Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center

About us:

Mendenhall Glacier fills Mendenhall Valley before terminating into and forming Mendenhall Lake. The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center overlooks the glacier, providing warm and sheltered viewing opportunities. Exhibits and films are available at the visitor center, where you can learn all about the science and history of Mendenhall Glacier and about glaciers and glaciation in general. A number of trails, most which start near the visitor center, allow you to view the glaciers, recently deglaciated landscape, and wildlife., Picture yourself a short drive away from the state capital, trees at your back, and in front of you, and an enormous ice field flowing down the valley in a glacier that ends at an iceberg dotted-lake's edge.

The visitor center is set in a cliff above the valley floor, with huge curving windows offering an uninterrupted view of the glacier. Exhibits and a new film help show how the Mendenhall glacier moves and shapes the valley ecosystem. Several trails are based from the Center grounds and offer an alternative, adventurous way to experience the glacier and surrounding areas.The glacier is also a real-time example of how climate change is impacting the natural world.