The Route: Anchorage-Juneau-Gustavus-Glacier Bay-Gustavus-Juneau
Days: 3
The last big adventure of my Alaska experience did not disappoint. I don’t even know where to begin it was so amazing. It started with a flight from Anchorage to Juneau which was obviously beautiful– every moment in the air feels like I paid for a flight-seeing tour; the wonder never ceases and I have yet to get tired of the view. The following day we flew with Alaska Seaplanes ($221.40 roundtrip not including weight in excess of 50lbs) to Gustavus, the main town that is 10mi from the park. They depart straight from the airport and allow baggage storage for $10/day/bag. From Gustavus, we were picked up by TLC taxi, ($15/person one way) a service run by a local gentleman who takes reservations in advance. He is also very open to letting visitors borrow bear-spray for free! Note that there is one grocery store in the town of Gustavus (ToshCo) where some basic and higher-end foods and supplies can be purchased. Call ahead for propane purchase so they can order and ship it before your expected arrival on a freight plane.
Tent sites in Bartlett Cove, the main hub of Glacier Bay NP, are first come, first serve and free of charge. In order to camp one must stop as the Visitor Information Station (VIS), the ranger’s station, to obtain the camping permit posted at the tent site of your choosing. Sites are set within a dream-like forest just feet from the water. There are multiple bathrooms, a food cache, and a warming area. Chopped wood is available for free for use in the warming area and to enjoy fires on the beach in pre-determined fire-rings. They are strict on where one eats, cooks, and makes fires within the campgrounds. Of note, showers and laundry are available for a fee at the Glacier Bay Lodge, the only formal lodging in the park.
At the VIS itself one has access to a courtesy phone, bathrooms, picnic benches for eating, and a gear cache (requires a key to open so only available during business hours– 7a-7p). One can often find partially used fuel in the gear cache as no fuel may be transported on the flight to or from the park– check here before buying a new propane container for three times the price at the lodge 😉
Small planes! 
Our bomb tent site 
Glacier Bay Lodge 
Native community center 
The water by the campground
After settling into our tent site and getting a lay of the land, we decided to make the most of the good weather and hike the few maintained trails of the park– the Forest Loop Trail and the Barlett Lake Trail. Wanting to be on the beach eating dinner for sunset, we didn’t make it all of the way to the lake, but the hikes we’re both gorgeous. The Forest Loop Trail is 1.1mi roundtrip leaving from and returning to the lodge and features everything one would expect from the gorgeous temperate rainforest that SE Alaska is known for: bright green moss, Sitka spruce trees, birds, and ponds. On the way back from the Bartlett Lake Trail (roughly 7mi roundtrip; follow dotted lines that veer right at the split on the Bartlett River Trail map if using AllTrails), we were greeted by a lone moose eating on the side of the road. We were eventually able to pass safely on the other side of the road but it was hard to stop taking photos while marveling in her beauty. She couldn’t care less about us, though!
Forest Loop Trail 
Moose!
After an enchanting campfire and sunset, we retired early for the full day ahead: the Glacier Bay Day Tour. Hands down, the best glacier and wildlife tour I’ve been on thus far and I’ve been on at least four since arriving in Alaska three months ago. I was floored not only by the types of wildlife that we saw but by the quantity in which we saw them. Multitudes of puffins, including the rare tufted puffin (!), bald eagles, ospreys, and other species of birds, tons of otters and seals, all of the sealions, at least four humpback whales either spouting or doing small breaches, and four bears walking and eating along the beach. The salmon could even be seen jumping out of the water! And then there was Johns Hopkins Glacier… Words can’t describe the sight! Not as massive as the Columbia Glacier of Valdez, but more than awe-inspiring. Set against a backdrop of colorful mountains and surrounded by wildlife relaxing on icebergs– I mean, come on! #whatatimetobealive. One cool geological element was being able to see a mountain where the Pacific plate and the North American plate had collided. Though the tour eventually came to an end, I will remember this cruise forever. Booking with the Glacier Bay Lodge is easy and convenient with day-before reservations allowed. At $226 per person, you are supplied with lunch, multiple snacks, and unlimited water, coffee, and tea (Numi organic!) for the duration of the cruise. I left the dock more than content.
Bears! 
Relaxing bear 
Salmon jumping! 
Baby seal 
Flocks and flocks of birds 
Puffin 
Whale’s tail 
All of the sealions 
Colors abound! 
Waterfall! 
Mountain Goats 
Osprey 
Bald Eagle 
Geological wonder 
Animals on icebergs 
Johns Hopkins Glacier
The following morning we kayaked around Bartlett Cove renting from Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks ($40/person for 1/2 day; guided half day and full day tours available). We saw several eagles, ospreys, and some sort of heron or crane (I’m obviously not a birder lol) and were even able to venture pretty close to an otter before it shyly ducked away. Only misty at times, the weather held out well for us but the area is in a temperate rainforest, so rain is a constant and to be expected and embraced. If wishing to kayak to glaciers or other inlets and islands, be prepared to kayak out and spend the night. To get in and out of Bartlett Cove and travel the shorter distance to the Beardley Islands requires a tide of at least 12ft, which does not occur daily. If wishing to kayak in the NW to, say, Johns Hopkins Glacier, or NE to John Muir Inlet, one must rent a kayak and pay to ride the Glacier Bay Day Tour to one of the select drop-off points and then kayak from there. These same points are used for pick-ups. Drop offs and pick-ups occur only once daily and should be pre-determined with the ranger’s station and the Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks when obtaining a backcountry permit. Bear canisters can be obtained from the VIS.
Another last-minute highlight of our GBNP adventure occurred on the drive back to the Gustavus airport. Again, we encountered a moose on the side of the road– this time a mother and her two calves. From the safety of our vehicle, we slowly crept past them, taking several photos and basking in the rarity of this sight. We left Glacier Bay with our hearts warmed and filled with appreciation at our amazing luck.
Quote by Kim Heacox:
“If Glacier Bay were music, it would be an unfinished symphony. If it were a painting, it would be a watercolor. If it were a resolution, it would be a challenge to us all to slow down and sleep on the ground now and then, to take a minute to look, really look, and listen, and to imagine all that’s possible when nature isn’t a commodity that we own, but rather, a community to which we belong.”