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 solution to attain it’s by small airplane, boat or ship.
There’s additionally little infrastructure throughout the park. It does have a customer middle and a lodge, situated at its very edge. However its largest points of interest — its large 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 is best seen from the water.
It is for that reason that a big proportion of Glacier Bay’s almost 700,000 guests a 12 months arrive on a cruise ship. Certainly, you may 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 may 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 almost as huge as Yellowstone and Yosemite mixed, although a lot of this space is comparatively inaccessible.
As a longtime journey author specializing in cruising, I have been to Glacier Bay many occasions, and it is one in every of my favourite locations in Alaska. Its glaciers are its star points of interest, for certain. However it additionally affords spectacular mountain surroundings, wildlife and — for individuals who make an effort to return 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 consists of stops on the Alaskan cities of Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. The go to to Glacier Bay fills simply in the future of the seven-night journey.
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Two main traces with historic ties to the park — Princess Cruises and Holland America — supply essentially the most Alaska sailings that embody 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 offers choice to traces 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 Traces.
A visit on a cruise ship is not the one solution to get into Glacier Bay. Would-be guests may fly or take a ferry to Gustavus, a tiny city (inhabitants 612) on the sting of the park that’s close to the entry level for a tour boat that travels into the park day by 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.
Through the summer time vacationer season, Alaska Airways affords day by 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 often from Juneau.
The 2 most important airways that fly to Juneau are Alaska Airways and Delta Air Traces.
Park guests can also arrive on the park by non-public or chartered boat.
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When to go
Whereas Glacier Bay is open year-round, customer companies are restricted outdoors of the summer time season, and almost everyone who visits comes between Could 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 solely open in the summertime.
Summer time is essentially the most nice time to be in Glacier Bay, temperature-wise. However even on the top of summer time, it may be chilly, with temperatures topping out between 50 and 60 levels throughout daytime. Rain can also be frequent, with the world round Gustavus getting round 70 inches a 12 months.
April, Could and June are sometimes the driest months; September and October are usually the wettest. The underside line is that, even at midsummer, you have to be ready for any type of climate. Pack good rain gear, waterproof boots, wool or fleece layers and a heat hat and gloves.
Irrespective of whenever you go, there isn’t any 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 move at house.
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What to see and do
Because the title suggests, Glacier Bay is a park all about glaciers. It is house 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 large tidewater glaciers, which circulation down from the mountains to the water. I say seven-ish because the park’s rangers up to now couple of years have famous that a number of the tidewater glaciers have melted again a lot that they is probably not interacting with the ocean water anymore. That is the definition of a tidewater glacier. The park rangers nowadays prefer to say there are “not more than seven” of the tidewater glaciers now, possibly fewer.
The discount within the variety of tidewater glaciers on the park is an ongoing development. After I wrote an earlier model of this information a couple of years in the past, the variety of tidewater glaciers on the park was 9.
Regardless of the precise quantity, for these visiting Glacier Bay by cruise ship, the expertise will revolve closely round a cease at one in every of these glaciers to look at large chunks of ice crash down from its face — an impressive 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 an immense glacier-carved panorama.
In case you come on a giant cruise ship, you may be doing all of your Glacier Bay viewing from the deck of your vessel. Large cruise ships in Glacier Bay by no means dock, and no person will get off them. Nonetheless, you may get the total Nationwide Park Service expertise. Park rangers and sometimes an area Huna Tlingit cultural information will board the vessel for the day to supply shows and shipwide commentary over loudspeakers, lead actions for teenagers and reply questions.
Some small cruise vessels that spend the night time in Glacier Bay do permit passengers to disembark.
For these guests who journey by airplane 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 ($265 per grownup; $138.76 for kids ages 3 to 12), guests will discover alternatives to hike, kayak and camp.
The day tour on the park tour boat consists of stops at two glaciers — Margerie and Grand Pacific. Every towers almost 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.
Mountain climbing trails throughout the park close to Gustavus vary from the 1-mile Forest Path, which affords a leisurely meander by 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 in search of interpretation, park rangers based mostly at Bartlett Cove supply a day by 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 (finally depend, 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.
Moreover, day by 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 because the authentic Huna Tlingit villages of the world have been destroyed by a glacier over 250 years in the past. Situated inside quick strolling distance of Glacier Bay Lodge, it affords the possibility to be taught firsthand about Huna Tlingit historical past, tradition and life from tribal elders. Guests may expertise dance performances and native meals and see historic images. Handcarved 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 introduced within the auditorium every night.
Guests can also get an summary 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
In case you’re arriving at Glacier Bay on a cruise, you do not have to fret about a spot to remain. You will be spending the night time 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 throughout the park about 10 miles from the city (rooms begin from $281.86 an evening). Cozy and rustic, the lodge is nestled amongst Sitka spruce on the shores of Bartlett Cove, which is also house to the park’s headquarters and serves because the jumping-off level for day by day excursions on the park boat. Glacier Bay Lodge is the one lodging throughout the park.
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The 48-room Glacier Bay Lodge is the one lodging choice inside Glacier Bay Nationwide Park & Protect. ERIN MCGRADY/ARAMARK
Again in Gustavus, you may discover a handful of small inns, guesthouses and bed-and-breakfast institutions. They embody the 14-room Bear Track Inn (from $520 per particular person, per day, together with meals and floor transportation) and the five-room and five-cabin Glacier Bay Country Inn (from $329 per particular person, per day, together with meals and floor transportation). Gustavus is not a giant place; some venues right here supply only a few 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 inns in Gustavus. You will discover a couple of factors inns again in Juneau, such because the Four Points by Sheraton Juneau (rooms in the summertime begin at $389 or 50,000 factors per night time) and a trio of Wyndham Rewards-affiliated properties (a Ramada, a Travelodge and a Tremendous 8).
The park additionally maintains a free walk-in campground in a rainforest setting at Bartlett Cove. Obtainable on a first-come, first-served foundation, it affords bearproof meals storage caches, composting bathrooms, a hearth pit on the seashore and a small warming shelter. Firewood is supplied.
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 organize for the park’s tour boat to drop them off at one in every of a number of designated areas throughout the park and decide them up days later.
Campers should register upon arrival on the Customer Info Station close to the Bartlett Cove dock. Campers can name 907-697-2627 previous to arrival to inquire about area availability on the campground at Bartlett Cove.
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The place to eat
Once more, should you’re arriving by cruise ship, you may be consuming on board your vessel.
In case you’re staying within the Gustavus space, you may in all probability be consuming on the lodge or inn the place you are 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 retailers. They’re additionally solely open in summer time.
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 could 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 components of the state.
For these staying at Glacier Bay Lodge, the in-house restaurant, the Fairweather Dining Room, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner for each lodge friends and outsiders. The dinner menu consists of native Alaska salmon and halibut. Lunch brings burgers and sandwiches (together with a halibut sandwich).
Additionally open to friends and outsiders is the restaurant at Glacier Bay Nation Inn. It serves Alaskan delicacies, corresponding to salmon, usually supplied 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 at the least 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 need to discover deeper within the park, there are methods to do this, too.
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