Mendenhall & Nugget Falls - Trail?

[M&KKruisin']

For those of you who have hiked to Nugget Falls and the face of the glacier - how do you get there? Is there a trail that takes you to the falls area?

[Cruizer_J]

We just walked down from the visitor center and followed the lake shore on a well-worn path that goes directly out to the falls. I don't think that this is an "official" trail, but many people use it.

[dustyroad]

ganders

 

 

was it a very strenuous walk. i would love to do this but i dont know if the lady going with me will be able to do the hiking part of it if it very steep or slippery. any info appriciated. and we are going on the ' blue bus ' so we can be there as long as we want.

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Ganders - I heard that the actual East Loop takes about three hours which is more time than I wanted to spend hiking.

 

How long did your 'short cut' the falls take?

 

TJ

[Budget Queen]

It you take the Nugget falls trail, it is off the 3 1/2 mile East Loop trail - so extended time is needed- at least 3 hours. It also is a climb with switchbacks and extensive stairs. There is NO contact with the glacier. The unofficial "trail" just follows the east side of the lake- stay to the right side along the lake, going past the visitor center. It "ends" at the water falls. Can be very muddy if it's been raining.

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

thanks for the info, Budget Queen. I doubt I'll do the 3-hour hike.

 

I'm just wondering at this point how long it takes to do that "unofficial" hike to the falls along the lakeshore.

 

Thanks,

TJ

[Cruizer_J]

I believe that we spent about 2 hours on our hike including walking out, stopping and taking pictures of the glacier along the way, hanging out at the falls for a while and taking pictures, etc. You might want to allow 2 to 3 hours for a leisurely visit, especially if you want to spend a little time in the visitor center. The visitor center map shows the distance out to the falls to be about 2 miles, although it didn't seem that far to me, maybe because I was enjoying myself. :) As far as difficulty, most of the shore and path are fairly flat; the only areas that I would note would be: the walk-down from the "official" path near the visitor center to the shore area is a little steep, but short and doable with caution; there are a few spots at which you might have to take a big step over a water puddle if you want to stay dry, but this might depend somewhat on the lake level and the weather; and there is a small rocky area that is maybe 150 to 200 yards from the falls that requires a little climbing and caution, just a little more difficult than climbing stairs. As BQ says, you can get into some dusty or muddy areas depending on the weather, so I would definitely recommend shoes that you don't mind getting dirty.

 

We have done this twice, took the blue bus out (about 20 min. each way), walked to the falls and stopped in at the visitor center. I really enjoyed it and, personally, would have a hard time going to Juneau and not going out to the glacier. It's such an inexpensive and easy excursion to do that I will plan on doing it again if we ever go back. :)

[M&KKruisin']

Thanks for the feedback - this is exactly the info I was looking for. The last time we went, we did the East Loop Trail and it did take several hours and it was definitely a climb in spots. We did get some great photos of the glacier from above. The hike out to the Falls is exactly what we want to do the second time around. Thanks again!