Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure

Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure

Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure
4.3
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
View the world renowned Flower Towers AND stunning rainforest of the Tongass. Your fully guided tour offers you a unique experience that combines natural landscapes and non-native manicured gardens . The gardens are the creation of Steve and Cindy Bowhay a guide tell you the unforgettable tale of the Flower Towers, named America's Most Interesting Landmark in 2012 Reader's Digest. Bright floral arrangements and elegant landscapes complement the natural beauty of the rainforest and the cascading waterfalls nearby. At the 580 ft level you will find an amazing panoramic viewpoint of Juneau, and the Chilkat Mountains. You return to the lower gardens in the Visitor's Center atrium and hanging flower gardens ! The Visitor's Center features a live video feed aimed at an active bald eagles nest that is found on the property. You can find online at our website as well. The Garden Gift Shop sells garden specific gifts and the Garden Cafe serves drinks, and light snacks.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Amy
    United States25 contributions
    5 of 5 bubbles
    The Glacier Gardens are amazing and so beautiful! To see the beautiful flowers arranged on top of upside-down trees is such a unique experience, and the owners are true creatives whose passion for horticulture are evident throughout. You will take a tram up the mountainside with a very knowledgeable guide who will point out different plants and berries as well as provide interesting history of the gardens. At the top, you are rewarded with a gorgeous view. We loved every minute of this visit and would recommend it to anyone.
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 25, 2024
  • Ashley Burchfield
    Tuscumbia, Alabama41 contributions
    4 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful place … a true labor of love as the owner has to transplant the plants into the greenhouse every winter and replant them every spring. The upside down trees are especially imaginative. Your guide takes you in a cart through the forest providing nature education along the way. The view at the top is spectacular. Sone of the plants are not native to the area and the same as what we grow at home in Alabama, but overall it was a lovely experience.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 10, 2024
  • Kitchenkfc9
    Denver, Colorado9 contributions
    3 of 5 bubbles
    Overpriced, but nice. In theory, I can see why the maintenance of the park is costly so that's why they have such expensive tickets. But as a visitor, it is way overpriced given you just go on one trail through the park and stop go take photos at a viewpoint. I'd say it's not worth the money per person, probably a skip since you only get a small glimpse.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written September 13, 2024
  • jerrys01
    Bel Air, Maryland649 contributions
    4 of 5 bubbles
    Our visit to Glacier Gardens was part of our ship's Juneau excursion package. Once we arrived, my wife and boarded a golf cart while a guide explained the features of the Garden as we drove up several hundred feet. One of the more interesting features are the reversed trees, where the trunk was in the ground and the roots were on top. This was performed by the owner of the Garden and provided some unusual views. At the top of the mountain, we were able to see the Juneau airport. Of more interest were the flying bald eagles. I missed my chance to get a photo of an eagle up close.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 5, 2024
  • geo3
    Calgary, Canada2,448 contributions
    4 of 5 bubbles
    This was the first part of a cruise excursion, which also including Mendelhall Glacier. It's a bit of a hodgepodge - partly driving through the forest up a steep hill with some commentary, partly walking through a small landscaped garden, and partly stopping at a viewpoint over Juneau - but it was fun. The view over the Juneau and the valley extending to the north from Juneau was quite spectacular, and was the highlight for me.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written July 12, 2024
  • MartyParty4
    Houston, Texas1,983 contributions
    5 of 5 bubbles
    We had no idea what to expect for this tour on our Alaskan cruise. It was beyond beautiful. The gardens are a work of art and lots of hard work at that. It rained our entire time in Juneau but we didn’t let that stop our exploring. The flower towers are amazing and the Tram tour up the hill is beautiful as you see waterfalls and so many trees in the misty fog and views of the airport and water from the lookout stop. We enjoyed our time here and the hot cocoa with cookie as a treat. It was a photographers paradise!
    Visited September 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 19, 2024
  • Don L
    Syracuse, New York11 contributions
    3 of 5 bubbles
    This is a nice place, however is is really nothing more than a ride up a mountain thru a forest in a passenger mover. The driver Bill was entertaining but a lot of lore along the way. If you have nothing else to do, this is ok
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 15, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.3
4.3 of 5 bubbles698 reviews
Excellent
413
Very good
163
Average
81
Poor
25
Terrible
16

NeilMyrie
Wellington, New Zealand23 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
This is a really beautiful and unique garden and the view from the top of the hill is spectacular. We have marked down our review because the tour guide, Alex, gave an irritating commentary all the way filled with bad jokes after each one of which he'd say "you're a tough crowd". After hearing that for at least 20 times it was very tedious. The tour is also expensive for what it is and the garden's star, attractions, the upside down trees in the lower garden, can be sen without going on the tour
Written August 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ruyhies
Santee, CA66 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Family
I think these trees (which the owners of the garden placed upside down in the ground and did not fall in this position from the landfall) are pretty but not worth the money to get in. They have vehicles that took you on a ride through the forest but maybe only 20 trees that were placed upside down. Disappointing for the money. I would not recommend
Written July 3, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cheri b
Saint Louis, MO320 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Solo
This was an amazing visit! It was a testimony to the vision and work of one fine Alaskan man. Visitors ride up the mountain viewing the constructed areas and planters all the way up to a viewpoint and down again amist the natural rainforest. The vehicle carries several people and feels like a large golf cart. It is magical for garden/landscape lovers like myself. The tour ends at a visitor's center and cafe. Recommended for nature lovers.
Written October 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philip G
Telford, UK54 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
I was very disappointed with the few minutes of the tour in what I would count as a garden, which consisted of some lovely planted upturned trees and almost nothing else. The adventure part of the tour consisted of a guide driving us up to the top of the hill through the forest on a difficult, steep and winding path - sometimes with one hand as she held a coffee in the other. Some nice views at the top but disappointing overall.
Written September 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. Everyone here Glacier Gardens try to give our guest a chance to see a Rainforest close up. The first part of the Gardens is landscaped as a restoration project to restore a stream that was destroyed in a huge landslide. When Steve Bowhay did the Rainforest part of our tour he just wanted guest to get a look at the beautiful landscape God made for us. The guides do strive to show off our little part of Alaska, and hopefully you will leave the Mountain with a little more understanding of the Miracle of the natural Rainforest of Southeast Alaska.
Written September 19, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rachael B
Brush12 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
The upside down trees are really cool! I’ve never seen anything like that before. I enjoyed the history of how the gardens came to be. I was hoping for a bit more areas to explore. You cannot get off the tram or explore by foot anywhere that the tram goes. It makes sense, but leaves for limited area to spend more time once the tour is over. The people were generally friendly. One man was not friendly at all - everyone in the tour said hello to him and he didn’t not response back once. I would still give this as an option for someone visiting Juneau.
Written August 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for visiting the Gardens, we appreciate everyone is able to come. Steve has tried in several places to have a walking area where the vehicles don't go but always hits unpassable obstacles. The young man that is helping at our boardwalk has had some difficulty getting use to being the only one up there. When school started I lost my whole boardwalk Crew leaving Bill on his own to help the Tram drivers show guest to the boardwalk. I believe he gets a bit anxious, I'm working on getting him help up top for him and the Tram drivers.
Written August 28, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Carl L
11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
This tour, about an hour, goes up a mountain in an open air tram. The flowers are unusually planted. Then the rain forest woods are majestic and the air so pure. The view at the top is awesome. Our guide, Russell was a blast and so enthusiastic.
Written August 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your wonderful review, Russell is one of my best drivers he is so knowlegable about the rainforest and Southeast Alaska. Having you remember his name made him feel quite special to be part of your Alaskan expirence. Juneau appreciates all the wonderful visitors who have come and supported us.
Written August 13, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

DAVID C
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
Very nice unexpected tour experience at Glacier Gardens. Our group had a bald eagle fly overhead near us while at the observation platform area. The eagle made several passes over the viewing platform which surprised our group.
Written August 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you, we are so glad you had a good time visiting us at the Gardens. The eagles new you would appreciate them, thats why they show up for you! We live in such a wonderful and beautiful world, we're so glad you came and enjoyed our small part of Alaska. Your wonderful review made my Day!
Written August 6, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Ann H
York, UK2,618 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
We were really looking forward to this visit off the cruise ship to this glacial garden. The entrance promised much with lots of upturned trees with flowers and the history behind why they are as they are. We then got into a buggy and were driven up some steep and windy paths with a very competent and knowledgeable driver who made us feel safe and really knew her information about the rainforest and all its surroundings. Not so much colour on the trip up and down but there were some lovely ponds with planting around. Lovely greenhouse back at the entrance with a gift shop and a coffee shop too. We enjoyed it!
Written September 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wanderer5868
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Must See! if you want an adventure this is the place to go. Get ready to snap pictures left and right. first you begin your tour with a trip through the lower gardens, then go in to the wonderfull tongass rain forest. lovely view of the town of Juneau Alaska once you get to the top. Must See While in Juneau!
Written November 18, 2003
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

marypoppins913
San Francisco, CA7 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
We went to Glacier Gardens expecting (for the price) something like a small Butchart Gardens and were so disappointed to find that the most interesting thing there was building where you buy your way overpriced admission ticket. The rest is a fraud. You speed up the mountain in a golf cart to look at a view which you can get from any number of places for free. The guides just give a speech they know by heart and are unable to answer the most basic questions if they aren't part of the memorized speech. The whole thing is basically contrived to hoodwink the cruise passengers. I feel annoyed with myself for falling for it but after 7 days in Juneau I had seen most of the truly valuable things to see. Save your money for something else.
Written July 28, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure (2025) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Reviews)

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