Mendenhall Lake Canoe Adventure
Description
Paddle across Mendenhall Lake, navigating past icebergs, surrounded by Alaskan wildlife on an exceptionally stable, 28-foot, traditional Tlingit-style canoe, with all modern safety gear supplied. Venture within a safe distance of the awe-inspiring face of the Mendenhall Glacier and the beautiful Nugget Falls where you will hit the beach and refuel for the return paddle with an Alaskan-style snack. Due to the close approach to the glacier face, the Forest Service tightly controls the number of participants. Be one of the lucky few to experience this one-of-a-kind adventure!
Tour Options
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Children 12 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
- Children 13 to 17 must have a signed parental consent form to participate without a parent or guardian
- Minimum weight: 40lbs
- Maximum weight: approx 350lbs.
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Reviews(205)
Canoe trip gave great views of the glacier and the stop by the waterfall was a great spot to stretch out and take some amazing pictures. We traveled with our 10 year old daughter and she had fun as well. I wasn't all too strenuous and if you have a kid who doesn't necessarily want to paddle, the canoe is large enough to allow them to sit between the two adults who can do the "work"!
We had perfect weather, which allowed amazing views of the glacier and falls. Totally worth it for the perspective that you can't get any other way. The guides were amazing! Snacks provided on the stop at Nugget Falls. Rain boots provided. It was a workout! It was very windy the day we went, so what normally feels like a 5 mile trip was more like paddling 10 miles. The whole team works together, and has fun. It was a great time - MUST DO!
This “ adventure” was a major disappointment. First, we arrived at the meeting spot on time but the bus to take us to the lake was 1/2 hr. late which meant we waited for 45 mins, not 15. Once there, The guide had a good sense of humor and tried to be fun and that was the only positive. He must have mismanaged our time on the water, though, because we were supposed to reach the beach next to the waterfall for a picnic but he said we ran out of time to do that. So we only saw the waterfall from a distance. There are new regulations limiting how near you can come to the glacier so we could only see it from a distance, as well…… about 1/4 mile away. We could have taken a free, easy, short hike from the visitor center to the waterfall. If we had, we could have seen the glacier just as well and also experienced being right at the falls. This canoe trip was not worth the cost, nor even the time and not that much fun.
What an unbelievable way to experience the Mendenhall Glacier. The journey made the whole thing far more worth it than getting helicoptered out or getting bussed most of the way. I would recommend to anyone who loves the outdoors!
Be ready to padel, but it is so worth it! Waterfall and glacier are amazing. Great guides and an experience we’ll never forget.
Thank you for your review! We're really glad you enjoyed your time on the lake and we hope to have you back!
Being so close to the glacier you could feel the cold and can't imagine the true size of Mendenhall or Nugget Falls.
Thank you for your review! We're happy to hear you enjoyed the tour and we hope the rest of your time in Alaska was great as well!
BLUF: Want to get up close like the Adventure tour advertises when you click? Then EVERYONE has to put in the work to get as close as possible, it's a team effort - unfortunately on our amazing trip this didn't happen - the guides run a tight schedule we still got fairly close, could feel the cool air. They provide rubber boots which means you can climb all over the waterfall when you stop for pics - the light snack -(I got 2 small pieces of celery and carrot, it was all gone by the time we were done taking photos). Guide was great - highly recommend just be willing to work and be willing to step up when others can't or won't row.
You won't regret it! Paddling out the glacier is cold, dress warm. Once you see it it's amazing and you will be amazed!
Thank you for the review, we really appreciate it! We're so glad you enjoyed being out on the lake and we hope to have you back some time!
This was a great tour. We had a small group of us, only 6 on the canoe and Gabe the guide. We got a workout, but we wanted that. We got to see so much, even though we couldn't get to Nugget Falls due to the rain and lake levels. We were able to see a little bit of the glacial lake outbreak coming under the glacier. It was cold and wet, but we didn't mind. I highly recommend this tour if you are adventurous and want to get some exercise!
Thank you for the review! We're so glad you had a great time even with the poor weather! Hope the rest of your time in Alaska was great and we hope to see you again!
I can’t imagine any other way you can get up close and personal with the glacier. We had a gorgeous day on the lake. And the stop at beach by the waterfall was just spectacular. My only complaint is that the guide talked the entire time without taking a breath and he was very loud.it would have been much nicer to enjoy at least part of the trip in quiet. All that constant talking takes away from the beauty.
