Is the Brotherhood Bridge worth it to see the Mendenhall Glacier?

Hi there!

If you’re signed up for a tour in Juneau, you might have noticed that one of the stops listed is the Brotherhood Bridge. While not all tours will stop here, it is a common stop.

Below will show pictures from my stop at the bridge!

The main reason to stop at the Brotherhood Bridge is to see the Mendenhall Glacier. And it’s nice as a quick stop.

The bridge is over the Mendenhall River and you’ll get a distant view of the glacier.

So it’s a nice view in Juneau.

The Mendenhall Glacier is the most popular glacier to see from land during an Alaska cruise.

Is the Brotherhood Bridge a good way to see the Mendenhall Glacier?

The Brotherhood Bridge is a nice stop to make as a quick stop and it’s nice to see the glacier, but it does not compare at all to seeing the glacier at the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center.

It’s great if it’s a small part of your tour.

But if your goal is to see the Mendenhall Glacier, then you want to be sure to do something that will allow you to go to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area of Tongass National Forest.

The most common way to see the glacier is to go to the visitor center and Photo Point.

If you are into hiking, then the West Glacier Trail is a very good way to see the glacier too. The West Glacier trailhead is in a separate area from the visitor center.

There are also Mendenhall Glacier tours that will take you much closer to the glacier than Brotherhood Bridge.

There are tours that say you will make a stop to “see” the Mendenhall Glacier. You want to be sure to read the tour description carefully to understand if this means it’s a stop at the visitor center or the Brotherhood Bridge. There are some tours that include a “view of Mendenhall Glacier” and it’s just a stop at the bridge.

I went to the Brotherhood Bridge as a part of a whale watching tour. On the drive from the cruise port to Auke Bay (where the whale watching boat departs), the shuttle driver made a stop at the bridge.

It was literally a 5 minute stop, but it was enough time to walk over to the bridge and see the river and glacier. Here’s the view! 👇

👆 Spot the glacier! …Yes exactly. 🤪 If glacier viewing is a priority, you may not be happy with only going to the Brotherhood Bridge! See more ways to experience the Mendenhall Glacier!

See more about the Mendenhall Glacier:

• Photo Point
• Nugget Falls
• How to go to Mendenhall Glacier from cruise port

HAPPY SEEING THE MENDENHALL GLACIER FROM BROTHERHOOD BRIDGE!