Seven miles of trails wind along the beaches and through the rainforest in the Bartlett Cove area. Backcountry hiking here is generally done along glacial riverbeds, or intertidal beaches. Hiking into the alpine zone is also an option, but be prepared to tangle with the alder. Sitka alder is a successional plant that grows in a mass along beach edges, avalanche chutes, and up mountain slopes. Hikers have been known to lose their minds attempting to hike through alder!

Glacier Bay was proclaimed a National Monument on Feb. 25, 1925, and became a National Park and Preserve on Dec. 2, 1980, when 2,770,000 acres were designated Wilderness. The park is also an international Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site.