East Glacier Loop Trail Mendenhall Lake Hike Guide
The East Glacier Loop trail is a 3.1 mile hike which starts from Mendenhall Lake. The trail involves about 650 feet of elevation gain and can be steep in sections. Recently, the park has improved sections of the trail adding steps and wire handrails throughout the loop. This hike will provide excellent views of waterfalls, old mining equipment, in addition to Mendenhall Glacier and Lake. This is probably the “toughest” trail on this side of the park, but is still very doable with children and inexperienced hikers. This hike is certainly one of the best on our trip to Juneau and one you will not want to miss on your visit!
East Glacier Loop Trail Quick Facts
East Glacier Loop Trail Rating: ★★★★★(5/5 Stars)
Distance: 3.1 RT
Elevation Start: 100 ft
Highest Point of Hike: 752 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 650 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 1-2 Hours RT
Difficulty: Easy- Moderate What does this mean?
Class: Class 1
Season: Year Round – Expect snow November– March
Directions to East Glacier Loop Trail
Trailhead: Mendenhall Lake Vistor Center
Getting Here: From the Mendenhall Lake Visitor’s Center, follow the signs for the Trail of Time trail. Once you are on the Trail of Time trail, you will see fairly well marked signs for the East Glacier Loop Trail. You can enter Mendenhall Lake Visitor Center into your favorite navigational device.
Parking: There are several small parking lots that are free to use. As of May 1, 2016 there is a $5 fee to use some of the trails in the park. We were not charged during out trip to Mendenhall Lake, but there is a chance we did not access the fee areas. There are ample plumbing bathrooms at the visitor center and around the entrance of the park.
Summary
Dogs: The East Glacier Loop Trail is a dog friendly and one that I would recommend for dogs.
Camping: There is no camping allowed on this side of the park, but there is a small campground on the west side of the lake. You can find more information about the Last Chance Campground here.
Make it a Loop: Not sure if you have guessed this, but the East Glacier Loop Trail is a loop. If you want to hike more, try heading out to Nugget Falls as well. Still haven’t had enough? Head over to the west side of the lake for even more hiking.
Trail X Factors: Lack of Crowds
Mendenhall Glacier and Lake can get SWAMPED with cruise ship traffic. The nice thing about cruise ships, is that most folks who travel on them are scheduled to see certain things in their port time. For most, The East Glacier Loop trail is not one of them. Hiking only 5-10 minutes from the visitor center will leave the hoards of people in your dust and submerge you into the wilderness that surrounds the glacier and lake.
Hike Tip: Bonus Waterfall
On your hike of the East Glacier Loop, you are guaranteed to see one waterfall. However, with an easy to follow descent/trail, you can find another bonus waterfall. When you get near Nugget Creek at the halfway point of the hike (1.6 miles or so), there are several small trails that will bring you down to the Nugget Creek Dam. This area has lots of mining history to it and the man-made dam is a prime example. Be careful descending down to the creek as it is quite steep, but once you are down there is a large bank to enjoy the falls created by the dam. If you look closely, you can see the wire system that was installed years ago for workers to cross Nugget Creek. Imagine that as your daily commute!
If you have hiked with bears before, you can skip the following section.
Black bears vs brown bears:
Black bears are the more curious of the two types of bears. You have probably seen one of these before. If you see one, make a lot of noise (talk to it, clap your hands, etc.) and make yourself as big as possible, it will usually spook and run away. If that does not work, they do sometimes use bluff charges IE a way to scare you away. Do not run in this case because it will result in the bear thinking it is prey or a game. Both will not end great for you. If the black bear does fully charge you, you will need to protect yourself/flee if possible, as they will not stop. This is very rare to occur and will only happen if the bear is feeling threatened.
Brown Bears: Unlike their smaller cousins, the brown bear is a much larger animal. Brown bears are common in southeastern Alaska and if you see one, do not pee your pants. Even though they look menacing, brown bears are not out to attack you. Just like black bears, they are generally harmless. If you see one, make your presence known. Bears do not like to be spooked. Brown bears may also bluff or fully charge, just like black bears. If a brown bear charges you, do not move. Stand your ground. Most likely it will be a bluff, but if not you will find that out pretty quickly. If you are fully charged by the bear, get into a fetal position and play dead. Try to roll onto your stomach to protect your vital organs. If the bear does start to sniff/maul you, play dead and try not to make noises. Most accounts of those who survive bear attacks are becuase the bear thought the human was dead and left them alone. Super light reading here, I know.
Best Views: The East Glacier Loop is full of awesome photo opportunities, so pick your choice from the lot. Some of my favorites were the waterfalls, fast moving creeks and dense forests you travel through on this loop. I would recommend bringing a tripod and filters if you like shooting long exposure.
Gear Needed
- Waterproof Hiking Boots/Shoes
- Rain Jacket
- Mickey’s Mountain Kit
- Water / Snack
- Optional: Bear Spray
- Optional: Hiking Poles
- Optional: Camera
- Optional: Filters
- Optional: Tripod
Our Trip East Glacier Loop Trail: June 2017
During our time in Juneau, we found that most travelers who visited Alaska’s capital were on cruise ships and were there for only a short amount of time. We tried to capitalize on this fact and plan hikes accordingly. We knew that Mendenhall Lake was a popular tourist spot to see the glacier and Nugget Falls so we knocked that out in the morning before most buses arrived. The “1-2 hour” hike to Nugget Falls took us all of 30 minutes, so on a whim, we decided to try out the East Glacier Loop trail. Best decision we made all day.
The trail started off from the visitor’s center on a concrete trail which made me a bit skeptical. Quickly though, we entered a dense forest and left all signs of the lake behind us. The path slowly worked its way up the steep hills that surrounded the area around the lake. In Colorado, we don’t the type of green that blanketed the forest we were traveling through. As we worked through the lush forest, we noticed signs of a bear (relatively fresh footprints) and kept our head on a swivel.
As we climbed up the side of this hill, we began to notice all kinds of old mining equipment. Apparently, this area had been home to a power plant years ago. Several of the cables and tracks were still in tact, pretty impressive. Eventually, we reached the top of the hill we had been climbing and reached a “scenic overlook.” I would not recommend this overlook, it really provided us with nothing special. After the short excursion, I noticed the glacier blue waters of Nugget Creek below us and had to get down there for some photos. I found an old trail and worked my way down to the bank of the river.
The water was so blue it looked unreal. I now know why they named the Gatorade flavor Glacier Blue. The closest color water I had seen to this was in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, thousands of miles away. Jackie eventually made her way down to the river as well, thinking that I had fallen in and gone down nearby Nugget Falls. I told her that I knew there was another waterfall in the area and was sure we could make our way over to it. We skirted along the banks of the river and found an old mining trail to the large dam that was created decades ago. It was amazing to see the engineering these people had thought of to dam this raging creek. I took several pictures and we eventually moved on.
After a short scramble up the side of the hill, we were back on the official East Glacier Loop trail and about halfway done with our hike. The second part of the hike was near the lake and provided several good scenic overall looks of the lake and glacier. As if the hike was not already amazing enough, we found the last small waterfall on the loop. By this time, we were almost at the visitor center and encountered several groups of hikers. Still though, it was nothing like the foot traffic we were used to on most Colorado hikes.
Overall Jackie and I loved the East Glacier Loop Trail hike, it was truly stunning at almost every point of the 3 mile loop we walked. The trail had a mix of dirt, minor scrambling, and minor ascending with great trail infrastructure. If you have the time, I would strongly recommend this hike to those visiting Juneau.
