We loved the rafting trip around Mendenhall Lake and down the river. Our guide, Adam, was excellent: informative, knowledgeable, and always made us feel safe. Other staff members were equally as friendly and helpful. We were only disappointed that we could not see the face of the glacier.
It was really nice to get outside, but the tour itself was way less than we expected! Six of us got into the raft with the guide (a really nice kid!), and he proceeded to paddle us around the lake talking about the Glacier. Pretty boring!!! Never got any closer than about a mile from the Glacier itself.
Saw no wildlife except 1 Blue Heron (which we have tons of by our home in WA state), and were very disappointed. Then he slowly paddled us down the river with a couple small rapids.
The most interesting thing we saw were 3 Pugs (doggies) who routinely bark at the rafts as they drift past their house.
We were told we'd get a great "Alaskan Snack' at the end.. just some Salmon spread on a couple of crackers, and some cheese cubes with salami. Not even a paper plate or plastic knives to dish things up, and also no napkins. Good thing we had a big breakfast on the Ship.
Would I recommend this tour? Absolutely not. Wish we had not wasted the money and the time on it!
The trip was beautiful! Even at 7am. The guide was very informative but the excitement of "white rough waters was only about ten minutes long". The rest was peaceful floating but still very worth it. You get to see the glacier which was super neat!