How much is there time for at Mendenhall?

Just curious. We are doing 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier during the land portion. We are not doing Tracy Arm because we are doing whale watching instead. We are also missing Glacier Bay. How does 26 Glacier Cruise compare to Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm? Starting my 2nd cruise itinerary in the future.

I find nothing similar except they are glaciers. Every experience is very different, and a one time unique experience.

Philips does a nice job, with the 26 glacier tour, emphasis being on distance, and a lot of beautiful glacier looks, where the other vendor, travels less distance- going slower and having longer stops. Both very well run tour companies. Once you have gone on all the tours- you are likely to have a preference- but, I'll speculate- there would be no hesitation to repeat the same tour. :)

I do have a scenic glacier priority, and greatly enjoy, being able to take in all this spectacular scenery, over and over. Everyone is different.

See what you think, after your trip, you've chosen a great one. Have a great time. :)

Thank you, Budget Queen. I am amazed with your knowledge. Two weeks and counting! I am so excited. I can already tell I will want to back, so I can see things we are missing this time. Alaska seems like a beautiful state.

Thank you, Budget Queen. I am amazed with your knowledge. Two weeks and counting! I am so excited. I can already tell I will want to back, so I can see things we are missing this time. Alaska seems like a beautiful state.

Well- start planning. :) And make that the next 10 trips there!!!! Your "must do" activities will pop up like mushrooms, when planning Alaska. :)

Thank you, Budget Queen. I am amazed with your knowledge. Two weeks and counting! I am so excited. I can already tell I will want to back, so I can see things we are missing this time. Alaska seems like a beautiful state.

Me too. One week is definitely not enough time. It would be awesome to take a whale watching tour, a Tracy Arm excursion, bear and eagle tours . . . and have two hours at Mendenhall. And I told myself for years I will never go to Alaska in my life because it is just skiing, fishing, and dog sledding.

Only 15 days until takeoff. Vancouver Canada, here we come!

We are doing 14 days sea and land and I do not feel that is enough time. It is impossible to get everything the first time! I totally understand where you are coming from, Cruising. I also wish we had more time in Juneau. But it is what it is, and I plan to make the most of our time. You will enjoy your time as well. Does anyone know if the current water level at Nugget Falls is high or if you can walk up to it. The photo earlier in this thread concerns me.

We are doing 14 days sea and land and I do not feel that is enough time. It is impossible to get everything the first time! I totally understand where you are coming from, Cruising. I also wish we had more time in Juneau. But it is what it is, and I plan to make the most of our time. You will enjoy your time as well. Does anyone know if the current water level at Nugget Falls is high or if you can walk up to it. The photo earlier in this thread concerns me.

For some reason I thought we were booked on the same cruise.

The problem is Juneau is the late hours. Because supper is at 8:00 we really do not have more than 6 hours to visit all 3 attractions. I will pick a different cruise line the second time to have earlier hours in Juneau and really see Tracy Arm.

If the photos were taken in May, you could have been looking at snowmelt.

We are taking the same cruise. Departing Vancouver and getting off in Skagway for the land portion.

We are taking the same cruise. Departing Vancouver and getting off in Skagway for the land portion.

Have fun on land while I fly to Misty Fjords via floatplane.

I would love to see a bear on Photo Point Trail.

Bears are not on Photo Point trail, this is a dead end open, continuously loaded with people trail. IF a bear is there, this trail will be closed, since you would be blocking one exit for the bear, and too much risk to people.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=mendenhall+glacier+bears&tbm=isch

Yep... on my visit... the bear was grazing on the West side of the hill to Photo Point. The East side of the hill had the trail. Rangers held us back for 10 minutes. I showed him a picture of the bear in a huge leather collar. Once identified they realized he was a low threat bear and let us through.

How do they know which bears are not too threatening to humans?

When they receive bear reports, rangers will be deployed in the area to monitor the situation. If the bear is unknown, they will take extra precautions.

In my situation, I took a picture of the bear with a zoom lens from the visitor centre. When I met the officer at Photo Point, I showed him the picture. He recognized the bear (it was young and had a leather collar) and deemed it a low threat. As radio reports showed the bear headed away from Photo point on the west side (other side of the trail towards the visitor center). He then let small groups approach Photo Point to avoid a stampede if things got ugly.

We were just there last week. Steep creek trail can be skipped. Do nugget falls and the visitors center and maybe photo point trail if there is time. Have fun! This was a great day for us.

Sent from my phone so typing may be suspect

Nt...why skip steep creek. Were there no salmon, nor bear? Is it underconstruction? Glad it was a great day for you.

Part of the trail was closed off. We did not see salmon or any wildlife on that trail. The ranger told me that at least around the time I was there all people were seeing was porcupine and not often. I suggest talking to the Rangers who can tell you what you are likely to see and if the trail is closed off. With the amount of time you have, nuggets falls and the visitors center may not leave you much time for anything else.

Sent from my phone so typing may be suspect

Thank you for the heads up. It is much appreciated.

We are just now returning from Alaska, and at Mendenhall we walked Nugget Falls and Steep Creek trails and went to the visitor center. We were there a little over two hours. There were tons of salmon that we enjoyed watching on Steep Creek trail- I wouldn't want to miss that! We did see porcupine but no bears , sadly. The only glitch was that the last blue bus leaves at 6 o'clock , which we didn't expect. Our ship didn't arrive until after one and we were tendering, so we didn't get to Mendenhall until after 3. When we were ready to leave, the busses, being the last few of the day, were crowded, so after waiting in line a half hour we finally got on one but had to stand up all the way back.

We are just now returning from Alaska, and at Mendenhall we walked Nugget Falls and Steep Creek trails and went to the visitor center. We were there a little over two hours. There were tons of salmon that we enjoyed watching on Steep Creek trail. I wouldn't want to miss that! We did see porcupine but no bears, sadly.

I was planning on the Steep Creek Trail until Mom booked the HAL tour that will give us only 90 minutes at Mendenhall. We both want to see bears and that is a great trail for the purpose. I quickly ruled out Nugget Falls because it's too long and hard to finish in one hour. I need trails without lots of uneven ground or major elevation changes. That is why I chose SCT and Photo Point Trail (PPT) for one hour of hiking.

CruisingSince 2012, if you want to stay longer at Mendenhall, is there any way you can skip supper at 6 PM, and eat later on the ship, or grab a bite from somewhere in Juneau, so u can have more time for Mendenhall?

I'm taking my first cruise to Alaska and my first cruise overall, in early Sept. i plan to do a lot in Juneau including a helicopter tour of the glaciers and to see Mendenhall. To me, dining is the least of my worries since there is food in town, or later, on the ship. Sometimes, you just have to prioritize.

Have fun on your Alaskan cruise.

CruisingSince 2012, if you want to stay longer at Mendenhall, is there any way you can skip supper at 6 PM, and eat later on the ship, or grab a bite from somewhere in Juneau, so u can have more time for Mendenhall?

 

I'm taking my first cruise to Alaska and my first cruise overall, in early Sept. I plan to do a lot in Juneau including a helicopter tour of the glaciers and to see Mendenhall. To me, dining is the least of my worries since there is food in town, or later, on the ship. Sometimes, you just have to prioritize.

 

Have fun on your Alaskan cruise.

We want to eat supper in the MDR. Because the visitors center closes at 7:30, it would not make any sense to stay longer and take a taxi back to the ship. If we wanted to do that, Mom would have booked anytime dining.

I was planning on the Steep Creek Trail until Mom booked the HAL tour that will give us only 90 minutes at Mendenhall. We both want to see bears and that is a great trail for the purpose. I quickly ruled out Nugget Falls because it's too long and hard to finish in one hour. I need trails without lots of uneven ground or major elevation changes. That is why I chose SCT and Photo Point Trail (PPT) for one hour of hiking.

SCT and photo point trails will take between a half hour and 45 minutes, so no worries :)

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