If you’re planning on making a trip to Juneau, Alaska, the Mendenhall Glacier caves are a must-see. The landmark is the center of a guided tour, a wonderland of surreal beauty. The tour is available to people with full use of their limbs who are at least 12 years old and weigh between 90 and 240 pounds. If you and your group check off these boxes, you’re ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
The Trip
The trip starts with an hour-long canoe paddle to the glacier. Mendenhall Lake is filled with icebergs, and you’ll be able to see the glacier in the distance while you row. The tour guide will brief you about the glacier, the history of Alaska, and a variety of other interesting topics to keep your mind off the physical exertion.
The Hike
Once you cross the lake, you’ll actually get to hike on the Mendenhall Glacier. It’s possible you’ll spot bald eagles and arctic terns, but even if you don’t, the actual glacier provides more than enough photo fodder. Make sure you save space on your camera, though, because you will have the chance, weather permitting, to actually enter the Mendenhall Glacier caves.
The Caves
The Mendenhall Glacier caves are simply awe-inspiring. They’re filled with a brilliant shade of blue, and being within them gives the sense of living, breathing history. Much of this world was shaped by glaciers, and the opportunity to go inside one of them is incredible. This is undisputedly the highlight of a tour that doesn’t have any low points.
After being in touch with nature in this most intimate of ways, you’ll canoe back across the lake, and that will conclude the tour. The beauty you witnessed, however, especially concerning the Mendenhall Glacier caves, will create a memory that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Featured Image from Paxson Woelber/Unsplash
