Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Covering 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is known as Homeland to the Huna and Yakutat Lingít, and is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage. From sea to summit, Glacier Bay offers limitless opportunities for adventure and inspiration.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve lies west of Juneau, Alaska, and can only be reached by plane or boat. Directions from the Park Service ↗
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Glacier Bay Operating Hours and Seasons | Daily · All Day |
| Glacier Bay Visitor Center Desk Hours | Daily · 11:00AM - 5:30PM |
| Visitor Information Station (VIS) Hours | Daily · 7:00AM - 5:00PM |
Glacier Bay Visitor Center Desk Hours: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hours | 11:00AM - 5:30PM |
| Sep 6, 2026 to May 22, 2027NowClosed for Winter Season | Closed |
Visitor Information Station (VIS) Hours: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hours | 7:00AM - 5:00PM |
| Oct 1, 2026 to Apr 30, 2027NowClosed for Winter | Closed |
When to go
August draws the most visits here and February the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Bartlett Cove Campground | 33 sites | |
| The National Park Service maintains a free walk-in campground in Bartlett Cove, open year-round. · 33 first-come | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Glacier Bay National Park Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
OPEN on the second floor of Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove, 10 miles from Gustavus. Staffed daily in summer with park rangers. Stop by for exhibits, park information, trip planning, bookstore, reading area, hydrophone kiosk, interpretive programs, park films, brochures, and much more.
- Visitor Information Station - Backcountry Office ↗
Located near the head of the public-use dock in Bartlett Cove, 10 miles from Gustavus. The "VIS" provides trip planning information, boating and camping permits, and offers boater/camper orientation sessions for visitors heading into the wild backcountry of Glacier Bay.
Explore
Things to do
- Experience the Huna Tribal House1-3 Hours
Take a walk on the Łingít trail to see the first permanent clan house in Glacier Bay since Łingít villages were destroyed by an advancing glacier over 250 years ago.
Opens on the Park Service site - Kayak the Beardslees1-3 Days
If you’re visiting Glacier Bay on a budget, one of the more accessible wilderness areas of the park is the Beardslee Islands. Kayak through these peaceful, wild waters and look for wildlife along the shoreline for a true Glacier Bay adventure.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Trails at Bartlett Cove
Bartlett Cove has the only developed trails in the park. The forests and shorelines offer great hiking opportunities through a beautiful setting and a chance to see all manner of wildlife.
Opens on the Park Service site - Camp at Bartlett Cove1-3 Days
The Bartlett Cove Campground is steps away from incredible views of the Fairweather Mountains and the bay. Spend a night in this enchanting rainforest campground and listen to whales from where you sleep.
Opens on the Park Service site - Explore Gustavus
The town of Gustavus is considered the gateway to Glacier Bay. This charming Alaskan community offers plenty for travelers to explore as they make their way to the park.
Opens on the Park Service site - Stop by the Glacier Bay Visitor Center
Stop by the Glacier Bay Visitor Center to watch a program, join a ranger on a walk, or just explore the exhibits yourself. There's plenty to learn for visitors of all ages.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Webcams
Bartlett Cove Public Dock
Bartlett Cove Lagoon and Fairweather Range
Bartlett Cove Dock and Tlingit Trail
Lower Glacier BayCamera images load live from the National Park Service and partner agencies
News
- Whale Waters Update for Glacier Bay Effective October 1, 2026 ↗2026-09-29
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Acting Superintendent Joni Seay announced today that the 13-knot vessel speed limit in Queen Inlet and on the eastern side of Lower Bay whale waters will be removed effective…
- Whale Waters Update for Glacier Bay Effective August 6, 2026 ↗2026-08-05
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Acting superintendent Joni Seay announced today a vessel speed limit of 13 knots through the water in Queen Inlet to protect numerous humpback whales that have been feeding in this…
- Whale Waters Update for Glacier Bay Effective July 17, 2026 ↗2026-07-16
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve announces a vessel speed limit of 13 knots through the water on the eastern side of the Lower Bay designated whale waters, to protect numerous humpback whales that have been…
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Alaska's national parks and Alaska
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthHarbor Seal 5× · Sea Otter 4× · Bald Eagle 2× · Mountain Goat 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 243 birds, 46 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican kestrel · Bald eagle · Barred Owl · Boreal owl · Golden eagle · Great Gray Owl · Great horned owl · Hawk-owl · Marsh hawk · Merlin · Northern pygmy-owl · Northern saw-whet owl · Osprey · Peregrin falcon · Red-tailed hawk · Rough-legged hawk · Sharp-shinned hawk · Short-eared owl · Snowy Owl · Swainson's hawk
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican bittern · American black duck · American coot · American wigeon · Barrow's goldeneye · Blue-winged teal · Bufflehead · Canada goose · Cinnamon teal · Common goldeneye · Common loon · Common merganser · Double-crested cormorant · Emperor goose · Eurasian wigeon · Great Egret · Great blue heron · Greater scaup · Greater white-fronted goose · Green-winged teal · Harlequin duck · Hooded merganser · Horned grebe · Lesser scaup · Northern pintail · Pacific loon · Pelagic cormorant · Red-breasted merganser · Red-necked grebe · Red-throated loon · Ring-necked duck · Sandhill crane · Snow goose · Trumpeter swan · Tufted Duck · Tundra swan · Western grebe · Wood Duck · Yellow-billed loon
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican golden-plover · Arctic tern · Baird's sandpiper · Bar-tailed godwit · Black oystercatcher · Black turnstone · Black-bellied plover · Black-footed albatross · Bonaparte's gull · Bristle-thighed curlew · Buff-breasted sandpiper · California Gull · Caspian Tern · Cassin's auklet · Common murre · Dunlin · Fork-tailed storm-petrel · Glaucous gull · Glaucous-winged gull · Greater yellowlegs · Herring gull · Horned puffin · Hudsonian godwit · Ivory Gull · Killdeer · Leach's storm-petrel · Least sandpiper · Lesser yellowlegs · Long-billed dowitcher · Long-tailed jaeger · Marbled godwit · Mew gull · Pacific Golden Plover · Parakeet Auklet · Parasitic jaeger · Pectoral sandpiper · Pink-footed shearwater · Pomarine jaeger · Red phalarope · Red-necked phalarope · Rhinoceros auklet · Ring-billed Gull · Rock sandpiper · Ross's Gull · Ruddy turnstone · Sabine's gull · Sanderling · Semipalmated plover · Semipalmated sandpiper · Short-billed dowitcher · Short-tailed shearwater · Solitary sandpiper · Sooty shearwater · Spotted Sandpiper · Thayer's gull · Tufted puffin · Upland sandpiper · Western sandpiper · Wilson's Snipe · curlew sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesBand-tailed Pigeon · Mourning dove · Pigeon guillemot · Rock Ptarmigan · Sooty Grouse · White-tailed Ptarmigan · Willow ptarmigan
WoodpeckersAmerican Three-toed Woodpecker · Downy woodpecker · Hairy woodpecker · Northern flicker · Red-breasted sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAnna's Hummingbird · Rufous hummingbird · Vaux's swift
Also on the checklistAlder flycatcher · American Cliff Swallow · American dipper · American redstart · American robin · American tree sparrow · Ancient murrelet · Bank swallow · Barn swallow · Belted kingfisher · Black scoter · Black-billed Magpie · Black-capped Chickadee · Black-legged kittiwake · Blackpoll warbler · Bohemian wagwing · Brant · Brown creeper · Brown-headed cowbird · Brunnich's Guillemot · Canada geese · Canvasback · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping sparrow · Clark's nutcracker · Common eider · Common nighthawk · Common raven · Common redpoll · Common yellowthroat · Dark-eyed junco · Eastern kingbird · European starling · Fox sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned kinglet · Golden-crowned sparrow · Gray jay · Gray-cheeked thrush · Gray-crowned rosy-finch · Gyrfalcon · Hammond's Flycatcher · Harris' Sparrow · Hermit thrush · Hoary redpoll · Horned lark · King eider · Kittlitz's Murrelet · Ktiilitz's murrelet · Lapland longspur · Lincoln's sparrow · Macgillivray's warbler · Mallard · Marbled murrelet · Mountain bluebird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern fulmar · Northern goshawk · Northern shoveler · Northern shrike · Northern waterthrush · Northwestern crow · Oldsquaw · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned warbler · Pacific-slope flycatcher · Pine grosbeak · Pine siskin · Red crossbill · Red knot · Red-breasted nuthatch · Red-necked stint · Red-winged blackbird · Redhead · Ruby-crowned kinglet · Rusty blackbird · Savannah sparrow · Say's phoebe · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Smith's longspur · Snow bunting · Song sparrow · Sora · South Polar Skua · Steller's jay · Surf scoter · Surfbird · Swainson's thrush · Tecolote occidental · Townsend's solitaire · Townsend's warbler · Tree swallow · Varied thrush · Violet-green swallow · Wandering Tattler · Western Kingbird · Western tanager · Western wood-pewee · Whimbrel · White wagtail · White-crowned sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · White-winged crossbill · White-winged scoter · Wilson's warbler · Winter wren · Yellow warbler · Yellow-rumped warbler · marbled murrelet
Small mammalsBeaver · Common shrew · Deer mouse · Dusky shrew · Glacier Bay water shrew · Hoary marmot · House mouse · Jumping mouse · Keen's mouse · Long-tailed vole · Northern flying squirrel · Northern red-backed vole · Northern water shrew · Porcupine · Red squirrel · Snowshoe hare · Tundra vole
Marine mammalsDall's porpoise · Finback whale · Grey whale · Harbor porpoise · Harbor seal · Humpback whale · Killer whale · Minke whale · Northern fur seal · Northern sea lion · Pacific white-sided dolphin · Sea otter
PredatorsAmerican black bear · Brown bear · Coyote · Ermine · Gray wolf · Least weasel · Lynx · Marten · Mink · Mountain lion · Red fox · River otter · Wolverine
Hoofed mammalsMoose · Mountain goat · Mule deer
BatsLittle brown bat
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Rock climbing in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Summer temperatures average 50° to 60° F (10° to 15° C). Rain is the norm in lush southeast Alaska. It is best to be prepared to enjoy the park in any kind of weather, especially rain. Suggested clothing includes waterproof boots, rain gear, a hat, gloves, wool or pile layers or a warm coat. Good rain gear is essential here. April, May and June are usually the driest months of the year. September and October tend to be the wettest.
Questions people ask
Does Glacier Bay charge an entrance fee?
No. Glacier Bay is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Glacier Bay open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Glacier Bay?
Yes. The Park Service lists 1 campground in Glacier Bay: Bartlett Cove.
Do any Glacier Bay campgrounds have hookups or showers?
No. None of the 1 listed campgrounds report showers, electric hookups, or a dump station.
Source: Campgrounds
How busy is Glacier Bay?
740,044 recreation visits in 2025, number 90 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was Glacier Bay established?
1980. It covers about 5,130 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Glacier Bay?
Summer temperatures average 50° to 60° F (10° to 15° C). Rain is the norm in lush southeast Alaska.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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