Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and Trails 2026

Booking choice: The Mendenhall Glacier Express, from $83 per person. Check dates Compare the options below

Most of what people come to Mendenhall for sits outside the visitor center building. The viewpoints, the boardwalks and the lakeshore trails are open to everyone, and only the building asks for a fee.

Here is what the Forest Service visitor center page says for 2026, which trails to walk, and what to check before you go.

The quick answer

The grounds are open 6 am to midnight. The visitor center asks $5 per person in 2026 (children 15 and under at no charge) and is open 9 am to 6 pm daily from May to September. The Nugget Falls trail is about 2 miles round trip on the Forest Service map.

Mendenhall Glacier and the lake seen through evergreens under a blue sky — The glacier and lake seen from the trees near the visitor center.

Do you need to pay to visit Mendenhall Glacier?

No, not for the grounds, the viewpoints or the lakeshore trails. Only the visitor center building has a day-use fee.

The Forest Service says the grounds around the visitor center are open from 6 am to midnight all year. The building fee is $5 per person in 2026, with children 15 and under at no charge, and America the Beautiful and similar federal passes are accepted. A pass is required to enter the building from 1 May to 30 September.

The address is 6000 Glacier Spur Rd, Juneau, and the phone is 907-789-0097.

A waterfall pouring down rock beside a wooden viewing platform, with a glacier above it — A viewing platform below a glacier and waterfall.

What are the visitor center hours and fee in 2026?

Summer 2026 hours are 9 am to 6 pm, seven days a week, from May to September.

Staffing was cut in February 2025, and 2026 reporting says the center is back and staffed daily. The Forest Service proposed raising the fee to $15 with a $20 season pass after a public comment period from 22 May to 20 July 2026, per the Juneau Empire. No effective date was stated.

A Forest Service notice says the center is under construction and closed for winter 2026-27. That came from a single source, so check the Forest Service visitor center page before planning a visit outside summer.

Want a guide to the ice instead of a building? A canoe on the lake gets closer than any viewpoint.

Check dates for the glacier lake canoe tour

How long is the Nugget Falls trail?

The Forest Service trail page lists 0.8 miles, and its map gives about 2 miles round trip from the visitor center.

The Forest Service trail page says the trail starts halfway down the Photo Point Trail and leads to the waterfall beside the lake. Sources differ because some count one way and some the round trip, so allow for the 2-mile figure.

One guest on the Express bus wrote: "If you have hip or knee issues, be warned it does have a level of difficulty because of the uphill climb." Take that seriously if your knees complain.

A waterfall spilling over rock into a glacial lake — A waterfall into the lake, the destination of the lakeshore trail.

Which trails are easy, and is any of it accessible?

Photo Point and Steep Creek are the easy ones. Both are paved or boardwalk, according to the Forest Service map.

The 2015 Forest Service map lists Photo Point at about a third of a mile round trip, easy and paved, and Steep Creek as a quarter-mile paved loop with a raised boardwalk. Capital Transit describes the path from the Dredge Lake Road bus stop to the visitor center as flat, paved and wheelchair accessible. There are no restrooms on that walk.

For small children, the first two trails are the safe bet.

A waterfall coming down a rock face above green water — Falls above the lake, a short walk from the paved trails.

What is the West Glacier Trail like?

A much longer, harder walk on the other side of the lake, and you do not reach it from the visitor center.

Sources disagree on length. Travel Juneau lists about 7 miles round trip and calls it strenuous, while others give shorter figures. You reach the trailhead from Mendenhall Loop Road. The maintained trail ends at a rocky outcrop with a view of the glacier, and the Forest Service warns against going off trail because of rocks and crevices.

Mendenhall Lake and the glacier in the distance behind green trees — A distant view across the lake, the reward at the end of a long walk.

Prefer the ice on your terms, with gear and a guide? Start with the Ice Adventure.

Check dates for the Ice Adventure

Can you see bears at the visitor center?

Yes, black bears live around the area and feed on the salmon in Steep Creek in summer.

The best place to watch is from the elevated platforms and the visitor center grounds. In recent years the Forest Service closed the non-elevated part of the Steep Creek Trail in mid-July to keep bears and people apart, and the date changes by year, so check before you go.

Keep your distance, never feed wildlife, and move away if a bear approaches.

When do trails close for floods, and what about rain?

A glacial outburst flood in August 2025 closed the Nugget Falls trail, the campground and the West Glacier Trail for days.

The flood is an annual summer event tied to Suicide Basin. Check the Forest Service page for current closures before you set out. Juneau is a rainforest, and rain is normal. One guest on the whale watching and glacier tour wrote that the glacier was "covered in fog/mist but the hike to Nugget Falls was well worth it."

Wear waterproof layers and shoes with grip. A fogged-out glacier does not cancel the waterfall.

What does a tour add that you cannot do yourself?

A ride, a guide, a boat or a canoe, and gear. Not a better view from the viewpoint.

The Express bus at $83 gets you to the same trails with park entry in the price and no guide on the ground. The whale watching and glacier tour adds a whale cruise. The Ice Adventure paddles you across Mendenhall Lake and hikes you near the ice. No tour enters the ice caves, which the Forest Service warns are unstable.

Costs by type are in the tour prices guide.