Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, Visitor Center ready to welcome summer visitors

JUNEAU, Alaska, April 10, 2025— When the first cruise ship arrives in Juneau on April 14, the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and recreation area will be ready to welcome visitors. The Forest Service remains committed to providing a high-quality visitor experience at the iconic and easily accessible natural wonder.

The agency is working to maintain ranger presence and visitor services by collaborating with local organizations, partners and other assigned Forest Service staff to ensure coverage when the cruise ship season starts.

“Our goal is to maintain the unique and memorable experience visitors have come to expect by adapting to staffing changes and ensuring the area remains accessible and safe,” said Juneau District Ranger Michael Downs.

That plan will be achieved with some minor adjustments to Visitor Center hours. The center will be open intermittently during the month of April. Beginning May 4, the center will be open from Sunday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. It will be closed on Saturdays. The hours for the recreation area remain unchanged, opened daily 6 a.m. - midnight.

A collaborative team of Forest Service employees, Discovery Southeast employees and volunteers, and the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida cultural ambassadors will work together to manage the center, conduct crowd control, protect natural resources in the high-density recreation environment, manage bear and human interactions, provide for visitor safety, manage the bookstore, provide interpretive education and information, and ensure bathroom facilities are operational.

The team also provides support to outfitters & guides, manages traffic for buses and transport services, and maintains the cabins, trails and campsites around the glacier.

While restroom facilities in the center will be closed outside of its operating hours, the recreation area has five portable toilets that will remain open and unlocked 24-hours a day and a bathroom facility near the parking lots will be available for use from 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. daily.

Forest Service employees from the Juneau Ranger District, the Tongass Supervisor’s Office and the Regional Office will staff the location as well to ensure appropriate coverage during this year’s cruise ship visitor season.

For interviews and information for publication, contact the Tongass Public Affairs Officer at 907-228-6201 or paul.robbins@usda.gov.

About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

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