Reviews: Wildlife Sanctuary, Mendelson Glacier Canoe, Glacier Point Safari, & More

[PDX2Cruiser]

My wife and I got back last Saturday from an Alaskan cruise on the NCL Star. I thought I'd share my experiences on the four excursions I did:

 

Wildlife Rainforest Sanctuary walk out of Ketchikan - you're bussed to on old saw mill. The river it's adjacent to was rich with salmon coming up stream to spawn. The stars of this tour is the potential to see black bears, bald eagles, and salmon. Our ship offered a 7:30am outing and a 10:00am outing. We opted for the 10am so we could sleep in. This was a big mistake because we wanted to see bears and eagles. They both prefer to hunt early in the morning and at the end of the day when it's coolest. The 7:30 group saw bears, our group saw no bears or eagles. Also, this tour has the Zip Line Tour running in the same location. So as you're walking through what is supposed to be a rainforest "SANCTUARY" you're forced to listen to the sound of zip liners zipping by overhead. It absolutely ruins the whole notion that is any kind of sanctuary at all. Overall we were disappointed but I'd recommended when optimal bear viewing conditions are present:

 

1. Salmon are coming up to spawn. If salmon aren't running you're guaranteed to see no bears.

2. It's overcast or raining. Bear don't like the heat.

3. It's early or late in the day. The early risers see the bears. Odds of seeing bears at mid-day are very low.

 

Mendelson Glacier Canoe out of Juneau - what an awesome trip! You canoe up to within a 1/4 mile of the glacier, the only way to get closer is to land on it by helicopter. A great combination of moderate exercise, stunning glacier views, and a true Alaskan experience. Another plus, they don't try to take advantage of you by having the tour end in a gift shop at the end like some excursions do (like the "Sanctuary" tour does above).

 

Glacier Point Safari out of Skagway - another awesome trip! First you take a high speed catamaran ride for about 40 minutes. Average speed is 45 - 50 mph! The ride is fast, thrilling, and very smooth all at once. You get great views and the tour guide is excellent. You then take a short bus ride to a staging location. Following that you hike 10 minutes to a river. You then canoe for about 10 minutes up to a lake (very, very easy). They then whip out the outboard motor and motor you over to a huge glacier. You get incredible views of the glacier and surrounding area. Overall, this was our most fun excursion. The catamaran ride by itself is worthy of a tour all it's own, so is the canoe ride, this tour offers both. It's a spendy tour but it was worth the money.

 

 

Great Canadian Rafting Adventure out of Prince Rupert - you take a bus ride up the Skeena river, then raft down stream for approximately 1 hour. I saw 7 bald eagles, numerous other birds, a couple of seals, fish jumping, and near the end we were rewarded with the sight of one black bear. Our tour left a 5pm and returned to the cruise ship at 9pm. This seems late but that was an advantage because it made the likelihood of a bear sighting far greater. Warning: mosquitoes can be a minor nuisance on this tour, but not overwhelming. This river is huge and the mountain and river views are tremendous even without regards to the animal life. There are no river rapids on this tour, the river is very mild. There is no real exercise involved in this tour. Well Recommended for the price.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[vancouverjessica]

How was the weather in Juneau? I want to do the canoe but am a bit concern about getting too cold and too wet.

[NancyIL]

Thanks for your excursion reviews. I have been thinking about doing either the Mendenhall Canoe excursion or the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari through HAL next year. The Glacier Point excursion is double the cost of the Mendenhall excursion. Did you feel you got twice as much enjoyment doing the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari?

[fishnfool]

We did the Rainforest Sanctuary trip on 8/20 at 7:00 am. Saw bears, eagles, spawning salmon. Guide was Leif and he was excellent. We saw no zipliners.

[ute_fan]

I'd looked at the Glacier Point Safari, but was scared off by a couple of things. First -- how strenuous is the hike and the canoeing? Second -- did you feel perfectly safe in the canoes, and how many people do they hold? My DH doesn't swim at all, and I can't decide if that is something that we'd be comfortable attempting.

[PDX2Cruiser]

How was the weather in Juneau? I want to do the canoe but am a bit concern about getting too cold and too wet.

 

 

The weather varies wildly from day to day and depends on when you go. I relied on the various weather websites and found them reliable. I got a blue day in Juneau, and mostly sunny day in Ketchikan, overcast and eventually rain in Skagway, and overcast and eventually rain in Prince Rupert.

 

 

I brought the full spectrum of clothing from t-shirts & shorts to my winter ski parka. I used my winter parka 3 times: on the cruise ship deck as we were going through Tracey Arm, Glacier Point excursion, and Great Canadian Rafting. I was glad I took them all 3 times.

 

In general the canoe will get up as close as a 1/4 mile from the glacier (at that distance it's overwhelming). The temperature can vary by 5 to 10 degrees depending on if you're in sun or shade, overcast or rain. The tour provides high quality rubber rain jackets, rain pants, and think pullover sweat shirts so even if you don't have your own heavy jacket I wouldn't hesitate to do this tour.

[PDX2Cruiser]

Thanks for your excursion reviews. I have been thinking about doing either the Mendenhall Canoe excursion or the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari through HAL next year. The Glacier Point excursion is double the cost of the Mendenhall excursion. Did you feel you got twice as much enjoyment doing the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari?

 

It's difficult to quantify that way. To compare:

 

Glacier Point Safari Advantages: the radically cool catamaran ride (they claim it's the fastest catamaran in North America); very little rowing compared to Mendenhall; they travel farther with excellent guides and provide superb commentary on alot of scenery; they take you much farther from civilization.

 

Mendenhall Canoe Advantages: cost, the Mendenhall lake does not allow outboard motors so it's absolutely peaceful and quiet, if you go when the Seagulls are hatching (they nest here) you'll likely see Bald Eagles (think predator), if you want to feel like you did a good enough workout to eat dinner guilt free this is your tour.

 

If I had to pick one knowing what I know now I'd have done Glacier Point. It rained on that tour and I still loved it. It was a blue day on the Mendenhall tour so my view of it already has a built in positive bias. They're both busy tours.

[PDX2Cruiser]

We did the Rainforest Sanctuary trip on 8/20 at 7:00 am. Saw bears, eagles, spawning salmon. Guide was Leif and he was excellent. We saw no zipliners.

 

 

If I had done the 7:30 tour I'd have missed the zipliners too. I forgot my guides name but she too was excellent. She claims that she sees bears there virtually every day (most often early before the 1st tour of the day).

[PDX2Cruiser]

I'd looked at the Glacier Point Safari, but was scared off by a couple of things. First -- how strenuous is the hike and the canoeing? Second -- did you feel perfectly safe in the canoes, and how many people do they hold? My DH doesn't swim at all, and I can't decide if that is something that we'd be comfortable attempting.

 

The hike is about 10 minutes long, you'll expend far more energy walking through the shopping mall (it might cost you more too by the way).

 

You canoe up stream (very slight) for about 10 minutes. They have 6 canoes, each holds around a dozen passengers. You are not required to row. Everyone is required to wear a life jacket of course. They provide high quality heavy rubber rain gear (if needed). My impression is that it would take an incredible act of stupidity for someone to fall in the water. These canoes are very stable. Even if you did, most of the time you're in very shallow water that you could stand up in.

 

By the way, it's glacier water so the water temperature is around 34 degrees. Even on a hot day you won't want to jump in.

[NancyIL]

It's difficult to quantify that way. To compare:

 

Glacier Point Safari Advantages: the radically cool catamaran ride (they claim it's the fastest catamaran in North America); very little rowing compared to Mendenhall; they travel farther with excellent guides and provide superb commentary on alot of scenery; they take you much farther from civilization.

 

Mendenhall Canoe Advantages: cost, the Mendenhall lake does not allow outboard motors so it's absolutely peaceful and quiet, if you go when the Seagulls are hatching (they nest here) you'll likely see Bald Eagles (think predator), if you want to feel like you did a good enough workout to eat dinner guilt free this is your tour.

 

If I had to pick one knowing what I know now I'd have done Glacier Point. It rained on that tour and I still loved it. It was a blue day on the Mendenhall tour so my view of it already has a built in positive bias. They're both busy tours.

 

Thanks for making the comparison. :) How far from Mendenhall Glacier does that canoe trip start? Did your group also get out by the falls?

[PDX2Cruiser]

Thanks for making the comparison. :) How far from Mendenhall Glacier does that canoe trip start? Did your group also get out by the falls?

 

You start on the far side of the lake and traverse across the lake to the falls. They land on the beach adjacent to the falls and you can walk around. You can walk right up to the falls.

[NancyIL]

You start on the far side of the lake and traverse across the lake to the falls. They land on the beach adjacent to the falls and you can walk around. You can walk right up to the falls.

 

I could see people in the distance that were close to the falls (little dots in my photos), but we opted not to hike there. You may have just sold me on the Mendenhall canoe excursion - thanks!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sounds like you had a great time!!

[nobbync]

Great Canadian Rafting Adventure out of Prince Rupert - you take a bus ride up the Skeena river, then raft down stream for approximately 1 hour. I saw 7 bald eagles, numerous other birds, a couple of seals, fish jumping, and near the end we were rewarded with the sight of one black bear. Our tour left a 5pm and returned to the cruise ship at 9pm. This seems late but that was an advantage because it made the likelihood of a bear sighting far greater. Warning: mosquitoes can be a minor nuisance on this tour, but not overwhelming. This river is huge and the mountain and river views are tremendous even without regards to the animal life. There are no river rapids on this tour, the river is very mild. There is no real exercise involved in this tour. Well Recommended for the price.

 

Hi, thanks for the reviews. I am planning a trip next year with my dad where we drive to Prince Rupert and take the ferry to Ketchikan where we will stay a few days. We plan to stay in Prince Rupert for a few days as well and saw this tour. How rough is the river rafting? How wet do you get if at all?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Nobby

[fti]

You start on the far side of the lake and traverse across the lake to the falls. They land on the beach adjacent to the falls and you can walk around. You can walk right up to the falls.

 

I think I saw the place where they start on Mendenhall lake - very close to the West Glacier Trail parking lot. There were some bicyclists there last month when I was there. It sounds like an excursion I would like to do next summer but I am waiting to hear from them if they take non-cruise participants.

[PDX2Cruiser]

Hi, thanks for the reviews. I am planning a trip next year with my dad where we drive to Prince Rupert and take the ferry to Ketchikan where we will stay a few days. We plan to stay in Prince Rupert for a few days as well and saw this tour. How rough is the river rafting? How wet do you get if at all?

 

The rafting is all level 1, smooth, easy, no splashing. There are no rapids at all.

 

The only way you'll get wet is if you jump into the water or if it rains.

[nobbync]

The rafting is all level 1, smooth, easy, no splashing. There are no rapids at all.

 

The only way you'll get wet is if you jump into the water or if it rains.

 

Thanks... That's what I wanted to hear. My dad has some back trouble and I have a heck of a lot of camera gear that I don't want wet that's for sure.

 

Nobby