Mendenhall Campground

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

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.

Sewer connection is cumbersome. Inlet to campground sewer is higher than output of RV. This makes for some very interesting work.
Also, the freshwater flow is very slow.

Breathtaking view, nice walking paths. Close to town if you need supplies.

Noticed that most the sites were empty yet showed not available when renting a site. This was thru most of the summer which was a little inconvenient when wanting a sewage site. Other than that love the campground! The staff were always friendly and facility was always clean.

Ferry didnt run and ended up having to switch campsites everyday for 4 days and all campsites are booked but nobody uses them. No staff around and no wood. I forgot once some food and cooking equipment in the bearbox and went to retrieve them 2 hours later and all food had been thrown in garbage and glass jars broken so all was ruined, the cooking equipment the ”staff” stole and I had to dig out my food from the trash pin and call around all numbers that dont answer or call back. Unbelievable. Never use a campsite in the US again.

Campground is great. $8 in fees for a $10 site is ridiculous.

It has hot showers!!!! A great view to the lake glacier!

Need more and better pictures of camp ground sites.

I have always enjoyed Mendenhall camp ground because of its lay out, location and amenities. I lived in Juneau for three years and used to camp there quite often with my girlfriend. For this visit I was just back to visit some friends so I decided to stay at the campground. The biggest and ono problem that I had with this stay was the cleanliness of my campsite and the bathroom/ shower buildings. Based on my previous visit it was quite dirty. When I arrived at my site I noticed quite a bit of trash littered throughout my camp site and parking area. When I got out of my car I walked up to the fire pit. it was filled with trash like cans, broken bottles, plastic bags and various other things. The bathroom/ shower buildings were not being cleaned. The floors looked liked the hadn’t been swept in weeks. The shower stalls, sinks and toilets were filthy also. The shower curtains were only on a couple of hooks and were covered with black mold spots. All in all I was very disappointed. I never experienced the campground facilities so dirty. I think the campground hosts are responsible for these duties but I only saw them refill the toilet paper. I hope this gets resolved and I am glad you gave me the opportunity to review the campground.