With its spectacular glaciers and abundance of marine wildlife, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
has become the crown jewel in the itinerary of most cruise ships and with savvy independent travelers. Within Glacier Bay, 11 tidewater glaciers spill out of the mountains and dot the sea with icebergs of all shapes, sizes and shades of blue, turning the 3,283,246-acre park into an icy wilderness. Of the more than 300,000 annual visitors, over 90% arrive aboard a cruise ship and never set foot on shore. The rest are independent travelers to the Gateway City of Gustavus, who add day cruises and wilderness adventurers often by sea kayak to explore the park’s most hidden corners.
Bartlett Cove is the park headquarters and the site of a campground, a large commercial lodge, restaurant and bar and the only maintained hiking trails in the park. At Bartlett Cove, paddlers rent kayaks, visitors board tour boats for a 40-mile day cruise to see the glaciers up the bay, park rangers lead guided hikes and give naturalist programs. At the foot of the main dock is the
National Park Service Visitor Information Station
(907-697-2627) where you can obtain backcountry permits, seek out information or purchase a variety of books or topographic maps that cover the park.
Gustavus, the Gateway City to Glacier Bay, is 9 miles by road from Bartlett Cove. Independent travelers can tak a short flight from Juneau via jet or air taxi, or new in November of 2010, weekly summer ferry service from Juneau on the Alaska Marine Highway. Gustavus is the Alaska marine Highway System's newest pport of call. (Service will be monthly from November 2010 through April of 2011.)
Home to 450 people, Gustavus is surrounded by Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and is adjacent to the Tongass National Forest. Like all areas known for natural beauty, Gustavus boasts several acclaimed sculptors, painters, potters, jewelers and woodcarvers. You can see their work, and that of other Alaskans, at the galleries, studios and shops in town. Other provisions are available at the health food store and one grocery store near ‘4-Corners’. Beachcombing, hiking on the Nagoonberry Loop trail, biking through town or playing a round at the Mt. Fairweather Golf Course, you would never guess that Gustavus rests on land that rises more than an inch each year, rebounding from the immense weight of glacial ice that covered the area just 250 years ago.