Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Alaska
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
Last quarter
Hikes
Easy
🟢
Crowds
low
Open today
Open
Glacier Bay Visitor Center Desk Hours: closed Sep 7 – May 22; Visitor Information Station (VIS) Hours: closed Oct 1 – Apr 30
Entrance
Free entry
Upcoming Power Outages in Bartlett Cove
Attention visitors, residents, and workers in Bartlett Cove and the Glacier Bay Park Headquarters area: Be aware of upcoming power outages related to local maintenance work. All lasting from approx. 9 am - 1 pm: Saturday, 5/23 - An outage will occur park-wide (all of Bartlett Cove local area). Sunday 5/24 - Outage at the park generator building, including the Bartlett Cove fuel dock. Monday 5/25 - Outage at the park maintenance building. Thursday, 5/28 - Outage at the Glacier Bay lodge.
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.
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
There are no entrance gates at Glacier Bay National Park, so we are technically open 24-hours a day; however, services may be extremely limited depending on the time of your visit. The main visitor season is from late-May through early-September with the peak being the month of July. Check the VISITOR CENTERS tab below to see hours for specific facilities, and read the exceptions that detail seasonal changes in hours.
⚠ Glacier Bay Visitor Center Desk Hours: closed Sep 7 – May 22; Visitor Information Station (VIS) Hours: closed Oct 1 – Apr 30
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 9076972230
✉ glba_administration@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Feb, Mar, Nov, Dec
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ⛅ Partly cloudy, 43°F
☁️ 49°/41°
🌦️ 49°/42°
🌦️ 47°/40°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
0%
Feb
0%
Mar
0%
Apr
7%
May
73%
Jun
93%
Jul
100%
Aug
93%
Sep
71%
Oct
23%
Nov
0%
Dec
0%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Live conditions
Things to do
Experience the Huna Tribal House
🟢 Kayak the Beardslees
Hike the Trails at Bartlett Cove
Camp at Bartlett Cove · 4 mi · Stays at the campground are limited to 14 days.
Explore Gustavus · 48 mi
Stop by the Glacier Bay Visitor Center
Campgrounds
Bartlett Cove Campground · 33 sites · first-come
Visitor centers
Glacier Bay National Park Visitor Center
Visitor Information Station - Backcountry Office
Accessibility
6 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve — each spans a cross-park journey.
Eliza Scidmore
— Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay National Park And Preserve, National Mall And Memorial ParksPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Glacier Bay National Park Visitor Center
Places to see
Bartlett Cove
audio
Bartlett Cove Beach Rocks
Bartlett Cove Public Use Dock
audio
Beardslee Islands
Beartrack Mountains
Birds of South Marble: Black Oystercatcher
Birds of South Marble: Black-legged Kittiwake
Birds of South Marble: Common Murre
Birds of South Marble: Glaucous-winged Gull
Birds of South Marble: Horned Puffin
Birds of South Marble: Kittlitz's Murrelet
Birds of South Marble: Marbled Murrelet
Audio & media
🎧 49a - Ghaanaxháa (outer coast archway) ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 11 - Néil Gu (Come In) ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 13 - Shi (songs) ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 35d - Ghaathéeni (Sockeye River) ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 Orange-Crowned Warbler Song ↗ · 1 mintranscript
🎧 42d - kéet (killer whale) ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 18- xhút'aa (adze) ↗ · 0 mintranscript
🎧 Varied Thrush Call ↗ · 2 mintranscript
🎬
🖼
Learn more
Recipients of the 2008 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
Introducing the national and regional recipients of the 2014 Freeman Tilden Awards, given in recognition of new and innovative programs in interpretation.
Recipients of the 2015 NPS Environmental Achievement Awards
The Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) funds numerous outreach projects through the Science Education Grant program. These grants help MSLC partner parks pay for science education outreach projects. Funding for the Science Education grant program is provided by Alaska Geographic. Read about the 2017 Science Education Grant recipients and their outreach projects.
The Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) funds numerous outreach projects through the Science Education Grant program. These grants help MSLC partner parks pay for science education outreach projects. Funding for the Science Education grant program is provided by Alaska Geographic. Read about the 2018 Science Education Grant recipients and their outreach projects.
The Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) funds numerous outreach projects through the Science Education Grant program. These grants help MSLC partner parks pay for science education outreach projects. Funding for the Science Education grant program is provided by Alaska Geographic. Read about the 2019 Science Education Grant recipients and their outreach projects.
The annual 2024 Director’s Management and Administration Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement and service of management, administration, Information Technology, and Information Management by NPS employees. The Excellence Awards recognize employees who go beyond day-to-day duties to solve problems or create new opportunities. They do so with creative thinking and action.
As we reflect on 2022, we offer you 22 interesting and exciting science and nature events from parks of the national park system. From a brief, yet dramatic eruption of the world's largest active volcano to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the National Natural Landmarks program, 2022 was filled with amazing moments.
Ranger School
Park-grounded courses you can learn with the Ranger.
Bears of Glacier Bay 2: The Scoop on Poop
Open →
Bears of Glacier Bay Lesson One: Name That Bear
Open →
Echolocation in Action
Open →
Humpback Whales of Glacier Bay Lesson 2: A Whale of a Tail
Open →
Humpback Whales of Glacier Bay Lesson 3: You're the Superintendent
Open →
On the Trail of a Whale
Open →
Seals of Glacier Bay Lesson One: Flipper Feet
Open →
The World of Underwater Sound
Open →
How Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
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Activity
Topic
State
Campground
VisitorCenter
PassportStamp
Trail
ThingToDo
Alert
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Share activities & topics with Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve.
