State Parks and National Parks

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve contains vast numbers of marine mammals, a 65-mile-long fiord, nine tidewater glaciers and stately Mount Fairweather in the St. Elias Range.

There are no roads to the park. Travel options from mid-May through mid-September, the main visitor season, include scheduled and charter air services, cruise ships, tour boats and charter boats.

Permits are required to enter the park by private boat from June 1 through Aug. 31. The number of permits available is limited.

The park visitor center is located in the Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove, which is about 10 miles by road from the small town of Gustavus. Gustavus is about 65 miles northwest of Juneau.

The Glacier Bay Lodge (reservations phone 888-229-8687) offers rooms, a restaurant and boat tours. There is also a campground in Bartlett Cove.

Kayakers can explore more than 1 million acres of wilderness.

Boats drop kayakers at designated sites in the upper bay. All campers are required to attend a park orientation, where bear-resistant food canisters are distributed.

Both fresh- and saltwater sport fishing are permitted in the park with an Alaska state fishing license.