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In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge declared Glacier Bay a National Monument. It wasn’t until 1980 that Glacier Bay was elevated to National Park status. Today, over 300,000 people visit every year. Glacier Bay National Park is open year-round. The park Visitor Center is open from mid-May to mid-September and is located on the second floor of a park concession lodge. Services in winter are extremely limited. The Visitor Information Station for boaters and campers is located at the foot of the public-use dock in Bartlett Cove. It is open the following hours: May 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., June, July and August 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and September 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Services in winter are extremely limited. Rest rooms, potable water, trash and recycling containers are available nearby. Some areas are closed or restricted because of bears, nesting bird colonies, feeding humpback whales, or other wildlife activity. Check on closures at the Visitor Information Station before heading up-bay.

When Captain George Vancouver charted adjacent waters of Icy Strait in 1794, he and his crew described what we now call Glacier Bay as just a small five-mile indent in a gigantic glacier that stretched off to the horizon. That massive glacier was more than 4,000 feet thick in places, up to 20 miles wide, and extended more than 100 miles to the St. Elias mountain range. By 1879, however, naturalist John Muir discovered that the ice had retreated more than 30 miles forming an actual bay. By 1916, the Grand Pacific Glacier – the main glacier credited with carving the bay – had melted back 60 miles to the head of what is now Tarr Inlet.

What happens when a glacier recedes? You will be able to see as you journey around the bay. The land near the mouth of the bay, long-ago released from the grip of glaciers, has had the most time to recover and is now blanketed by mature spruce and hemlock forests. As you travel toward the glaciers the vegetation gets younger and smaller, until you reach the face of the ice where nothing grows at all. Today, glacial retreat continues on the bay’s east and southwest sides, but on the west side several glaciers are advancing. The successional processes so evident here offered unparalleled opportunity for scientific observation and glaciologists, geologists, plant ecologists and other scientists came here to study this dynamic landscape. While recounting his scientific work in Glacier Bay, a plant ecologist named William Cooper so inspired his colleagues at the Ecological Society of America that they started the movement to protect the bay and its environs.

Glaciers form because snowfall in the high mountains exceeds snowmelt. Imagine a place high in the mountains that catches a vast amount of falling snow every year. This place is so high and so cold that none of the snow melts even in the summer. In fact, whatever precipitation that falls over the course of the year, falls in the form of snow. Over time, that snow pack builds. Soon the weight of the snowflakes in the upper layers of the snow pack presses down deforming the snowflakes beneath. The snowflakes in the pack first change to granular snow – round ice grains – and eventually morph into solid ice.

Glacier ice is different from the ice in your refrigerator. The ice crystals form slowly under pressure and individual crystals can grow to be the size of a football. Air trapped between the snowflakes is also frozen into the ice at pressure. Ice near the bottom of the glacier is under tremendous pressure, which allows it to flow almost like a plastic over the bedrock beneath. Friction between the glacier and the bedrock produces meltwater which further lubricates the bedrock allowing the ice to slide.

If a glacier flows out of the mountains into the ocean, we call it a “tidewater” glacier – the type many people come to Glacier Bay to see. The park includes 11 tidewater glaciers that break off or “calve” either into saltwater or freshwater lakes near sea level, eight of which are located within the bay. The show can be a spectacular adventure. As water undermines some ice fronts, great blocks of ice up to 200 feet high break loose and crash into the water. Johns Hopkins Glacier calves such volumes of ice that it is seldom possible for larger boats to approach its ice cliffs closer than about two miles.

Huge icebergs may last a week or more. They provide perches for bald eagles, cormorants, and gulls, as well as haul-outs for seals. When passing close by, kayakers can hear splashes and crackles as melting water drips and the ice deteriorates. The ice pops and sizzles as it releases ancient air first trapped between the delicate snowflakes and then frozen in under pressure – a phenomenon called “bergie seltzer.”

Colors betray a berg’s nature or origin. White bergs hold many trapped air bubbles. Blue bergs are dense and are likely recently calved. Greenish-blackish bergs may have calved off glacier bottoms. Dark-striped brown bergs carry morainal rubble – rocks that the glacier acquired on its journey down the mountain.

How high a berg floats depends upon its size, the ice’s density, and the water’s density. Bergs may be weighed down or even submerged by rock and rubble. A modest-looking berg may suddenly loom enormous – and endanger small craft – when it rolls over. Boaters and especially kayakers should keep in mind that what one sees is “just the tip of the iceberg.”

With tidal fluctuations as large as 25 vertical feet, Glacier Bay exhibits some of the largest tidal extremes in the world. Visitors to the park will notice dramatic difference between high and low tides. One minute you can be gazing out over 100 yards of mud flats and six hours later the waves can be lapping at your toes. That area between high and low tides – known as the intertidal zone – is an extremely complex and important biological community and a fun place for adventurous exploring. You’re likely to see anything from algae and kelp to sea urchins to rockweed, barnacles, and mussels.

Oceanographers classify Glacier Bay as a “recently deglaciated, tidally mixed, fjord estuarine system with multiple underwater sills.” This means that the bay is a network of large valleys that once were filled by glaciers but are now flooded by the ocean and fed by streams and rivers. The “underwater sills” are piles of rock debris on the ocean bottom that are remnants of the terminal moraines left behind by glaciers that paused during their retreat. Sills tend to be at or near the mouths of inlets and other areas where tidewater glacier faces once stood still for a time. Like speed bumps, sills partially obstruct the bay’s strong underwater currents, causing upwelling and tide rips similar to rapids in a river. A very large sill, formed when Glacier Bay was completely filled by ice, extends across the mouth of the entire bay. Another sill acts together with a natural constriction in the bay’s shape to form the prominent tide rips observed in Sitakaday Narrows.
These sills are usually backed by very deep basins with tidewater glaciers at their heads and many streams flowing into them from the surrounding mountains. Thus, there is a large influx of fresh water from snowmelt, augmented by melting glacial ice. This freshwater runoff and glacial melt make the ocean waters extremely cold and oxygen-rich, while also delivering nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and silica to the sea. Enhanced by the big tides and strong currents, mixing and upwelling occurs at the sills and constricted areas as well as near streams and glacial faces. This constant mixing of oxygen-saturated, nutrient-rich waters results in a marine system that is especially “biologically productive” or able to support a great deal of living organisms.

The bulk of this marine productivity is driven by countless billions of tiny plant-like creatures – called phytoplankton – that float suspended in the sunlit waters and are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Glacier Bay supports phenomenally high concentrations of phytoplankton, and large standing crops are sustained throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Phytoplankton contains chlorophyll and other pigments in their bodies so they can photosynthesize – that is they can harness the sun’s energy and turn it into organic material. Each spring when there is enough light, water column stability and high nutrient levels in the surface waters, phytoplankton begin to reproduce in great numbers. This “bloom” of phytoplankton creates rich feeding for zooplankton – tiny animals that also live suspended in the water column. Shoals of fishes prey on the zooplankton, and they in turn attract a diverse host of migratory predators such as whales, seals and sea lions, seabirds, halibut, and adult salmon.

As is the case throughout much of Southeast Alaska, temperate rainforest dominates the southern part of Glacier Bay National Park. The “high biological productivity” or ability of many plants to live in this coastal area is due to the mild, moist climate that has developed in the region over the past 200-300 years. This is an old growth forest with massive evergreen trees like western hemlock and Sitka spruce that drip with lichens and mosses, and a thick layer of vegetation such as blueberries, fungi, liverworts and wildflowers that blankets the forest floor. The sheer quantity of things living or that once lived but are now decaying means that this type of forest produces some of the largest accumulations of organic material on earth. As the forest matures or ages, trees grow taller and their branches form a canopy that shades the ground beneath. The soil becomes more acidic and swampy, favoring the growth of western hemlock. Spruce does almost as well in these conditions. Yellow cedar grows in the park’s southwestern half on wet, sloping sites and peatland fringes. Mountain hemlock is common at higher elevations. Mixed in among the forest stands are open areas of ancient peatlands. These marshy areas are too wet for large trees. Plants like sedges, willows, and alders are common here.

The Tatsenshini/Alsek Rivers begin in Canada, run through the northern edge of the park, and empty into the Gulf of Alaska at Dry Bay in Glacier Bay National Preserve, providing fantastic adventure travel by water. Most Alsek River raft trips begin on the Tatshenshini at Shawshe (Dalton Post), the last road accessible put-in off the Haines Highway in Yukon Territory, Canada. From here it is 140 river miles to the normal take-out at Dry Bay, Alaska. A six-mile long canyon immediately below Shawshe (Dalton Post) offers continuous Class III whitewater rafting/kayaking, Class IV at high water (International Scale, Class I-VI). The remainder of the river is generally Class II with large eddies and folds at normal volumes. The Alsek River above its confluence with the Tatshenshini is Class III above Turnback Canyon. Turnback Canyon must be portaged by rafters during the summer months. Tatshenshini trips average 6 days on the water, plus additional lay-over days.

Tatshenshini-Alsek trips starting at Shawshe (Dalton Post) travel through private Champaign-Aishihik Tribal lands, Yukon Territory lands, Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park in Canada and Glacier Bay National Park. Upper Alsek trips travel through Kluane National Park, and Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, Canada. For travel on the upper Alsek contact Kluane National Park, Parks Canada, Haines Junction, Yukon Canada Y0B 1L0, (867) 634-2329 extension 201. For current stream flow conditions on the Alsek River, see the USGS Alsek River stream flow web-site.

Pleasure boating is welcome at the park. A free permit is required, and there is a limit on the number of vessels allowed in the park at one time. For those arriving at Bartlett Cove or Gustavus and desiring to travel into the park, Glacier Bay is best seen by boat. The distance to the tidewater glaciers is 50-60 miles. Sailing through Glacier Bay today, you’ll travel along shorelines and among islands that were completely covered by ice just over 200 years ago. It’s an exceptional way to view the beauty and grandeur this national park and preserve have to offer.

Three maintained hiking trails at Bartlett Cove offer different options for hiking and backpacking on one of the approximately seven miles of trails that wind through the rain forest. The Forest Loop Trail is a one mile long loop hiking trail that begins at the park concession lodge and ends near the dock. The trail winds through a pond-studded spruce/hemlock forest for one half mile, and then descends to the beach, where in the spring there will be birdsong, in the summer wildflowers, and in autumn bright mushrooms and blueberries. Bartlett River Trail is a five-mile round trip hike starting at the lodge. It meanders along an intertidal lagoon, through the forest, then emerges and ends at the Bartlett River estuary. Ducks, geese, and other water birds concentrate during migrations and molting in intertidal areas. It’s a great place to see wildlife and salmon run upriver during the latter part of the summer. Bartlett Lake Trail is about three miles in length (six round-trip), and winds through temperate rainforest leading to Bartlett Lake. This is a more primitive backpacking trail, not used as much as the other two, but the peacefulness of hiking or backpacking and the beauty of the lake make the trip worth while.

Backcountry hiking is done along glacial riverbeds, or intertidal beaches. An extended hike from the Bartlett Cove dock along the shore to Point Gustavus (six miles one way) can be completed in a day. The intertidal strip is a natural trail, for wildlife and people. Bird watching is enjoyable here. Watch for song birds on the forest’s edge and water birds off-shore. Flowers are profuse in mid summer on the beach meadows. At low tide, the lower beach is worth a look for marine life. Check with a park ranger in the Visitor Center or the Visitor Information Center near the dock for the daily tide schedule. While strolling the beaches of Glacier Bay keen observers may come across the tracks from the likes of bears, river otters, coyotes and wolves. Hiking/backpacking into the alpine is also an option, but be prepared to tangle with the alder. Sitka alder is a successional plant that grows in a mass along beach edges, avalanche chutes and up mountain slopes. Hikers have been known to lose their minds attempting to hike through alder.

Mountain climbing opportunities offer great wilderness adventure, but it should be noted that due to the remote nature of the area, all climbers need to be completely aware of the skill, experience, and judgment required to plan and accomplish a successful climb. Climbing parties should plan and arrange for their own backup. Glacier Bay does not maintain a rescue team with high altitude rescue capabilities. The office in Yakutat should be made aware of plans prior to the trip. It should also be noted that the weather is variable. It can snow during any month of the year at higher elevations and as low as 6,000 feet during the summer. Overcast days and rain predominate. The month of May can be a wintry month. Summer weather patterns in July and August usually cause slush and avalanche conditions. September is susceptible to an early winter with severe storms and heavy snowfall. Most climbing in the park is accessible via charter boat or float plane out of Juneau, Gustavus, or Yakutat. All litter, including wands and fixed ropes, must be removed. Party size is limited to a maximum of twelve people to minimize human impact within this designated wilderness. Parties have carried HF, Marine VHF, or radio-telephones. The best success has been Marine VHF or radio telephones. These are available for rent from local air taxis.

Many land animals use the marine environment for foraging and travel. Moose and bears, for example, are accomplished long-distance swimmers that are frequently seen “dog paddling” their way across the bay. Bears work the beaches when the tide is low, turning over rocks looking for tasty barnacles, clams and other intertidal life. Although it is not always a given that a visitor will see a bear in Glacier Bay even on a multi-day camping trip, there are few beaches on the bay’s 1,100 miles of coastline where sign of bear activity is not visible. Wolves and coyotes find the traveling easier along the edge of tall beach grass rather than fighting through alder thickets. At times, even the most upland of animals like marmots and mountain goats are drawn to the water’s edge to nibble seaweed or to lick salt spray off beach rocks. The ocean is truly the common element that bonds the wildlife of the park.

The park hosts healthy populations of land mammals. The mountain goat and brown bear were quick to reinvade after the glaciers’ retreat. The coyote, moose and wolf have moved in more recently, but are now established in the park. Black bears prowl the forested portions of the lower bay, and the glacier bear, a rare color phase of the black bear, is occasionally spotted. River otters are widespread along with marten, mink and weasel, while the wolverine is scarcer and rarely sighted. The Alsek River delta in Glacier Bay National Preserve is home to lynx, snowshoe hare and beaver — species that have reached the coast from the interior by traveling along the river corridor.

For those who enjoy bird watching, you’ll see your fill at Glacier Bay, where great Alaska bird watching occurs. Seabirds spend most of their time searching for food in the marine waters and come ashore only to rest or to breed. Thousands of seabirds nest on cliffs and rocky shores within the bay or on the park’s outer coast. Molting and migrating geese and sea ducks find refuge in quiet arms of the bay. Bald eagles nest in tall cottonwood trees or on cliffs along much of the park’s shoreline. Newly vegetated hillsides support great numbers of nesting songbirds, including many neotropical migrants. The shallow waters and sloping beaches of the Beardslee Islands are important foraging and breeding areas for shorebirds, seabirds, and waterfowl. Arctic terns and jaegers prefer the barren glacial outwashes near the glaciers for nest sites. Glacier Bay also hosts a large portion – as much as 20 percent – of the world’s population of Kittlitz’s murrelets. It is believed that perhaps 95 percent of the Kittlitz’s murrelet worldwide population breeds in Alaska with the remainder breeding in the Russian Far East. Unfortunately, surveys indicate that their numbers in Alaska have declined 80 to 90 percent in the past decade and this bird may soon be listed as a threatened or endangered species on the federal endangered species list.

It is believed that nearly 200 species of fish may swim in park waters, making for excellent Alaska fishing, both saltwater fishing and freshwater fishing. Sport fishing requires an Alaska state fishing license; check the Alaska State Fishing Regulations. Many, including all five species of Pacific salmon, are well-known species, while others have yet to be documented. Many fishes are associated with deep water or “subtidal benthic” communities, and several of these are identified with important fisheries such as Pacific halibut, rockfish, lingcod, Pacific cod, sablefish and pollock. Only two fishes with no connection to salt water – round whitefish near Haines and northern pike near Yakutat – have made it to the fringes of this region. The bulk of freshwater fishes are salmon and char, which spend parts of their life cycles in salt water, and so can get past the mountains and marine channels that limit the distribution of strictly freshwater animals. Most of the region’s streams, even most of those directly under glacial influence, contain spawning and rearing salmon. Some, such as the Situk and Alsek Rivers, are of world-class importance. These major river systems are in the minority. More salmon transit through the region’s marine waters than spawn in the region’s streams, allowing for plenty of Alaska salmon fishing also.

Hunting is allowed in the preserve section of the park. An Alaskan hunting license is required. Please be aware of all hunting regulations. Snowshoe and Alaskan hares are often hunted. The arctic hare is important as a source of food and fur. Both species of hare offer a great deal of recreation for the small game hunter, especially in years of abundance. The Alaskan hare provides an unusual trophy and a considerable amount of meat. The snowshoe is available to more hunters and can be taken near highway systems and in such disturbed areas as mine tailing piles. Hares are best hunted with a shotgun and birdshot, or a .22-caliber rifle or handgun. Early snowfalls will often catch the snowshoe hare still in its summer coat, making it vulnerable to the hunter. The meat is quite tasty. The largest portion of the harvest of Sitka black-tailed deer is taken in November during the rut when both sexes respond to a call resembling the bleat of a fawn. During late November and December, heavy snow sometimes concentrates deer at low elevations allowing high harvest levels when local weather conditions are favorable. Coyotes and mountain goats are also hunted. Interest in goat hunting has increased in recent years. Goats are relatively abundant throughout their Alaskan ranges, particularly in southeastern Alaska, but many goats live in areas that are beyond the reach of hunters. Mountain goats can provide excellent meat for the table. The pelt of a prime mountain goat killed in late fall or winter is a beautiful specimen.

Today Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve continues to protect these natural resources which offer a glimpse into ice ages past in the midst of a flourishing and dynamic natural environment. Glacial retreat has opened the lands and waters of Glacier Bay to an array of plant and animal communities. On land, these range from barrens near the glaciers where very little grows to the lush mature spruce and hemlock forests and peatlands near the mouth of the bay. In the marine waters, a similar progression is underway, although distance from tidewater glaciers rather than time seems to be key to marine community development.

For over 100 years, scientists have been drawn to Glacier Bay to study the way life returns to the land and sea so recently dominated by glaciers. Their findings are of global importance and have furthered our understanding of how the earth recovers from previous ice ages.

The NPS has monitored humpback whale population characteristics from June 1 to August 31 each year since 1985 to document the number of individuals identified, residence times, spatial and temporal distribution, calf production, feeding behavior and human/whale interactions including strandings, entanglements in fishing gear and behavioral disturbance. The whale monitoring program also generates whale distribution data used to determine where and when “whale waters” vessel operating restrictions are needed during the summer visitor season. The whale monitoring program covers Glacier Bay and most of Icy Strait, but park waters west of Dundas Bay are not monitored.

Biologists’ overall concern is that disturbed whales use energy in reacting to ships, are diverted from previous activity (in Glacier Bay, mainly feeding) and may temporarily move away from preferred habitat or prey patches. It is not known whether whales that tolerate chronic noise exposure undergo stress or are otherwise deleteriously affected. As noted in the NMFS 1993 Biological Opinion, the long term effects of chronic disturbance on the whales’ survival and reproduction may never be known. To protect endangered humpback whales from chronic disturbance in Glacier Bay, vessel management regulations are designed to allow NPS the flexibility to incorporate the latest knowledge about underwater noise, whale distribution and behavior into its management actions.

Multi-year studies of humpback whales in Glacier Bay have found that whales change their behavior in the presence of cruise ships. This series of studies determined that the typical reactions of whales to the presence of vessels at distances of up to 4 km are to avoid them by diving underwater or swimming away, spending less time at the surface and changing their breathing rates. Several studies on bowhead and gray whales have shown analogous reactions under varying conditions of vessel number, size, proximity, speed and course.

In summer 2000, the NPS began monitoring underwater ambient noise and measuring the noise exposures experienced by marine mammals. The NPS will use the results to evaluate the effects of vessel speed and course on underwater acoustic conditions and determine what areas of the Park are subject to high acoustical impact due to sound propagation characteristics. In the meantime, the NPS requires cruise ships to submit underwater noise minimization plans, with the goal of reducing the duration or likelihood of whale disturbance. The acoustic monitoring program is designed to determine the physical and operational aspects of motorized vessels that minimize underwater noise, thereby informing the NPS of factors which could become part of the underwater noise minimization plans.

Glacier Bay has a maritime climate, heavily influenced by ocean currents. The result is mild winter temperatures and cool summer temperatures near sea level. Summer visitors can expect highs between of 50-to-60 degrees F (10-to-15 degrees C). Winter temperatures rarely drop into the single digits, with average nighttime lows of 25-to-40 degrees F (-2 to 5 degrees C). Bartlett Cove receives about 70 inches of precipitation annually. April, May and June are usually the driest months of the year. September and October tend to be the wettest. All this moisture helps to create the lush temperate rainforests of the lower bay. Keep in mind; these are weather conditions at sea level. Up in the mountains, conditions are more severe with colder temperatures and more precipitation (over 100 inches a year) that takes the form of snow. It’s all that snow falling year after year that goes into creating the magnificent glaciers we love to see.

Long periods of rainy, overcast, and cool weather are normal in Southeast Alaska. Summer daytime temperatures are usually 45-65 F, but nights stay cool to near freezing. To protect against hypothermia, a hat, gloves or mittens, and rain gear are essential. Sturdy, waterproof footgear is desirable. Symptoms of hypothermia include, shivering, lack of coordination, slurred speech, skin numbness, difficulty using fingers, sensation of chilliness, weakness, stumbling, slow pace, and confusion and apathy. Drink plenty of fluids, eat high calorie foods, dress in warm layers, keep an extra set of clothes that remain dry to change into if you get wet, keep your sleeping gear in waterproof bags, are all ways to prevent hypothermia. If you become hypothermic, get warm and dry as soon as possible and take in fluids and food.

Do not destroy, injure, or remove plants, rocks, feathers, occupied shells or other features. Only the collection of the following is permitted: unoccupied seashells, all edible berries and fruits, edible mushrooms, and clams or mollusks taken in accordance with state regulations. However, eating mussels and clams in Glacier Bay is not recommended as the neurotoxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning has been found in high concentrations in the area. This is a naturally occurring toxin that affects humans as well as other animals, and can lead to sudden death.

Wilderness can be both inviting and dangerous — you are responsible for your own safety. Backcountry users should be self-sufficient and fully equipped and provisioned. Cook stoves are necessary because wood is often scarce and wet. Mosquitoes and biting flies may make repellent or head nets necessary. Water should be vigorously boiled for at least one minute, filtered, or chemically treated. Because of the high rate of sediment in the water in glacial landscapes, you may need to allow extra time for the “glacial flour” to settle out. Other useful equipment for a backpacking checklist would be a backpack, a tent with a rainfly, warm sleeping bag, sleeping mat, matches, fire starter, such as a candle, flashlight with extra batteries and bulb, signal mirror or whistle, food, warm, layered clothing (not cotton as it tends to stay wet longer and cold when wet increasing chances of hypothermia), rain gear, GPS unit, first aid kit, topographical map, collapsible water container, one-two quart water bottle, pepper spray ( be sure you know how to use it before you get out there), and good hiking boots. Of course, any other “luxury” items you feel inclined to carry along with you to make you more comfortable are almost innumerable.
Because much of Glacier Bay has been recently glaciated, thick alders and other vegetation make backcountry hiking difficult in the upper bay. If you would like to hike in the backcountry, topographic maps and other information are available from the Alaska Natural History Association in Glacier Bay (907-697-2635), and at the Visitor Information Station (907-697-2627). The following gear may be useful: water repellent footwear, a raincoat and hat, insect repellent, binoculars, a camera and fast film or tripod, as well as the above mentioned gear.

Several tips should be followed while kayaking. Be sure to have a current tide table. Be cautious near large icebergs—they roll unexpectedly and can flip a kayak. Kayaks are very difficult to see from cruise ships and other vessels—assume that vessels cannot see you. Watch out for wakes from cruise ships and other vessels. Never flag down another boat unless it is an emergency, especially when loading kayaks on beach. Be sure to store your kayak (and bear canister) well above high tide. Pull your kayak and pitch your tent clear of the beach. Select a site that would allow bears room to pass at high tide. Tide Rips are Sitakaday Narrows, Beardslee Entrance, McBride Entrance, and N. Shore of Adams Inlet.

These further tips will help in avoiding animal encounters while camping. Both campers and bears frequent the beaches of Glacier Bay. Bears only have 6-8 months to acquire the calories and fat reserves needed for the entire year, and the shoreline is essential for food and travel. Avoid streams with spawning fish. Cook and eat in the intertidal zone. Wash cooking gear in marine waters. Store BRFCs and clean cooking gear in brush or behind rocks away from animal trails 100 yards from your camp. Keep gear together. The more spread out your gear is the more difficult it is to defend. To minimize potential bear damage to gear, consider breaking down your campsite daily.

Pets must be leashed or physically restrained at all times. They are allowed only in parking lots, roadways, within 100 feet of roadways, or on boats. They are not allowed on trails, beaches, or anywhere in the backcountry, with the exception of pets that remain on board private vessels on the water.

Firearms are prohibited in Glacier Bay National Park, unless they are unloaded, inoperable, and inaccessible and stored within a vessel or vehicle. They may also be secured at the Visitor Information Station for the duration of your stay. Weapons are allowed only in the Preserve and the new park addition. Hunting is prohibited except in the Preserve with an Alaska hunting license.

Hunters should by alert for signs of tularemia, a bacterial disease found in hares and rodents throughout the world. Such signs include general sluggishness and spots on the liver and spleen. Normal sanitary precautions should be taken when handling hares and rubber gloves should be used when cleaning and dressing them. The meat should be cooked thoroughly.

Current Weather

Glacier Bay National Park is home to brown (grizzly) bears ( Ursus arctos ) and black bears ( Ursus americanus ). Black bears are found primarily in the forested regions of the lower bay, including Bartlett Cove, while brown bears live mainly in the open, recently deglaciated regions of the upper bay. Telling the difference between the two species can be tricky. Simply looking at color doesn’t help.

Black bears can be black, brown, blonde, and even blue/gray — as is the case of the rare color phase found in Southeast Alaska called the “glacier bear.” Brown bears can be any shade from honey blonde to black. A few key physical characteristics can help to clarify just what type of bear you have spotted.
Black Bears have straight facial profiles, lack of a shoulder hump, prominent ears,
have short, curved claws, are 3 feet at the shoulder, and weigh 125 to over 300 pounds.

Brown Bears have a “dish-shaped” facial profile, prominent shoulder hump,
long, straight claws, are 3.5 feet at the shoulder/up to 9 feet when standing on hind legs, and average in weight of 500 to 1000 pounds.

While walking, hiking or camping in Glacier Bay, you may encounter a bear. The vast majority of these encounters do not result in human injury or property damage. When encountering humans, most bears will run away, approach curiously, appear to ignore the situation or act defensively. By staying alert, calm and tailoring your reaction to the bear’s behavior and species, you increase the odds of a positive outcome for both you and the bear. Please see the Wildlife
Precautions page for further tips on dealing with bear encounters or preventing encounters.

Moose can also be dangerous. See Wildlife Precautions page.

There are no entrance or user fees for non-commercial visitors.

There are few trails in the park, and most campers’ journey through the bay by kayak, either on their own or as part of a guided trip. A free campground (14-day limit) with bear-resistant food caches, firewood, and a warming hut, is located at Bartlett Cove. No reservations are accepted. All campers are required to obtain a free permit and attend a camper orientation which is given on demand at the Visitor Information Station near the dock. Campground permits are issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Campers may check out a bear-resistant food canister at this time (free of charge and required for most backcountry camping).

Choosing a campsite: avoid areas with bear sign including an abundance of scat, animal trails and chewed or clawed trees, avoid active salmon streams, pull your kayak and pitch your tent clear of the beach, select a site that would allow bears room to pass at high tide. Following these simple rules will help you avoid bear encounters.

As part of the overall goal to provide park visitors with an opportunity for quiet and solitude and to reduce resource impacts in the Glacier Bay backcountry, a visitor use limit has been imposed in Glacier Bay National Park. All individuals camping within Glacier Bay proper will be required to obtain a backcountry permit, and a limited number of individuals are allowed in the backcountry each season, although backcountry visitation is not expected to exceed these limits. The vast majority of backcountry use occurs along the shoreline within the bay proper. The steep topography of much of this coastal zone limits the area available for camping. Use is further concentrated as visitors are mostly attracted to the upper bay to view tidewater glaciers. The limitation on backcountry use in Glacier Bay proper is necessary to protect park resources and the quality of the backcountry visitor’s experience. Reservations are unnecessary and are not accepted. The permit and limit do not apply to day-use visitors or those individuals associated with guided commercial trips in the park.

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Sitka National Historical Park, Wrangell – St Elias National Park & Preserve, Admiralty Island National Monument, Misty Fiords National Monument and Tongass National Forest are all within 150 miles of the park.

Alaska Airlines provides daily jet service from Seattle via Juneau to Gustavus during the summer visitor season. The Gustavus airport is 10 miles by road from park headquarters at Bartlett Cove. Several air taxi companies provide daily small-plane flights year-round from Juneau to Gustavus as well. Air taxis also fly a network of routes that link Juneau and Gustavus to Haines, Skagway, and other southeast Alaska towns. For those wishing to visit Glacier Bay National Preserve at Dry Bay, air transportation can be arranged from Yakutat, which has daily jet service from Seattle and Anchorage.

There are no roads to Glacier Bay and no Alaska Marine Highway ferry service. The only road in the park runs ten miles between Bartlett Cove and the neighboring community of Gustavus. There is a rental car business in Gustavus. Most Gustavus lodging establishments provide transportation to Bartlett Cove for their guests.

A taxi and a bus service run between Gustavus and Bartlett Cove.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Park Headquarters, PO Box 140, Gustavus AK 99826.
Phone (907) 697-2230; fax (907)697-2654.
Yakutat Ranger District (907) 784-3295

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