Glacier Bay National Park

🌡️

Cold water

Top hazard

💵

Entrance fee

⛴️

25/day

Vessel permit quota

🧊

65 mi

Ice retreat since 1700s

🛣️

Zero

Roads to park

📷

None

Live cameras

⚠️Wilderness & Weather SafetyCold, wet, remote▾

🌧️ NPS frames this park as "very dynamic, and can be unforgiving to the ill-prepared." Persistent rain, overcast skies, and cool conditions (45–65°F summer highs, near-freezing nights) make hypothermia a real risk. Tides swing up to 25 feet in 6 hours, and both black and brown bears — plus moose, which NPS calls "potentially extremely dangerous" — share the park. Giardia is present in water sources and paralytic shellfish poisoning is a risk from mussels and clams. NPS safety info ↗

Quick Stats

Established1980

Ice Loss Since 1950s~11%

Gateway TownGustavus

Road AccessNone

⛴️Boat & Plane AccessNo entrance fee▾

🚤 No direct road access to the park. Access is via scheduled/charter flights to Gustavus (May–Sept), the Alaska Marine Highway ferry, cruise ships, tour boats, and private boats — over 50 companies serve the park. Bartlett Cove, the park headquarters, is about 10 miles from Gustavus and 65 miles northwest of Juneau by air or water. NPS directions ↗

🎫 Private vessels need a free permit, mandatory June 1 – August 31. Only 25 permits are available per day (15 "advance-notice" + 10 "short-notice"), allocated through two annual lottery windows (Jan 1–31 and Mar 1–15), with remaining slots first-come-first-served up to 3 days before entry. NPS boating permit info ↗

Entry Fees

Entrance FeeNone

Vessel PermitFree (quota-limited)

CampingFree

🧊Tidewater Glaciers65-mile retreat▾

Glaciers of Tarr Inlet3▾

Margerie GlacierThe most-visited glacier — actively calving, ~21 miles long, primary destination for tour boats and cruise ships

Grand Pacific GlacierThe original glacier that carved the bay; now largely grounded with a less dramatic ice front than in the past

Johns Hopkins GlacierThe most actively calving of the three, with dramatic submarine calving of basal icebergs

Historical Retreatcontext▾

Late 1700sCaptain Vancouver's 1794 survey found the bay was essentially ice-choked — "a small five-mile indent in a gigantic glacier"

TodayThe ice has retreated roughly 65 miles — one of the fastest documented glacial retreats on record; NPS notes 11% less glacial ice than in the 1950s

Johns Hopkins Inlet Closureseasonal▾

May 1 – June 30Closed to all vessels annually to protect a major harbor seal pupping and mating aggregation

🚢Cruise Ships & Tour Boats100+ year tradition▾

🛳️ NPS: "For over 100 years, most visitors to Glacier Bay enjoy the amazing landscape of Glacier Bay from the deck of large cruise ships." NPS manages the number of vessels permitted in the bay each day. The park concessioner, Glacier Bay Lodge, operates the daily day-boat tour with a Park Ranger Naturalist aboard — NPS calls it the next most popular activity after cruise ships. NPS cruising info ↗

🏕CampingFree · Walk-in▾

Bartlett Cove CampgroundFirst-come, first-served▾

Location¼ mile south of the dock, in rainforest

AccessWalk-in only — no vehicle or RV camping

PermitFree, required at the Visitor Information Station

Stay Limit14 consecutive days, 30 days/year

NPS camping info ↗

Backcountry CampingFree permit▾

AccessBoat or kayak required beyond Bartlett Cove

RequirementMandatory orientation at the Visitor Information Station

NPS backcountry info ↗

📍Landmarks4 stops▾

Key Locations4 stops▾

Bartlett CovePark headquarters, lodge, campground, trails, dock

Margerie GlacierHead of Tarr Inlet, the park's most-visited glacier

Johns Hopkins InletHome to a major harbor seal aggregation, seasonally closed

GustavusGateway town, ~10 miles from Bartlett Cove, home to the airport (GST)

Park Contact Information

📞 Phone: (907) 697-2230 · Mailing Address: PO Box 140, Gustavus, AK 99826 · Official NPS contact page ↗