At the foot of the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska is a lake, called Mendenhall. (With an outflow called the Mendenhall River and it's in the Mendenhall Valley...lots of stuff called Mendenhall in the valley) The glacier calves and sends icebergs onto the lake. We kayaked across the lake from a put-in near the outflow, up to the glacier itself. The water is obviously pretty cold (about 34°) so be prepared for it and don't plan on swimming far if you flip. At the beginning you can't see the glacier all the way down to the water due to the rock peninsula sticking out, but once you get around it, it's amazing. The Mendenhall Glacier from the Put In The views were amazing from anywhere, even on a cloudy day. We put in at the West Glacier Trailhead and began kayaking across the lake. We could see some icebergs along with Nugget Falls on the other side of the lake. Panoramic View from the Put-in On the way across we went close to some of the icebergs. ...

This trail is much rougher than the nearby Herbert Glacier trail, even though they start near each other. It follows the Eagle River toward the Eagle Glacier. The Eagle River Much of this trail (like many in the area) is on boardwalks. They vary from planks on them ground to bridges with some broken and others in great shape. They were slippery. Some had roofing shingles or nets on the for traction. Netting to Give Traction on the Planks Along one section near a pond we saw two porcupines on the trail. Unfortunately, they hid in the bushes a couple of feet off the trail as we passed and I didn't get any good pictures of them. A Pond Along the Trail There is a forest service cabin down a spur trail about a quarter mile away from the main trail. It can be reserved for the night. At a viewpoint past the turn for the cabin we had a great view of glacier and waterfalls across the river in a side valley. Eagle Glacier Up the Valley From here the trail gets r...

On the west side of the Mendenhall River (the opposite side from the visitor center where the buses take the tourists) there is a trail that goes to the Mendenhall Glacier. It is considered the country's most accessible glacier. A three mile hike on the West Glacier Trail, then the Ice Caves Trail will get you to its edge. Along the sides of the glacier there are ice caves big enough that you can walk in. The GPS track of this hike. The trail starts on the left. On the way out I hiked up the Mendenhall Lake Edge Trail which is an unofficial trail with lots of flowers.  Flowers on the Lake Edge A Bird Along the Trail This trail runs splits off from and rejoins the West Glacier Trail; it is mainly a walk along the edge of the lake. When the lake level is up, this trail is underwater. After rejoining the West Glacier Trail, I took a right turn onto an "Unmaintained Hazardous" trail, which is a rough trail marked with cairns that leads to the side of the glacier....

The Herbert Glacier trail is an easy 4.5 mile trail about 16 miles north of the Mendenhall Valley in Juneau Alaska. The trail is a compacted gravel trail which many people bike. It follows the Herbert river up to the Herbert Glacier. Pond Along the Trail Near the end of the trail, we left it and walked across a wash, crossing a couple of streams, to get closer to the glacier. Herbert Glacier We came upon the main flow of the creek feeding the Herbert River and were not able to cross it so we went up along it. This part of the hike included a bit of rock scrambling and going through bushes. It was a welcome challenge after the smooth trail. Creek by the Glacier We did not find a place to get across the creek, so we did not get the glacier itself, but we had some close views of it. We also looked at the class 5 rapids in the creek. Layers in Herbert Glacier Herbert Glacier The main trail is great if your looking for something easy with great views at the end. Most oth...