I booked this tour with a few friends who were visiting Juneau with me. We were not part of a cruise ship, but instead flew into Juneau and stayed at a local hotel.
We decided to do the Mendenhall Kayak Glacier Tour instead of visiting the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. I knew this would give us a more private perspective of the glacier, Nugget Falls, and Mendenhall Lake while doing something adventurous.
The tour is a bit pricey, but that is to be expected with these types of shore excursions.
We followed the instructions in our voucher that was sent to our email. We met the guide outside the Mount Roberts Tramway as requested. The guide was there on-time and ready to greet tour-goers. The guide funneled us into the appropriate group to await our transportation to the lake. The transportation was a passenger van. Nothing luxurious, but it got the job done. Our group (9 adults) loaded up into the van and our driver gave us a few facts about Juneau as we worked our way towards the lake. The lake was about a 20 minute drive.
Once at the lake’s parking area, we were greeted by the Alaska Travel Adventures tour representatives. The reps were nice, friendly, and knew what they were doing. The reps (I think Chris and Megan?) gave us a brief welcome and what to expect before ushering us to a nearby parking lot restroom. After everyone had a chance to use the restrooms, we gathered at the tour company’s truck to fitted in the appropriate gear. The gear included rain-pants, waterproof boots, and a life-jacket. We stowed our personal items in a bin that was placed inside the truck for safe keeping. This was our chance to leave behind wallets, excess jackets, shoes, etc. I brought a waterproof case (buy it in advance on Amazon) for my iPhone, so I took that with me to the kayaks to grab photos.
After we got into our gear, we were taken to the shoreline where the kayaks were waiting. A representative gave us a safety briefing and quick training tutorial. After everyone was prepped, we boarded our kayaks. My friend and I kayaked together. If you are solo, it seemed that one of the guides would offer to kayak with you in a tandem kayak.
We got out on the water and began paddling with the guides keeping us on track while pointing out some of the areas features. We got out around a peninsula and were treated to great views of the glacier. The wind was getting a bit strong near the glacier area, so our guides rerouted our group over to get a closer view of Nugget Falls. Eventually, it was time to head back towards the shoreline.
I was never cold while out on the water, but we had a sunny day with temps in the mid-60’s. I wore some jogging pants, warm socks, gloves, sunglasses, and nike pullover. I was glad I had the gloves because it helped keep my hands protected from the paddling. I took my selfie-stick with me to grab some photos of my friend and I with my phone. That worked quite well. I would recommend brining a water bottle on the kayak with you. I forgot, but there was water provided back at the truck.
After we beached our kayaks, the guides took us back to the truck to remove our gear and to retrieve our belongings. There was plenty of time to ask questions about the area, use the restrooms, etc. There was water provided along with some light snacks.
I tipped our guides with some cash and thanked them. Eventually we found ourselves back in the van headed towards town. We stopped at an area along the way to drop off guests who were continuing to a salmon-bake dinner in the woods. It turned out my friend and I were the only ones in our group not going to the dinner. After we dropped off the rest of the group, the driver said he would take us anywhere in Juneau since there weren’t any other guests left on the van! The driver took us back to our downtown hotel and I tipped him a few dollars.
I enjoyed the adventure, but I honestly think most people might be okay with just going to the visitors center. However, if you sincerely enjoy kayaking and want to get some exercise, this might be the tour for you. The visitor’s center provides excellent views of the waterfall and fair enough views of the glacier. I should note that I am in fairly good shape and have kayaked many times in the past, but I found the kayaking a bit more difficult than I anticipated! The lake is not something to mess with and it’s important to listen to your guides.