Herbert Glacier Trail (June 2011)

Wed July 13, 2011

Herbert Glacier Trail (June 2011)

July 13, 2011 8:00 PM

The Herbert Glacier trail is an easy 4.5 mile trail about 16 miles north of the Mendenhall Valley in Juneau Alaska. The trail is a compacted gravel trail which many people bike. It follows the Herbert river up to the Herbert Glacier.

Pond Along the Trail

Near the end of the trail, we left it and walked across a wash, crossing a couple of streams, to get closer to the glacier.

Herbert Glacier

We came upon the main flow of the creek feeding the Herbert River and were not able to cross it so we went up along it. This part of the hike included a bit of rock scrambling and going through bushes. It was a welcome challenge after the smooth trail.

Creek by the Glacier

We did not find a place to get across the creek, so we did not get the glacier itself, but we had some close views of it. We also looked at the class 5 rapids in the creek.

Layers in Herbert Glacier

Herbert Glacier

The main trail is great if your looking for something easy with great views at the end. Most other trails in the area are a bit rougher. The trail is about 9 miles roundtrip, but with the additional hiking we did along the creek it was about 10.6 miles.