 Express Bus to the point on Mendenhall glacier Road closest to the glacier.  At that intersection, there were 20 bikes available for rent.  Or you could walk the 1.5 miles to the glacier.

 

That road is quite flat and would be an easy walk to anyone in decent condition.

 

The cost of bus fare is $2 per ride and the Juneau Transit drivers are fantastic and helpful and will guide you as where to stand to catch the return bus.

 

The ride is about 35 minutes and is very scenic.  We saw several bald eagles along the way 

 

We saw both the Glacier Gardens and the Mendenhall glacier in one day at the cost of $74, far less than a ship excursion.

[donaldsc]

Google is your friend.  Type "biking to mendenhall glacier" into Google.

 

DON