Nugget Falls — 377ft Cascade in Alaska

Nugget Falls is a 377-foot cascade waterfall in Alaska, Alaska, reached by an easy walk over 0.7 miles.

Nugget Falls is the 377-foot cascade tumbling off the cliff face beside Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska — one of the most accessible glacier-and-waterfall double features anywhere in North America. The falls are fed by the Nugget Creek watershed above the glacier, and the meltwater flow surges in summer when warm temperatures accelerate glacial melt. The 0.7-mile out-and-back trail from the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is essentially flat and family-doable, with the falls on your right and the receding glacier face on your left. It's the centerpiece of nearly every Juneau cruise excursion.

What to expect

From downtown Juneau, drive 12 miles north to the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area Visitor Center (entry fee covers parking and visitor center access). Take the Nugget Falls Trail east — flat, gravel, 0.7 miles each way. The trail ends at a beach at the foot of the falls and the glacier-fed lake. Bring a layer; even summer days are cool from glacier wind. Best June-August when meltwater flow is strongest.