Last updated: September 14, 2021
Article
National Park Getaway: Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
By Tom VandenBerg, Supervisory Park Ranger, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
NPS Photo
The extreme topography of Glacier Bay reveals a landscape driven by immense forces. Located along the collision zone between the North American and Pacific crustal plates, coastal mountains here reach almost three miles into the sky, and are still rising. The high summits of the Fairweather Range feed numerous glaciers, some that extend all the way to the sea.
NPS Photo
One of the easiest ways to take in the awesome spectacle of Glacier Bay is from the deck of a cruise ship. Several cruise lines provide visits in summer as part of longer itineraries. The Alaska Marine Highway now provides regular service between Juneau and Gustavus, the park's gateway community. Lodging, meals, and fabulous views are provided by the Glacier Bay Lodge and hiking, biking, boating, fishing, and berry picking are avid pursuits of locals and guests alike.
Near park headquarters in Bartlett Cove, you are immersed in a lush coastal temperate rainforest. Tapestries of moss cloak every branch and carpet the forest floor. Although impressive, this forest is still young, growing on land only recently released from the ice. To learn more, join a park ranger for a guided hike or evening presentation. Rent a kayak to explore the shorelines for the day, or a week, while watching for black bears, river otters, bald eagles, and moose.
NPS Photo
Escape the heat and join us in southeast Alaska for a journey back in time, when ice dominated the landscape and mountains were ground to flour. It’s still here, waiting for you.