diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs
index c8d897d074..d7f5958128 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline.rs
@@ -2127,22 +2127,14 @@ impl Timeline {
         debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id();
 
         // Regardless of whether we're going to try_freeze_and_flush
-        // or not, stop ingesting any more data. Walreceiver only provides
-        // cancellation but no "wait until gone", because it uses the Timeline::gate.
-        // So, only after the self.gate.close() below will we know for sure that
-        // no walreceiver tasks are left.
-        // For `try_freeze_and_flush=true`, this means that we might still be ingesting
-        // data during the call to `self.freeze_and_flush()` below.
-        // That's not ideal, but, we don't have the concept of a ChildGuard,
-        // which is what we'd need to properly model early shutdown of the walreceiver
-        // task sub-tree before the other Timeline task sub-trees.
+        // or not, stop ingesting any more data.
         let walreceiver = self.walreceiver.lock().unwrap().take();
         tracing::debug!(
             is_some = walreceiver.is_some(),
             "Waiting for WalReceiverManager..."
         );
         if let Some(walreceiver) = walreceiver {
-            walreceiver.cancel();
+            walreceiver.shutdown().await;
         }
         // ... and inform any waiters for newer LSNs that there won't be any.
         self.last_record_lsn.shutdown();
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/walreceiver.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/walreceiver.rs
index 4f80073cc3..0f73eb839b 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/walreceiver.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/timeline/walreceiver.rs
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ pub struct WalReceiver {
     /// All task spawned by [`WalReceiver::start`] and its children are sensitive to this token.
     /// It's a child token of [`Timeline`] so that timeline shutdown can cancel WalReceiver tasks early for `freeze_and_flush=true`.
     cancel: CancellationToken,
+    task: tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>,
 }
 
 impl WalReceiver {
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ impl WalReceiver {
         let loop_status = Arc::new(std::sync::RwLock::new(None));
         let manager_status = Arc::clone(&loop_status);
         let cancel = timeline.cancel.child_token();
-        WALRECEIVER_RUNTIME.spawn({
+        let task = WALRECEIVER_RUNTIME.spawn({
             let cancel = cancel.clone();
             async move {
                 debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id();
@@ -120,14 +121,25 @@ impl WalReceiver {
         Self {
             manager_status,
             cancel,
+            task,
         }
     }
 
     #[instrument(skip_all, level = tracing::Level::DEBUG)]
-    pub fn cancel(&self) {
+    pub async fn shutdown(self) {
         debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id();
         debug!("cancelling walreceiver tasks");
         self.cancel.cancel();
+        match self.task.await {
+            Ok(()) => debug!("Shutdown success"),
+            Err(je) if je.is_cancelled() => unreachable!("not used"),
+            Err(je) if je.is_panic() => {
+                // already logged by panic hook
+            }
+            Err(je) => {
+                error!("shutdown walreceiver task join error: {je}")
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     pub(crate) fn status(&self) -> Option<ConnectionManagerStatus> {