The Glacier Bay Lodge operates a daily tour boat providing an 8-hour excursion into the far reaches of Glacier Bay. A lunch consisting of a sandwich and chips is included in the fare. Passengers can begin boarding at 6:50 AM and the boat leaves the dock at 7:15 AM. It returns by 3:30 PM to allow visitors to leave the tour boat and be transported back to the Gustavus airport in time to catch the afternoon Alaska Air flight to Juneau. All bus transfers are free, but tips are accepted. The lodge is only open during the short season from Memorial Day to Labor Day and the tours only operate during this season as well. We took an excursion in late August 2022.
The boat we were on is an aluminum catamaran named St Juvenaly. Constructed in 1996 with engines rated at 2200 horsepower, it has a draft of less than three feet and is certified for 150 passengers. It is about 26 feet wide and 80 feet long with two decks. Besides the small crew, a park interpretive ranger acts as an educator and tour guide. Our ranger was Billy and he was the best guide we've ever had at any national park. Although he sees this park by boat or cruise ship multiple times per week, he still conveyed that sense of newness and awe throughout the day. Part of that may have been due to our trip being his last scheduled trip on the day boat for the season, but I got the feeling from the crew that he always had the same sense of wonder and inspiration every trip.
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| The cruise began with very low clouds obscuring the view |
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| Steller Sea Lions |
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| Cormorants and Mew Gulls nest on South Marble Island |
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| More Steller sea lions at South Marble Island |
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| A flock of Black-legged Kittiwakes |
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| North Marble Island in the clouds |
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| Sebree Island |
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| Kayakers on the rocky shore of Sebree Island |
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| An unnamed waterfall |
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| Clouds slowly rising |
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| Rockslide aftermath |
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| An unnamed stream flows into the bay |
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| Temperate rainforest |
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| Black Cap Mountain (3321 feet) |
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| Russell Island (above the boat) and the Fairweather Mountains (30 miles) |
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| Topeka Glacier (25 miles) |
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| A private boat at anchor near the unnamed outlet of Vivid Lake |
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| The clouds are finally clearing to reveal Glacier Bay |
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| Folded layers of rock revealed by glacial carving |
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| A coastal brown bear grazing on a gravel bar |
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| Another look at Topeka Glacier |
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| Mount Quincy Adams (13620' 22 miles in front) and Mount Fairweather (15325' 25 miles) |
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| The Norwegian Encore (20 decks, 4000 passengers, 1700 crew) seems very small in the bay |
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| Johns Hopkins Inlet to the left and Tarr Inlet to the right |
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| Reid Glacier |
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| The still waters of Glacier Bay |
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| Lamplugh Glacier |
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| Johns Hopkins Glacier below Mount Wilbur (10821') and Mount Orville (10495') |
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| Another view |
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| Gilman Glacier (tidewater at left) and Johns Hopkins Glacier (tidewater at center) |
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| Retreating glaciers leave bare rock behind |
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| Closer view of Johns Hopkins Glacier |
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| A final look at Johns Hopkins Glacier |
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| Ranger Billy pointing toward the ranger station |
There is no entrance fee at Glacier Bay National Park.
The Glacier Bay National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/glba/index.htm.
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