NorthStar Helicopters (NorthStar Trekking) — Attraction in Juneau

When we booked this I will say that we were hesitant to shell out that kind of money and were hoping it was worth it. Let me tell you, it is so WORTH IT!!! Despite the steep price tag we had an excursion of a lifetime here. We did the 1 hour glacier trek with helicopter tour. They send you instructions on where to meet by the Mt Roberts tram building. They shuttle you in a van to their office next to the airport. Be sure to print out your ticket because they collect that as you arrive. They give you boots, pants, a jacket, and a fanny pack. They give you a bag to keep the rest of your things in while you are away on the excursion. The fanny pack is relatively large, plus there isn’t much room in the helicopter for much more than just yourself anyway. They go off of the weight and sizes that you input on the website when booking to give you supplies as well as assign you a spot in the helicopter based on weight. You have plenty of time at the office to go for a bathroom break, organize your things and get dressed. They go over a safety briefing with you and are more than willing to answer any questions you have about the trip. The helicopter fits 6 people/guests plus the pilot. 2 in the front row and 4 in the back row. It is quite cozy so get ready to be real comfortable with your neighbors in the helicopter with you. Our pilot was Harry who was amazing. He made us feel safe and pointed out interesting landmarks along the way. The views on the helicopter ride over to the glacier (about 15-20 minutes) were worth the price tag alone. It was so grand and jaw dropping. There are no words to describe it, just speechless at the beauty. We all agreed this ride in the helicopter was the best part of the entire trip and cruise. You see huge glacier ice fields, mountains, snow, rocks, and just majestic beauty. You land on the glacier to their camp they have set up. You get outfitted with ice cleats on your boots as well as some ski poles. Tommy and Cody were our glacier guides and they were very patient and kind. They made sure no one was falling behind and stopped to talk at some notable glacier tidbits. You got to see some flowing water, some crevice’s, and how blue some of the glacier and water looks. They are more than willing to take your picture as well. They provide you with a water bottle and a granola bar for the trip. However they encourage you to dump out the water bottle so you can fill it up with glacier water! We tried the glacier water and I will say it definitely just tastes like normal water, but it is cool to say you have tried it! You also get to feel some glacier silt which is like soft sand/dirt. You learn a little bit about the glaciers but the experience is really about taking it all in as you walk around and admire the scenery. You also get to say that you walked on a glacier! Once your hour is done, your helicopter comes back to pick you up. On the ride back however you do take the short way back to the airport and it is only about a 10 minute ride. Less grandeur of a ride but still very very cool. Then you have more time to get organized and undressed again before you take a ride back in the van back to the parking lot of the tram. Overall I can highly highly recommend North star helicopters for your Juneau excursion. They definitely have things down pat and know what they are doing. Everyone we encountered was very friendly and welcoming. This excursion was definitely worth it and had our jaws on the ground basically the entire time. Absolutely amazing from start to finish. If you are hesitant to spend the money here, I will say do it. Because I felt the same way initially, and now I have absolutely...

NorthStar Trekking deserves ZERO stars. Horrible service throughout the process.

We booked the Extended Helicopter Glacier Trek months prior to arriving in Juneau. We left the ship once docked in Juneau and searched for our tour group. We could not find anyone responsible for our tour. They were not holding up signs like the rest of the guides, but we found them by asking around. The two young women from NorthStar Trekking asked us to sit and wait a few minutes prior to heading to the helipad.

They returned ten minutes later to tell us that the excursion was cancelled. They said 'Don't worry though, there are many other excursion options available on the pier. Have a great vacation!' In shock and confused, we stared at them blankly. They walked away and we chased after them; asking why the tour was cancelled, would we be refunded, could they reschedule our tour for later in the day? They said it was too cloudy for the helicopter, we would be refunded, and they couldn't help us any further. They directed us to an unmarked Tour building and we asked if we could re-schedule our helicopter tour for later in the day, since the weather wasn't bad at all. They said we needed to talk to NorthStar Trekking. We walked back to the NST reps, and they gave us the same answer as before, 'Sorry we can't help you, but you will be refunded'.

Dejected, we walked down the docks until we found a small hut called 'Juneau Tours'. The rep offered to call around and find us a different helicopter tour. Within 5 minutes he had booked a different helicopter tour leaving an hour later with the same company that had just cancelled on us (NorthStar Trekking). We paid Juneau Tours for the new tour and headed over to the NST helipad. We waited another hour and half there, as other tours took off and landed.

The tour was pretty good, but a month later they still haven't refunded us for the canceled tour. They have charged as an extra $1,200. 2 emails and 3 phone calls later, they say the refund will arrive in another 2-4 weeks.

Terrible experience. Don't roll the dice with North Star Trekking. You'll...

Adventure of a life time, is how my husband and I call this excursion, we had the opportunity to experience on May 15th, 2024 through Royal Princess Cruise. We arrived at the new large, spacious building of the Northstar Helicopters at the airport, just outside of the town of Juneau, Alaska. We were greeted by three very friendly staff who lead us into a room where our equipment was laid out ready for us to get suited up with rain jackets & pants, boots, safety harness, warm gloves and a side pack which had a can of alaska pure mountain spring water & granola bar. After an informative safety briefing, we headed outside in single file to the helicopter to assigned seats. John, our pilot gave us a tour of the Mendenhall Lake, crisscrossing Mendenhall Glacier, viewed waterfalls, local mountain sides looking for wildlife and Suicidal Glacier before touching down at the base camp on Mendenhall Glacier. Our lead guide Bill and his associate guides Aristotle and Coneor met us as we took our first steps on the Glacier. The Guides were very helpful and friendly fitting us with helmets, boot spikes and a pick followed by a safety briefing before starting our walking adventure. Bill was a very informative, courteous, attentive, educational and story telling guide through out the walk. Aristotle and Coneor were very attentive and courteous when we needed help. We were the first group of 6 lucky guests to walk on the Mendenhall Glacier for 2024. Our weather wasn’t great, but the misty rain that came down the entire time didn’t put a damper on our adventure. It was an incredible adventure you have to experience!! The crunching of the ice as we walked, the magnificent ice structures and crevasses, crystal clear, baby blue bodies of water which you can’t see the bottoms and hearing the running water through cut out streams are our fondest memories. A huge Thank You to John our helicopter pilot, Bill, Aristotle, Coneor our guides and the staff of the Northstar Helicopters for making this an unforgettable adventure and the highlight of our...