Guide · Getting there

How to get to Mendenhall Glacier from the cruise docks

The glacier sits out in the Mendenhall Valley, not in town. Here is how to get to Mendenhall Glacier by trolley, shuttle, city bus, taxi or car, and which way fits the hours you have ashore.

Check availabilityfrom $79 · no cancellation fee

Editorial team, mendenhallglaciertrolleytour.comUpdated October 16, 20267 min read13 sources

This guide's tour Mendenhall Glacier Trolley Tour from the cruise docks 4.5 (796 reviews) 3 hoursMeets at the Goldbelt TramAbout 2 hours at the glacier from$79per person Check availabilityFree cancellation until 24 hrs before start

The short version

01Fastest: A private glacier shuttle takes about 30 minutes from downtown.¹
02Cheapest: The city bus costs $2 for an adult, paid in cash.²
03The catch: The bus stop is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the visitor center.³
04By car: It is a 12-mile drive on paved roads, with free parking at the end.⁴ ⁵
05Easiest: This site's trolley tour meets at the Goldbelt Tram and brings you back.

Why the glacier is not a walk from the ship

Many people step off a cruise ship in Juneau expecting the glacier to wait at the end of the street. It does not. Mendenhall Glacier flows down into the Mendenhall Valley north of town, and the road from downtown is a 12-mile drive on paved roads.⁴ Travel Juneau gives the distance as 13 miles, so if you are asking how far Mendenhall Glacier is from Juneau, plan with a round dozen and you will not be surprised.⁴

That distance shapes your whole plan. On a port day you have a fixed number of hours, the ship leaves on time with or without you, and the glacier area itself deserves a proper visit rather than a hurried photo. So the real question is not only how to get to Mendenhall Glacier, but how to get there and back with enough time in between to see the ice face, walk beside the lake and, if your legs and your schedule allow, reach Nugget Falls.

There are a handful of realistic ways to do it: a trolley or shuttle from the docks, the city bus with a walk at the end, a taxi, a rental car, or a combination tour that adds a boat trip. Each one trades money against time and effort in its own way. The sections below go through them one by one, with the travel times and fares the city and the visitor bureau publish, so you can match the choice to your day.

Your port day

The trolley tour, step by step

Before booking

Ship details

Have your ship name, docking time and re-boarding time ready.
At the docks

Check-in

Find the crew in blue hats under the tram cables and check in before boarding.
On the road

Narrated ride

About 30 minutes from downtown to the recreation area with live commentary.
At the glacier

Free time

About 2 hours for the visitor center, trails and photo stops.
Back to town

Same trolley

The same guide brings you back to the downtown dock area.

The trolley and the private glacier shuttles

The quickest way is a private shuttle or trolley that runs straight from the cruise terminals to the visitor center. The city's own transit page says these private buses normally take about 30 minutes from downtown to the glacier.¹ Tickets are sold at booths near the terminals, on board many ships and online ahead of time, and booking ahead is the calmer option on busy summer days when several ships are in port at once.

The trolley tour sold on this site works exactly that way. You meet the crew on the street side of the Goldbelt Tram building on the waterfront, ride about 30 minutes with live narration, spend about 2 hours at the glacier area, then come back on the same trolley with the same guide. It starts from $79 and is rated 4.49 from 796 reviews. The crew wears bright blue hats, which helps when the docks are crowded.

So when people ask about the Mendenhall Glacier shuttle cost, the honest answer is that it varies by operator and by what is included, and this trolley is a useful benchmark: a from-price for the full round trip with a guide and free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. When you compare it with other shuttles, check the time you get at the glacier and whether the visitor center entry is part of the package or paid on the spot.

Compared

Ways to reach the glacier side by side

Way	One way	Cost	Good for
Trolley or shuttle	about 30 min	from $79	short port calls
City bus and walk	up to 1.5 hrs	$2 adult, cash	long days, tight budgets
Taxi	door to door	agree before	small groups
Rental car	12 miles	free parking	families, flexibility

Travel times and fares from the city transit page and Travel Juneau; tour price is a from-price.¹ ⁶ ² ⁴

Your options

Three ways to the ice

Easiest

Glacier trolley

From the Goldbelt Tram

Price: from $79
Duration: 3 hrs
Rating: 4.49

Compare times

Cheapest

City bus

Routes 3, 4 and 8

Fare: $2 adult
Walk: 1.5 miles
Payment: cash only

Compare times

Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier and Whale Watching Tour

Combo

Glacier and whales

Bus and boat in one

Price: from $152
Duration: 4 hrs
Rating: 4.71

Compare times

Decision helper

Which way should you take?

Pick the line that sounds like your day

My port call is short I want to spend as little as possible We are a small group and want to stay flexible We are staying overnight with a car Whales matter as much as the glacier

Trolley or shuttle

About 30 minutes each way leaves time at the ice.¹

City bus

$2 for an adult, plus a flat 1.5-mile walk.² ³

Taxi

Agree a price and waiting time before you set off.

Drive

Free parking at the visitor center.⁵

Combo tour

From $152 for 4 hours.

By public bus: cheap, slow and a walk at the end

Juneau's Capital Transit buses are the budget option. A single ride costs $2 for an adult aged 19 or older, $1 for a youth and nothing for children 5 or younger, and the fare is paid in cash with the exact amount, because drivers cannot give change.² Routes 3, 4 and 8 stop at Dredge Lake Road, which the city names as the closest stop to the glacier.³ Tell the driver you are going to the glacier when you board.

The bus does not go to the visitor center itself. From Dredge Lake Road you walk 1.5 miles (2.4 km) on a flat, paved bike path, which is pleasant in dry weather and long in a downpour.³ The city estimates the whole one-way trip from downtown at up to 1.5 hours, including a walk of about 30 minutes.⁶ Some cruise terminals also sit a fair walk from the downtown transit center, which adds time before you even board.

Taking the bus from Juneau to Mendenhall Glacier makes sense when you have a long day in port, enjoy walking and want to keep the budget low. It is a poor fit for a short call. Watch the return times as well: on Sundays the last bus back to downtown leaves Dredge Lake Road at about 5:25 pm, while from Monday to Saturday the last one leaves at about 10:25 pm.⁷ Be at the stop a few minutes early.

Map

From the cruise docks to Mendenhall Glacier

Where the trolley tour meets in downtown Juneau, where the public bus leaves you, and what waits around the visitor center.

Map of Juneau from the downtown waterfront to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center — Downtown to the glacier

Map of Mendenhall Lake with the visitor center, Photo Point, Steep Creek and Nugget Falls — At the glacier

1
Goldbelt Tram
The trolley tour meets at the Mount Roberts Tramway building on the waterfront.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Downtown Transit Center
Capital Transit buses toward the valley start here; the ride costs $2 for an adult.²
In Google Maps ↗
3
Dredge Lake Road
The closest bus stop, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the visitor center on a flat paved path.³
In Google Maps ↗
4
Visitor Center
Open in summer with an entrance fee for visitors 16 and over; the grounds stay open from early morning to midnight.⁸ ⁹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Photo Point
The short walk from the visitor center to the view of the glacier face; with the exhibits it fits into about 90 minutes.¹⁰
In Google Maps ↗
6
Steep Creek
Boardwalks where sockeye salmon spawn from July through September and black bears sometimes fish.¹¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Nugget Falls
A 377-foot waterfall on the far side of the lake, reached by a moderately easy trail.¹²
In Google Maps ↗
8
Mendenhall Lake
The meltwater lake in front of the glacier, formed in the early 1900s.¹³
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you leave the ship

For the bus

Exact fare in cash, coins or bills
Note the last bus back from Dredge Lake Road
Comfortable shoes for the walk

For any tour

Ship name and re-boarding time
A rain jacket and a warm layer
A little cash for a tip

Cost calculator

What the trip costs your group

Pick a ride and your group size for a combined from-price.

Glacier trolley3 hoursfrom $79 Glacier and whales4 hoursfrom $152 Glacier, falls, whales5 hoursfrom $199

People 2

Total from$158

per traveler from $79

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Amounts start from the cheapest per-person price that GetYourGuide or Viator lists, converted at the ECB reference rate; the seller's checkout has the exact figure.

Video

How to get to Mendenhall Glacier on your own by bus from Juneau cruise port

The player loads on your tap, not before.

Taxi or rental car

A taxi from Juneau to Mendenhall Glacier is the flexible middle ground. Cabs wait near the cruise terminals in summer, and some drivers offer a glacier run with waiting time included. There is no published flat fare in the sources this site uses, so agree on the price, the waiting time and the pickup point before you get in, keep the driver's number in your phone and settle how you will pay before the meter starts.

With a rental car you can come and go as you like. Travel Juneau describes the route as Egan Drive, then a right turn onto Mendenhall Loop Road, which becomes Glacier Spur Road and ends at the visitor center, where there is plenty of free parking.⁵ The drive covers the same 12 miles on paved roads, and the turns are well signed once you leave the waterfront behind.⁴

A car pays off for a family, for a group sharing the cost or for anyone staying a night in Juneau who also wants to explore other corners of the valley. It is less attractive on a single port call, when you have to collect it and return it within your hours ashore. In that case the trolley or a shuttle often costs you less time for very little more money, and nobody has to drive back after a long walk in the rain.

Combining the glacier with a boat trip

Several tours pair the glacier with whale watching from Auke Bay, which solves the transport question at the same time. A glacier and whale watching tour starts from $152, runs 4 hours and is rated 4.71 from 155 reviews. A longer version that adds the waterfall starts from $199 and lasts 5 hours, and it is sold with a money-back promise if no whale is seen.

These combinations take care of every transfer, because the bus is part of the tour, but they usually leave you less time at the glacier itself than a dedicated trip. If the ice and the trails are your main goal, a trolley or shuttle that only goes to the glacier gives you more room to walk. If you want whales and the glacier in a single morning, a combination is the simplest way to fit both into one port call.

Whatever you choose, keep a close eye on your re-boarding time. Tours built for cruise guests ask for your ship name, docking time and re-boarding time when you book, and that is a good habit for any transport you arrange yourself as well. Write the time on your phone's lock screen and allow a cushion for traffic on the way back to the docks. The ship's own clock is the one that counts.

Which way fits your day in port

On a short port call, take the trolley or a shuttle. The ride of about 30 minutes each way leaves real time at the glacier, and you are not counting bus stops or worrying about the walk back. If you have a full day ashore and like to walk, the bus is the cheapest choice, and the stretch from Dredge Lake Road to the visitor center is flat and easy going.³ Either way, set off early in the day if you can.

If you are traveling as a group of friends, compare the trolley tickets with a taxi that waits for you, since the cab fare is shared between you and the per-person cost can come out surprisingly close. If you are staying overnight in Juneau and have a car, drive out early or late, when the paths are quieter; the grounds around the visitor center are open from 6:00 am until midnight all year.⁹

Before you set off, check two things: the visitor center's hours on the day you visit and the time of the last bus or shuttle back to town. With those settled you can relax at the glacier instead of watching the clock all afternoon, and spend your time on the view across the lake, the walk to the falls and the quiet minutes that make the trip worth it. A relaxed visit makes the better memory.

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