Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure

Ok, I hate to give this place 3 stars because it is really beautiful. However, at the cost of $27 per adult its really pricey. We were in town on a weekend getaway and decided to check it out. The plants are beautiful and they have a unique way of using trees that are shoved in the ground upside down as planters. The thing that got me was the tour was literally a golf cart ride to the top of the hill where they maintain a lookout. The views from the top are beautiful, but $27 a person seemed a little much. If you happen to be in the area and have the extra cash check it out.

Its pretty. You pay $15 to take a golf cart up 500 ft to a view point. The guy driving us didnt say a word to us. It was awkward and weird. I could have hiked up a mountain. The arboretum up the road is much nicer.

Plenty of flowers to see of quite a few varieties. They have taken some trees and turned them upside down and made them into a huge flower pot. Theres a live eagles nest camera thats viewable. Theres restrooms and refreshments are available. Soft drinks and coffee are about $2.50. Theres a pretty good view once you take the ride up the mountain in the Little Bus.

Simply beautiful with stunning views of the harbor.Upside down trees with planted flowers are unique and you can tell that the owner, Steve, puts his heart and soul into the property. It must be contagious because all of the staff seem excited to be there, it truly shoes.

I hate to rate this place low because its very beautiful. However the tour is very expensive and you dont really get any information or even a moment to stop and enjoy the flowers and waterfalls. It is just a silent golf cart ride to the top view for 5 minutes and back down. I thought I was paying for an informational tour and more opportunities for photography but that wasnt it. I could have walked up the adjacent mountain ridge for free....

This hidden jewel rises approximately 600 feet to its summit and is located in between the Mendenhall Glacier and Juneau proper. We were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day for our visit. Outside the garden gift shop is your stating point. First youll find several of the featured upside down trees with their root ball above you, overflowing with planted flowering plants, ferns and other varieties of vegetation. Then youll board your open carts for the guided steep, twisting ride up through incredible rain forest, which is an awesome adventure by itself. When you get to the top yo have a short walk up to the summit deck overlook, that has spectacular views of the valleys, Juneau airport and the Mendenhall River. The trip back down to the garden shop and snack bar is just as exciting and enjoyable. The garden shop is very colorful with hanging flowers and open umbrellas. This was an enjoyable side trip and youll take many photos as memories of this photogenic site. Enjoy some of our pictures. If you get the chance we would encourage you to stop.

Really nice place to visit, they will show you how they plant trees upside down and make a beautiful ornament with it. Those trees last for about 12 years and after they have to re plant them again because they roth. The Naturist will take you around the rainforest on their vehicle on a 45 minutes tour, and explain the different types of vegetation growing in the place, couple of stops to enjoy the view will have place and in the end, naturist will give you some time to enjoy the greenhouse to after return to your destination.

This was a unique and beautiful experience. The setup of the Glacier gardens was really nice and the view from the platform was phenomenal.

Beautiful landscaping and gardens. Unique upside down tree plantings, cascading waterfalls and gorgeous views from the top of the trail.

Alaska surprised us in many ways but from the many places we have seen around the world, the Rain Forest - the size of North Carolina - was the most surprising by its place on Earth and by its beauty, but I am afraid its probably the least known.Seeing it should definitely be a must for whoever visits Alaska.The visit is very well organized, the ride with those vehicles resembling to big golf carts on that very steep and sinuous road is sometimes scary, but if you have a driver/guide like the lady we had, you probably wont ever forget it. You learn a lot about the place, the flora, the lumberjack locals life and even - in our case - personal and family stories.

The story behind this garden is what makes it amazing. The owner is also the gardener and creator of everything you see. His heart is everywhere you look as you tour this beautiful garden. There were also Eagle chicks just born in a nest on his site. He has developed a true haven and natural habitat for the plants and animals.

So beautiful and amazing. Dont miss this! The staff are all so nice, and the guides are fun.

Beautiful flowers and unique upside down trees used as planters

One of my favorite places in Juneau. Very beautiful.

Beautiful place! Thank you for all your hard work Steve!

These guys love their jobs! From the very eclectic and lovable upside down trees with their exquisite flower arrangements to the lovable and friendly staff.... this was a great stop!

Really beautiful place. Zack at Alaska Galore Tours really took time to show us around the place.

This place is awesome! A definite must see.

Awesome, beautifully constructed, temperate rainforest paradise. The idea behind this land is genius, and the uptake and care that is put into is is apparent. I want to live here.

If you have a chance to go here, DO NOT MISS IT! Absolutely breathtaking and inspiring and beautiful this was the highlight of our alaskan cruise and convinced me to come back soon (and hopefully move there someday)

What great flowers. You have to see the upside trees. Besides from my pics

Beautiful gardens and tour but the only downside is they dont give you time to take photos along the way on the tour. They take you through the park in a covered, open on the sides stretch golf cart type of vehicle, but they dont tell you that its just to give you an initial overview of the property, and not meant to be a photo opp tour. At the end of the tour, we were told we had all day to take photos and walk the grounds but its a long way and very steep. I guess it would have been fine if we would have planned our time accordingly and knew to make a day trip of hiking out of it, but we didnt know this ahead of time. Otherwise, great tour and gardens.

Beautiful gardens. Unique. Also view of Juneau. No crowds.

I expected the Mendenhall Glacier. But until visiting Juneau, I had no idea it was in the midst of a rainforest. It was a great learning experience for all of us!

Awesome 2 mile vehicle guided tour through impressive landscaping displays and natural rainforest habitat. Stellar views at the top and excellent service from the staff. Great opportunity to see the forest especially if you have young children or seniors in your party.

Upside down trees that become elevated planters. Cool

Well worth the trip. Very well qualified guides. Limited required walking. Assistance available.

Actually a lovely place to go for coffee in the afternoon and just hang out beautiful atmosphere

Almost has a tropical look to it. Very unlike the rest of Alaska

A beautiful place with wonderful staff. The view at the end of the tour is astonishing. Has a fun little gift shop too :)

Very cool tour and upside down trees. Also a great lookout point for pictures.

Glacier Gardens was such a wonderful adventure. Would recommend to anyone. Absolutely beautiful, stunning grounds. The guides and personnel were very nice, courteous and funny. Learned that the second largest rainforest next to the Amazon is part of the gardens. I was there June, 2017.

Friendly staff and beautiful view at the lookout!

Fabulous place to visit. Rainforest, botanical gardens and views. Excellent guides with knowledgeable and passionate narration. And to top it all - an eagles nest with two nearly mature young. Like I said - fabulous!!

Beautiful and friendly staff, take cart ride to th top

Very nice guided tour. Tour is a sit down open 15 person bus drive. Driver not only gave a routine speach, but was genuinely engaged with the true meaning of the service he was providing. Very knowledgeable. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Tour lasted approximately 1 hour.

Nice facility. Had a tram ride through the rainforest. Stopped at an observation platform 500+ feet above sea level. Saw several eagles. The upside down trees were very interesting. Beautiful showcase of the forest. Visitor center has a small gift shop and offers drinks and snacks for sale. There are tables and chairs available in a covered area.

A little overpriced, but we ended up on a private tour with a fun, knowledgeable guide. Amazing views from the top of the gardens.

Way cool. Must see

The Rain Forest was something to see! I always thought of rain forest as in the jungles, but they get 13 feet of water every year here in Alaska?

A beautiful place to visit. It is well kept. 27.00 for adults you had better like flowers..

Beautiful landscape! The upside down trees are amazing. Steve puts a lot of effort into this place and it shows. The employees are all very nice.

Maybe I had too much expectations. Place was just alright, they had a unique concept of flipping a tree upside down but other than a few of these sprinkled around there was not much to see..

Very special and beautiful

Eugene was our tour guide and he couldnt have made it any better! He made our tour just wonderful. Super educational and plenty of laughs. I couldnt be happier.

Definitely a must-do! We did the tour on the golf cart with Robert, who was very informative and had lots of interesting stories. Felix was our guide inside and he was just as awesome! The gardens are amazing! They take you up the mountain to see some really good views. There is a little cafe, gift shop and restroom inside and lots of flowers every where!

The upside down trees are beautiful and functinal. We highly recommend taking a look.

Definitely one of the more unique gardens. They also have their own breeding pair of bald eagles.

Some of the most beautiful flowers/baskets ever. Loved our time there!

Very cool place. Beautiful flowers.

Original idea for hanging baskets, set in stunning grounds with fantastic views from the top. Worth a visit.

To call this place a garden is a misnomer. You will spend most of your time riding up a mountain in a golf cart or tram through a rain forest.

A truly beautiful place. A must see if in Juneau. Its one-of-a-kind Flower Towers are imazing. We have really enjoyed the tour around the property. Its a really inspiring to hear about the founder of this place and his hard work. It is unlike anything you ever expected to find in Alaska.

A hidden gem not broadly advertised. Well worth the $28 admission. Most informative tour of Alaskan forest including Spectacular views of Juneau. Lots of friendly, knowledgeable staff. Cafe could be improved. Overall a fabulous experience.

Beautiful! Very creative displays! I love the hanging flowers and umbrellas!

An unexpected treat. A very interesting shore excursion; it was beautiful but not at its peak since the season for flowers was nearly over. It must be breathtaking earlier in the summer.

A lovely tour of beautiful gardens. The guides are really superb!

So beautiful...all of these trees growing in less than a foot of soil on top of bedrock.

A fun place to see some interesting upside tree gardens! There are tons of beautiful flowers, gorgeous upside down trees with mini gardens on top. There is even a tram tour that takes you above the forest to an amazing view of the Bay of Juneau. I had an amazing time taking photos of the flowers and wooden carvings. The gift shop was stocked and a beautiful place to enjoy tea or coffee.

Beautiful gardens. Old tree trunks turned up side down and flowers and plants planted in the trimmed roots. Steep trek up to the top in a 4 wheel drive vehicle ( 23%) grade. Wow! It was a little scary going up but worth the view. Ponds that were created, small waterfalls, natural foliage. So many things to see. Worth the stop and the gift shop was great. Loved all the upside down umbrellas on the ceiling.

Will never see any thing like this in the lower 49 states /great ride up the mountainReally fantastic guides /views ever whereGlad we stopped

Relaxing ..smells of gardens...awesome place

Very informative guides - I learned a lot about temperate rain forests, salmon, and how a bear can smell food from a mile away.

GREAT. Wonderful area to see and a great tour giude.

Beautiful garden in natural setting. Great guide!

Its beautiful here but overpriced. We paid $54 for two people to look at a landscaped garden and some flowers. Then we got a golf cart ride up the forest to get a view of the valley and see a few more flowers, came down the mountain on the golf cart and tour over. They have some really pretty parts that are trees that were turned upside down during an avalanche that they now pot flowers in the roots of the trees. You can see the beauty in photos too though. This would be worth it as part of a tour from the cruise in combination with something else like the Mendenhall Glacier or whale watching but not worth paying for an uber to get here to see some flowers and then paying to uber back to downtown. Worth it if your super into flowers or looking for something else to do with your family and willing to spend the money.

Wonderful place to view nature and the bald eagles

Breathtaking gardens in a unique setting. Ride through a rain forest to magnificent panoramic view of Gastineu Bay. Knowledgable and friendly staff.

What a wonderful surprise to find and tour the gardens.

Absolutely gorgeous!

An adventure in Juneau, you dont want to miss!

A little bit touristy but interesting to see. The guide seem to worship the owner. They constantly mention his name and tell you all about his family when youre really more interested in the Flora.

Family-owned excellent creative beautiful.

Fantastic family run gardens well worth a visit

Big trees and chilly weather and snowy surrounding.Nice place to visit a waterfall.

Beautiful views and interesting origin story.

Beautiful flowers! Great view at the top!

An amazing rainforest with lots of flowers everywhere. The trip to the top of the mountain was exciting, as were the views. But be sure to go on a clear day to get the entire effect.

Beautiful. Loved the camera in the eagles nest.

Always a great experience, even when its cold and wet! They have some really great displays and I love the upside down trees. They treat you well and you can grab a hot drink inside after the tour

We only got to see part of the gardens because the excursion that was booked through AAA only went about 100 yards into the gardens. While other tourists zipped by us in golf carts, we walked a little ways in, then turned around and walked out. So even though what we saw was nice, it was less than 20% of the garden.

Go see it you wont believe what one guy has created. Beautiful work.

This is amazing place, so beautiful!

Absolutely worth the time and cost

Beautiful flowers and views. Well worth the trip. Such friendly people loving guides.

Beautiful

Astonishing awe inspiring beauty.

Was ok, trees, lots of trees, dont come in May. Nothing is blooming yet. Otherwise Im sure its pretty. The bus driver/excursion guy didnt give us nearly enough time either and was in such a hurry he wrecked our bus trying to get us back to the ship. Crazy.

Soooooo interesting and a wonderful garden setting.

They have a webcam of their own Eagles nest on their property which some can see from the ground. And then go into their gallery and see the eagles nest from the love video.

Super interesting place but it really has nothing to do with any glaciers. If you have the time and the energy for a hike, youre better off on one of the many trails around. If youre short on time and you want to be driven around on a trail, then this is not a bad option.

This places was amazing.. And the staff was very friendly. Lots to see and explore. Highly recommended.

We went in late May / early June time frame. We couldnt believe how much was in bloom at this time. The colors were incredible. A lot of work goes into maintenance. Also really liked the view from atop the property where you get a view of the city and fjord. The seaplane airstrip is something that you dont see every day either.

Neat place!

This place is amazing! I timed it just right and got to take the tour by myself. Both guides were hilarious, knowledgable and very good at their job. I wasnt expecting to be driven around on the tour but it was nice as the road to the top is rather steep. The view was amazing and well worth $25. I would highly recommend this place to others if you are here visiting.

A must see attraction ! Definitely a one of a kind place .

Wow! Steve has done amazing things here. The flower towers alone are worth the visit, but the tour up the mountain gets you easily out in the wilderness of Alaska all from the comfort of a beautiful tram.

This is a very interesting place. They take you up the side of a mountain in a large golf cart like vehicle. That doesnt sound scary but the mountain is very steep and the road is very narrow and the road is mostly many Bridges made out of the dead trees that came there as part of the landslide that created the place in the first place. Upside-down trees with flowers planted doesnt do it justice. They are absolutely beautiful! And the view at the top is spectacular.

Family owned, beautiful garden tour!! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, thorough and entertaining! We were taken in a golf cart up the mountain along a curvy path through lush forest to a pretty spectacular view at the top. Would highly recommend this tour if in Juneau!!

Tour the interestIng garden and grounds via a opened shuttle.