Mendenhall Campground

An absolutely stunning piece of land that the campground sits upon, across the lake from the towering Mendenhall Glacier.

I camped at site #26 in the backpackers loop and hardly saw another soul back there. Sites are well spaced and private. The source of the Mendenhall River begins right at this location and it’ll lull you to sleep — unless the rain itself comes down too hard, in which case that’ll drown out all other sounds. Speaking of that river, it definitely swells and seeps into the area near the sites. The flooding during summer of ‘23 washed out a few sites in another section of the campground.

Views of the glacier are abundant, from multiple sites, just a quick walk down to the lake from any given site. Wildlife is readily seen, from beavers and gulls, to an occasional bear (or so the signs say). The campground has a short nature trail around the glacial carved ponds that dot the area, a quick and easy stroll for all humans. The west glacier trailhead is only a short walk or drive outside the campground and you’ll also find a nice beach area for putting your kayak or canoe into the lake, should you have one with you.

Showers are hot, which was so very appreciated with how damp you can feel at all times in Southeast Alaska. Pit toilets are found all around the campgrounds and flush toilets are located near the showers.

All in all, this is a wonderful and inexpensive place to enjoy nature and the abundance of beauty that Alaska has on display. I spent 3 nights here and will gladly do it again. The only cons to this campground are the invariabilty of the river, which is prone to flooding in summer months due to glacier outbursts and the presence of riff-raff, as mentioned by a National Forest Ranger who I spoke to on my last day, although I didn’t run across anyone myself that would have fit the bill. I guess that’s just a good reminder to keep your valuables on hand, which is always good advice.

An absolutely stunning piece of land that the campground sits upon, across the lake from the towering Mendenhall Glacier.

I camped at site #26 in the backpackers loop and hardly saw another soul back there. Sites are well spaced and private. The source of the Mendenhall River begins right at this location and it’ll lull you to sleep — unless the rain itself comes down too hard, in which case that’ll drown out all other sounds. Speaking of that river, it definitely swells and seeps into the area near the sites. The flooding during summer of ‘23 washed out a few sites in another section of the campground.

Views of the glacier are abundant, from multiple sites, just a quick walk down to the lake from any given site. Wildlife is readily seen, from beavers and gulls, to an occasional bear (or so the signs say). The campground has a short nature trail around the glacial carved ponds that dot the area, a quick and easy stroll for all humans. The west glacier trailhead is only a short walk or drive outside the campground and you’ll also find a nice beach area for putting your kayak or canoe into the lake, should you have one with you.

Showers are hot, which was so very appreciated with how damp you can feel at all times in Southeast Alaska. Pit toilets are found all around the campgrounds and flush toilets are located near the showers.

All in all, this is a wonderful and inexpensive place to enjoy nature and the abundance of beauty that Alaska has on display. I spent 3 nights here and will gladly do it again. The only cons to this campground are the invariabilty of the river, which is prone to flooding in summer months due to glacier outbursts and the presence of riff-raff, as mentioned by a National Forest Ranger who I spoke to on my last day, although I didn’t run across anyone myself that would have fit the bill. I guess that’s just a good reminder to keep your valuables on hand, which is always good advice.

On-site staff were very helpful. Facilities and campsites were clean. Excellent experience.

On-site staff were very helpful. Facilities and campsites were clean. Excellent experience.

Tent camping review. This was a great camp ground. Very clean and quiet. You can't beat the proximity to the park and hiking. Some of the sites even have great views. Each site has plenty of privacy, so even with intermixed RV's it stays pretty quiet. The showers were okay, not the cleanest and not the hottest but got the job done. My only complaint was coming after dark the first night to someone clearly squatting with their RV in our site. The camp hosts do not mark each site with the booked reservations (even though the posts clearly say that the section we were in were "reservation only". So people just drop in and take sites, assuming they aren't reserved. We attempted to solicit the camphosts help but in the 4 nights we stayed there, we never saw the hosts available once. We asked the people to move the next morning in daylight- not wanting to start anything or end up shot by knocking on their door and asking them to move that first night. However, that meant that we set up in someone else's potentially reserved site and started a huge domino effect. So I recommend getting there early to make sure your reserved spot isn't taken.

Tent camping review. This was a great camp ground. Very clean and quiet. You can't beat the proximity to the park and hiking. Some of the sites even have great views. Each site has plenty of privacy, so even with intermixed RV's it stays pretty quiet. The showers were okay, not the cleanest and not the hottest but got the job done. My only complaint was coming after dark the first night to someone clearly squatting with their RV in our site. The camp hosts do not mark each site with the booked reservations (even though the posts clearly say that the section we were in were "reservation only". So people just drop in and take sites, assuming they aren't reserved. We attempted to solicit the camphosts help but in the 4 nights we stayed there, we never saw the hosts available once. We asked the people to move the next morning in daylight- not wanting to start anything or end up shot by knocking on their door and asking them to move that first night. However, that meant that we set up in someone else's potentially reserved site and started a huge domino effect. So I recommend getting there early to make sure your reserved spot isn't taken.

Love the mendhall campground. Beautiful and peaceful and clean restrooms

Love the mendhall campground. Beautiful and peaceful and clean restrooms

Campsite was great, it was next to the lake and a water faucet nearby for drinking water and for cooking. The restroom facilities were conveniently located. It was quiet and no one was too close to our campsites.

Campsite was great, it was next to the lake and a water faucet nearby for drinking water and for cooking. The restroom facilities were conveniently located. It was quiet and no one was too close to our campsites.