Mendenhall Glacier on Your Own 4 Self Guided Audio Walks
- 0.3–2.5 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 6 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
See Mendenhall Glacier on your own schedule: four self-guided audio walks — the glacier overlooks, Nugget Falls, the Trail of Time, and the East Glacier Loop — 43 GPS story stops. One purchase plays from one phone as your group walks together; stories by a born-and-raised Southeast Alaskan trigger automatically, hands-free, fully offline. To be clear: this is an app experience on your own phone — no live guide and no paper ticket. Get there by bus, shuttle, or rideshare and explore at your own pace. Walk to Nugget Falls and hear the legend of Romeo the wolf. Find the tunnel blasted through solid granite on the East Glacier Loop. Stand where the ice reached in 1937 on the Trail of Time. In salmon season, watch black bears work Steep Creek. No date, no time limit, no expiry. Setup takes about 2 minutes — full steps are on your Viator ticket and in your confirmation email (check spam). In the app, your pass appears as "Mendenhall Glacier Explorer Pack."
Inclusions
What's included
- Unlimited lifetime access — use it as many times as you like, on any trip or to replay at home
- GPS-triggered audio that plays automatically and hands-free as you walk or hike
- Access to all 4 self-guided audio tours of the Mendenhall Glacier Area
- In-app maps showing parking, restrooms, Wi-Fi, and landmarks
- Written transcripts for every stop, plus multilingual translations
- Fully offline — audio and maps work with zero cell service once downloaded
What's not
- Transportation to and between the tour starting points
- Optional Glacier trail fee (only applies to specific trails, most are fee-free, Steep Creek, Photo Point and Visitor Center are $5)
- Smartphone — you use your own device
- Headphones or earphones
- In-person or live guide — this is a self-guided audio tour
- Cellular data or Wi-Fi
Itinerary
Juneau's most famous sight, a glacier you can walk right up to. As you arrive, a GPS-triggered audio story plays automatically through your phone, covering the ice's dramatic retreat, the lake it carved, John Muir's 1879 visit, and the rock flour that turns the water that milky blue. Hands-free, at your own pace, fully offline.
A short walk leads to Nugget Falls, where water plunges hundreds of feet beside the face of Mendenhall Glacier. GPS-triggered audio plays as you reach the falls, telling the story of the glacier's retreat, the icebergs on the lake, and the Arctic terns overhead. No guide, no schedule — just press play and walk.
Trailhead hub for two of the pack's walks: the Trail of Time (9 stops — stand exactly where the ice reached in 1937) and the East Glacier Loop (16 stops — find the tunnel the Treadwell Mining Company blasted through solid granite).
A short loop near Mendenhall where, from July to October, black bears fish for salmon and eagles gather overhead. GPS-triggered audio plays as you walk, explaining the salmon run and the food web in motion. Explore at your own pace.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Self-guided audio tour you play on your own phone — no host meets you here. This is just a recommended start; there is no set start time. Includes 4 tours, each starting at its own location in the app. Download before you go (much of Juneau has no cell signal); explore at your own pace.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Alaska Audio Guide
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How it compares in Juneau
- Its from-price is 89% below the median of the 95 experiences we list in Juneau.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Juneau
Juneau is Alaska's capital, a small harbour city beneath steep forested mountains, reachable only by air or sea and close to glaciers.
Juneau sits on the Gastineau Channel in the Alaska Panhandle, squeezed between the water and the steep slopes of Mount Juneau and Mount Roberts, with the Juneau Icefield behind. No road connects it to the rest of North America. The city grew after gold was found in 1880, and the Alaska State Capitol, a columned building of the 1930s, the octagonal Russian Orthodox church of St Nicholas and the old downtown streets recall that past.
Top-ranked sights in Juneau: Mt. Roberts Tramway (Goldbelt Tram), Mendenhall Glacier, Nugget Falls.
