Amongst North America‘s best-known nationwide parks, Glacier Bay is a little bit of an outlier.
Not like Yellowstone or Yosemite, you’ll be able to’t go to Glacier Bay on a street journey. There aren’t any roads main into the park, and the one method to attain it’s by small aircraft, boat or ship.
There’s additionally little infrastructure inside the park. It does have a customer middle and lodge, situated at its very edge. However its greatest sights — its big tidewater glaciers — are viewable solely from the deck of a vessel. At its essence, Glacier Bay is a huge, fjordlike physique of water lined with snowcapped mountains, forests and glaciers, and it’s finest seen from the water.
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It is because of this that a big share of Glacier Bay’s practically 700,000 guests a yr arrive on a cruise ship. Certainly, you possibly can nearly name Glacier Bay a cruise ship park.
Solely by arriving by cruise vessel (or one other boat, together with the park tour boat) are you able to totally expertise the park by touring up the 65-mile-long waterway to a glacier and again.
Even so, you’ll solely see a small portion of the park. Established as a nationwide monument in 1925 and elevated to nationwide park standing in 1980, Glacier Bay covers greater than 5,200 sq. miles — an space in regards to the measurement of Connecticut. That makes it practically as large as Yellowstone and Yosemite mixed — although a lot of this space is comparatively inaccessible.
As a longtime journey author specializing in cruising, I’ve been to Glacier Bay many instances, and it’s one in all my favourite locations in Alaska. Its glaciers are its star sights, for certain. Nevertheless it additionally affords spectacular mountain surroundings, wildlife and — for individuals who make an effort to come back for a multinight keep — great mountain climbing, kayaking and different outdoorsy pursuits.
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Attending to Glacier Bay
As famous above, most of Glacier Bay’s guests arrive by cruise ship. The everyday cruise that features a go to to Glacier Bay is a seven-night Alaska voyage out of Vancouver, British Columbia, or Seattle that additionally contains stops on the Alaskan cities of Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. The go to to Glacier Bay fills simply at some point of the seven-night journey.
Two main strains with historic ties to the park — Princess Cruises and Holland America — supply essentially the most sailings with a go to to Glacier Bay. The Nationwide Park Service permits simply two ships a day into the park, and arrivals are ruled by a allowing system that provides desire to strains that operated within the park earlier than the allowing system started.
Norwegian Cruise Line, Seabourn, Cunard Line and Viking even have ships that go to the park, as do small-ship operators UnCruise Adventures, Alaskan Dream Cruises, Lindblad Expeditions and American Cruise Strains.
A visit on a cruise ship isn’t the one method to get into Glacier Bay. Would-be guests may fly or take a ferry to Gustavus, a tiny city (inhabitants 642) on the sting of the park close to the entry level for a tour boat that travels into the park each day. Dubbed Baranof Wind and operated by park concessionaire Aramark, the tour boat departs from Bartlett Cove, which is simply contained in the park boundary and the house to the park’s customer middle.
Throughout the summer season vacationer season, Alaska Airways affords each day service to Gustavus Airport (GST) from Juneau Worldwide Airport (JNU), 48 miles to the southeast. An air taxi firm, Alaska Seaplanes, affords small-plane flights to Gustavus from Juneau year-round. Ferry service to Gustavus is thru the Alaska Marine Freeway System, which sends a ferry to the city recurrently from Juneau.
The 2 important airways that fly to Juneau are Alaska Airways and Delta Air Strains.
Park guests can also arrive on the park by personal or chartered boat.
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When to go
Whereas Glacier Bay is open year-round, customer providers are extraordinarily restricted exterior of the summer season season, and practically everyone who visits comes between Might and September.
Most cruises that embody a cease in Glacier Bay happen between April and September, and the Glacier Bay tour boat solely runs in the summertime months. The park’s customer middle and solely lodge (Glacier Bay Lodge), which share a constructing, are also open solely in the summertime.
Summer time is essentially the most nice time to be in Glacier Bay, temperature-wise. However even on the peak of summer season, it may be chilly, with temperatures topping out between 50 and 60 levels throughout daylight. Rain can also be widespread, with the world round Gustavus getting round 70 inches a yr.
April, Might and June are sometimes the driest months. September and October are typically the wettest. The underside line is that, even at midsummer, try to be ready for any form of climate. Pack good rain gear, waterproof boots, wool or fleece layers and a heat hat and gloves.
Regardless of while you go, there’s no charge to enter Glacier Bay, which is uncommon for nationwide parks. Nor are there charges for tenting or boating permits. So you’ll be able to depart your nationwide park annual go at dwelling.
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What to see and do
Because the title suggests, Glacier Bay is a park all about glaciers. It’s dwelling to greater than 1,000 of them, and seeing a glacier up shut is the large draw for many guests.
Particularly, vacationers come to view one of many park’s seven-ish big tidewater glaciers, which circulation down from the mountains to the water. I say seven-ish because the park’s rangers previously couple of years have famous that a number of the tidewater glaciers have melted again a lot that they will not be interacting with the ocean water anymore. That is the definition of a tidewater glacier. The park rangers nowadays wish to say there are “not more than seven” of the tidewater glaciers now, perhaps fewer.
The discount within the variety of tidewater glaciers on the park is an ongoing development. Once I wrote an earlier model of this information a number of years in the past, the variety of tidewater glaciers on the park was 9.
Regardless of the actual quantity, for these visiting Glacier Bay by cruise ship, the expertise will revolve closely round a cease at one in all these glaciers to look at big chunks of ice crash down from its face — a powerful present.
Cruise ships arrive within the park for the higher a part of a day, and the expertise goes past a cease at one of many park’s glaciers. Sightings of puffins, harbor seals, Steller sea lions and even the occasional humpback whale or brown bear are a part of the attract — all whereas touring by water by way of an immense, glacier-carved panorama.
When you come on an enormous cruise ship, you’ll be doing all your Glacier Bay viewing from the deck of your vessel. Massive cruise ships in Glacier Bay by no means dock, and no person will get off them. Nonetheless, you’ll get the complete Nationwide Park Service expertise. Park rangers and infrequently an area Huna Tlingit cultural information will board the vessel for the day to supply displays and shipwide commentary over loudspeakers, lead actions for youths and reply questions.
Some small cruise vessels that spend the evening in Glacier Bay do permit passengers to disembark.
For these guests who journey by aircraft or ferry to Gustavus, extra choices can be found. Along with taking the Glacier Bay Day Tour up the bay on the park tour boat ($262.44 per grownup; $137.11 for youngsters ages 3 to 12), guests will discover alternatives to hike, kayak and camp.
The day tour on the park tour boat contains stops at two glaciers — Margerie and Grand Pacific. Every towers practically 250 ft above the ocean and stretches one other 100 ft beneath the water. The ice that calves from their faces is, on common, 200 years previous.
Mountaineering trails inside the park close to Gustavus vary from the 1-mile Forest Path, which affords a leisurely meander by way of a lush forest, to the 8-mile-long Bartlett Lake Path, a rugged trek to a tranquil lake. Most guests head down one of many trails on their very own, however for these on the lookout for interpretation, park rangers based mostly at Bartlett Cove supply a each day guided forest loop stroll (at 1:30 p.m., as of the publication of this story).
Kayak leases can be found at Bartlett Cove, the place the park service customer middle is situated, for each day journeys across the space and multiday outings deep into the park. Kayakers can go off on their very own or join a guided tour.
Birdwatching additionally is a well-liked exercise in Glacier Bay. The park’s numerous habitat permits for all kinds of species (eventually rely, 281), together with rainforest species such because the American three-toed woodpecker and neotropical migrant warblers, thrushes and different songbirds. There are also island and cliff seabird colonies of gulls, guillemots, puffins and cormorants.
As well as, each day cultural actions can be found at Xunaa Shuka Hit (the tribal home) in Bartlett Cove. Unveiled in 2016, that is the primary everlasting Huna Tlingit clan home for the reason that authentic Huna Tlingit villages of the world had been destroyed by a glacier over 250 years in the past. Positioned inside a brief strolling distance of Glacier Bay Lodge, it affords the prospect to study firsthand about Huna Tlingit historical past, tradition and life from tribal elders. Guests may expertise dance performances and native meals and see historic pictures. Hand-carved totem poles inform the Huna Tlingit story.
A Nationwide Park Service customer middle is situated on the second stage of Glacier Bay Lodge. Park rangers can be found a lot of the day to reply questions, and movies on the park can be found for watching within the customer middle’s auditorium. A ranger program is offered within the auditorium every night.
Guests can also get an outline of Glacier Bay’s mountains, ice and water from a flightseeing tour out of Gustavus and even the Alaskan cities of Yakutat or Haines.
The place to remain
When you’re arriving at Glacier Bay on a cruise, you don’t have to fret about a spot to remain. You’ll be spending the evening in your ship.
These planning to go to the park by the use of Gustavus will discover a number of locations to mattress down. Many guests keep on the 48-room Glacier Bay Lodge, which is inside the park about 10 miles from the city (rooms from $270.40 an evening). Cozy and rustic, the lodge is nestled amongst Sitka spruce on the shores of Bartlett Cove, which is also dwelling to the park’s headquarters and the jumping-off level for each day excursions on the park boat. Glacier Bay Lodge is the one lodging inside the park.
Again in Gustavus, you will discover a handful of small inns, guesthouses and bed-and-breakfasts. They embody the 14-room Bear Observe Inn (from $495 per individual per day, together with meals and floor transportation) and the five-room and five-cabin Glacier Bay Nation Inn ($319 per individual per day, together with meals and floor transportation). Gustavus is not an enormous place; some venues right here supply just some rooms.
You additionally might face a little bit of sticker shock when seeing the charges for lodging in Gustavus. In lots of circumstances, that is pushed by the truth that the properties function on a semi-all-inclusive foundation, with all meals and transportation from the airport included within the base value.
Sadly for factors and miles devotees, there aren’t any factors resorts in Gustavus. You will discover a number of factors resorts again in Juneau, such because the 4 Factors by Sheraton Juneau (rooms in the summertime begin at $389, or 50,000 factors) and a trio of Wyndham Rewards-affiliated properties (a Ramada, Travelodge and Tremendous 8).
The park additionally maintains a free, walk-in campground in a rainforest setting at Bartlett Cove. Out there on a first-come, first-served foundation, it affords bear-proof meals storage caches, composting bathrooms, a fireplace pit on the seaside and a small warming shelter. Firewood is offered.
That stated, most tenting in Glacier Bay takes place within the wilderness. The park affords greater than 700 linear miles of shorelines, seashores and islands open to tenting. Campers can prepare for the park’s tour boat to drop them off at one in all a number of designated areas inside the park and choose them up days later.
Campers should register upon arrival on the Customer Data Station close to the Bartlett Cove dock. Campers can name 907-697-2627 previous to arrival to inquire about house availability on the campground at Bartlett Cove.
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The place to eat
Once more, if you happen to’re arriving by cruise ship, you’ll be consuming on board your vessel.
When you’re staying within the Gustavus space, you’ll in all probability be consuming on the lodge or inn the place you’re staying or at one other one of many lodging properties on the town. The city is so small that its eating institutions usually are tied to its lodging shops. They’re additionally solely open in the summertime.
Most of the lodging choices supply a “full board” plan that features three meals every day. Be warned {that a} la carte pricing at eateries might be excessive within the Gustavus space, as is true in lots of locations in Alaska. This partly has to do with the excessive price of getting provides to distant elements of the state.
For these staying at Glacier Bay Lodge, the in-house restaurant, the Fairweather Eating Room, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each lodge company and outsiders. The dinner menu contains native Alaska salmon and halibut. Lunch brings burgers and sandwiches (together with a halibut sandwich).
Additionally open to company and outsiders is the restaurant at Glacier Bay Nation Inn. It serves Alaskan delicacies, akin to salmon, usually provided en croute with a inexperienced peppercorn sauce.
Backside line
A go to to Glacier Bay is without doubt one of the iconic experiences of a visit to Alaska, and one thing it is best to attempt to do not less than as soon as in your life — if solely to see the enormous calving glaciers. For many guests, experiencing the park will contain a voyage on a cruise ship that brings only a day within the park. However for individuals who wish to discover deeper within the park, there are methods to try this, too.
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