Glacier Bay is an incredibly unique national park that protects over 3 million acres of mountains, tidewater glaciers, and Alaskan wilderness. While it’s the 5th largest Alaska national park, it’s larger than any of the national parks in the lower 48.
Unfortunately, many of the glaciers in Glacier Bay are rapidly receding. The park has lost about 20% of its glaciers since 1985, and half of their tidewater glaciers could be gone in just the next couple of years. This park will likely see major changes very soon.
Glacier Bay is also a homeland for the Huna Łingít people. During your visit, you can visit the Huna Ancestors’ House to learn more about the Lingít culture.
Most visitors (about 95%) visit Glacier Bay from a cruise ship. I wanted to spend a little more time in the park, and see it in a more intimate way, and this guide reflects that. I’ll share exactly how to visit Glacier Bay National Park without taking a cruise, and why you might want to see the park this way. This is based on my experience visiting Glacier Bay in July 2026.
Things To Know Before Visiting Glacier Bay National Park
- This is not a park that you can drive to, as no roads connect this area to the rest of North America. You’ll need to arrive via boat or plane.
- You can only stay at Glacier Bay Lodge during the summer. Their 2026 season was from May 21 - September 8th.
- The weather here tends to be wet and cool throughout the summer. Make sure to bring good rain gear and layers. Summertime highs tend to be between 50 and 60 degrees F.
How To Get To Glacier Bay National Park (without taking a cruise)
In order to visit Glacier Bay National Park without taking a cruise, you’ll need to travel to Gustavus. You can arrive here via a plane or a ferry.
By ferry, the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system travels between Juneau and Gustavus, and it takes 4-6 hours. By plane, you can fly with either Alaska Seaplanes or Alaska Airlines from Juneau. The flights are very quick, just taking about 30 minutes. I flew in from Juneau on Alaska Airlines.
When you arrive in Gustavus, you have a few different options on where to stay. I stayed in the Glacier Bay Lodge, which is right on the water in Bartlett Cove. The lodge has a mix of standard hotel rooms that are a short walk from the main building with the Visitor Center, restaurant, gift shop, and wifi.
Next to the lodge, you can also stay at Bartlett Cove Campground. The campground is free, and first come, first served. Keep in mind that you’ll need to walk a quarter mile with your gear to reach the campground, and you’ll need to attend an orientation, and store your food in a bear cache.
If you’re staying at the Glacier Bay Lodge, they provide a free shuttle bus to transport you between the airport and the lodge. The drive takes about 20 minutes.
There are a few other hotels and inns that you can stay at in Gustavus, such as the Glacier Bay Country Inn or Glacier Bay's Bear Track Inn. These look like great options if you’re interested in doing fishing excursions and/or exploring beyond just the national park.
A Review of the Glacier Bay Lodge
Glacier Bay Lodge is nice overall, but like most national park lodges, you’re paying a lot for something that is relatively basic. I paid $277 per night for a standard room in July of 2026. The room had a private bathroom, but no fridge or microwave.
The room was cozy, but we had one major issue - no hot water. This seemed to be an issue with our particular room, and some other rooms, but not with the whole lodge. We weren’t able to get it resolved during our stay. While this didn’t take much away from our stay overall, I wanted to mention it.
When it comes to wifi, it’s available in the lodge, but not in the rooms. The lodge is also where you’ll find the Fairweather Dining Room. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I really appreciated that they had multiple vegetarian options available, such as sandwiches, pasta, and more. The food was decent, but not super notable.
The staff at both the front desk and the restaurant were wonderful. There is also seating both inside and outside of the lodge. You can spend your afternoon hanging out and using the wifi or reading a book, and order a drink at the restaurant to enjoy while you relax.
Overall, I enjoyed my stay here, but would recommend camping if you’re on a tighter budget. The campground is quite peaceful, and much more affordable.
Things To Do in Glacier Bay National Park
Take the Ranger-led Boat Tour
If you’re traveling out to explore this park, a boat tour is an absolute must. The national park offers an 8-hour boat tour each day, and a ranger is on board to tell you all about the wildlife, glaciers, and park as a whole. You're practically guaranteed to see a lot of wildlife, including sea otters, harbor seals, puffins, and more.
The boat tours can accommodate about 150 passengers, and has both indoor and outdoor spaces. Make sure to reserve your spot in advance. The tour cost $273.57 per adult in 2026. A bit pricey, but well worth it.
Some food is provided on the boat, and you can purchase items too. They provided coffee and donuts in the morning, clam chowder as a mid-morning snack (with no vegetarian alternative, unfortunately), and sandwiches for lunch. Make sure to tell the lodge ahead of time if you have dietary restrictions.
The tour will take you out to see one of the famous tidewater glaciers in the park. There are a couple different route options that are chosen based on conditions, and my tour went out to John Hopkins Glacier. Along the way, we saw tufted puffins, rocky outcrops swathed with sea lions, and mountain goats high up on rocky cliffs.
We also saw some whales. The boat cannot actually follow whales, as it’s against the national park rules, but we still got to see them from a distance. And we saw so many sea otters floating by that I stopped counting after 30.
One of the biggest highlights was seeing groups of harbor seals floating on icebergs near John Hopkins Glacier. They balanced on the ice and stuck their tales in the air to regulate their temperatures.
The weather during my boat tour was very cold and rainy. I’m glad I had layers, including a hat and gloves. While the visibility wasn’t great, it was still so cool to see the surrounding glaciers. We couldn’t get super close to John Hopkins, as the water was full of small and large ice chunks, but seeing all of the ice was still very cool.
We also dropped off, and picked up kayakers in multiple areas. They would be spending multiple days kayaking and camping in the wilderness. I’d love to do this in the future!
Along the way, we learned a lot about the challenges facing this park. Nine out of ten glaciers in this park are shrinking, and this will have huge negative effects on the future of the Alaskan way of life. Alaska has some of the most productive fisheries in the world, and climate change is a huge threat to those fisheries. Ranger Kelton did an amazing job sharing about this special place and those who inhabit it.
Everyone on the boat also had a chance to sign up for the junior ranger program, and adults stood alongside kids in taking an oath to protect this special place. It was an amazing experience to spend a day exploring this park on the water.
Go Hiking in Glacier Bay National Park
Most of Glacier Bay National Park is remote wilderness, but there are a few maintained trails that leave right from the lodge.
If you’ll be hiking any significant distance, it’s smart to carry bear spray. You can borrow this for free from the front desk of the lodge!
First, check out the Forest Trail. This is a one mile loop trail right next to the lodge and the dock. You’ll walk through a very lush forest with thick green moss, past a pond covered in lily pads, and you might even see wildflowers. It’s an easy trail that is even handicap accessible for a portion of it.
Be sure to check out the whale skeleton that is near the dock, too. This is the real skeleton of a whale that was tragically struck by a cruise ship many years ago, but now it’s an informative exhibit.
For a longer hike, I recommend the Bartlett River Trail. To get to the actual trailhead, you’ll walk along the Tlingit Trail, which is a half mile walk along the shoreline. The trail provides beach access and is a great place to see wildlife and wildflowers. I admired a heron fishing on the beach.
When you reach the Bartlett River Trail, it's a 5-mile round trip trek. I skipped the last quarter mile of the trail, as the route gets overgrown and hard to follow. Before that, I enjoyed a beautiful forested walk and ended at a stunning bend in the river. At the river bend, I watched a pair of eagles.
If you’re up for more of a challenge, you can also hike to Bartlett Lake. This hike is about 9-miles round trip and is not maintained.
Go Kayaking in Glacier Bay National Park
Kayaking is another way to get out on the water and see this special park. To explore Bartlett Cove via a kayak, you can rent from Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks. They are located right next to the lodge and offer both guided tours, and unguided rentals.
For a guided multi-day experience, check out Spirit Walker Expeditions. They offer some epic trips, and have one day options for leaving from Gustavus too.
Attend a Ranger-led Talk
Ranger-led talks are held every evening in the Glacier Bay Visitor Center, and this is a fantastic way to learn about the park. The topic changes everyday, so you could be learning about wildlife one day, and glaciers the next day. I attended a talk on the different ways that animals use all of their senses in Glacier Bay, and it was super interesting.
You can see the schedule on the national park website, or it will be posted when you arrive. The talks typically occur everyday at 6 PM, and last about 30 minutes.
Visit the Tlingit Cultural Center
A short walk from the lodge and visitor center, you’ll find a beautiful cultural house for the Huna Lingít. It was built to be the first permanent clan house in Glacier Bay since their villages were destroyed by an advancing glacier over 250 years ago.
The building is called Xunaa Shuká Hít, which translates to the Huna Ancestors' House. It’s a place where tribal members can reconnect with their homeland, but also a place where visitors can go to learn about the Lingít history, culture, and traditions.
Make sure to stop in during your trip to Glacier Bay,
Visit the Glacier Bay Visitor Center
As with any national park, make sure to stop by the Glacier Bay Visitor Center and learn more about the park, grab a souvenir, get your stamp, and watch the park film. The visitor center is located upstairs in the lodge, above the restaurant.
They have a small exhibit space that has information about various wildlife inside the park. They also have a cozy area for kids.
Other Things To Do in Gustavus
If you have extra time on your trip, you might want to spend more time exploring Gustavus. Here are a few things to do:
- Hike to the DC-3 Crash Wreckage of 1957, or other hikes in the area.
- Go on a whale watching tour outside of the park. One company that offers this is The TAZ.
- Go on a fishing excursion.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide helps you plan an unforgettable trip to Glacier Bay National Park. This is a park you should see sooner rather than later, as it’s changing at an alarming pace. Despite all of the changes, it will always be a beautiful and special place. From massive tidewater glaciers, to multitudes of wildlife, to mossy forests, this is a peaceful Alaskan park that is sure to stick with you.
For more remote US national park guides, check out my other blog posts:
- How to Take a Day Trip to Katmai National Park
- The Best Things To Do in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
- How to Take a Day Trip to Lake Clark National Park
- How to Take a Day Trip to Dry Tortugas National Park
- A Guide to National Park of American Samoa
- A Guide to Backpacking in Isle Royale
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