My wife and I did this tour today as part of a package purchased through Princess Cruises called “Mendenhall Glacier and Glacier Gardens Adventure.” I am only reviewing the Glacier Gardens Adventure experience.

The experience is a brief walk to a location at which you board a tour vehicle (approx 18 capacity). The guide during the walk tells you about the owner, Steven Bowhay, and his transformation of the property following a mud slide. She explains the “upside down” trees that were re-purposed after being uprooted and transformed into unique planters throughout the property. Aboard the vehicle, you slowly climb the winding roadway up to an elevation of approximately 600 feet. During the climb, your driver points out some interesting plants and the two primary types of trees (spruce and hemlock). At the top, you have a few minutes to take in the panoramic views before boarding the vehicle for the ride back down. At the bottom there is a greenhouse with hanging plants, a snack bar and small gift shop. This is an easy tour - the vehicle does all of the work - so it is good for those with limited mobility so long as you can walk the short distance to the vehicle and transfer into the vehicle (about like the transfer into a minivan). If you are a serious botanist, this may not be the tour for you. The plants are mundane and uninteresting although the plantings are nice (thing typical city arboretum). There are some blueberries and other local berry varieties growing on the property. The guide hinted that deer and bears are sometimes seen but later said that he has only seen one bear his entire time working there. The guide did try to make the subject interesting as possible. However there is simply little drama or interest that anyone could have added. My personal expectations were not high. My wife enjoyed it - she loves flowering plants and said this was a nice easy tour to following the tour to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. Hope this info helps.