Operating Hours
Open year-round.

Visitation
Highest mid-May to mid-September. Most visitors come via cruise ships.

Permits
A free camping permit is required. A private motor vessel permit is required from 6/1-8/31. Reservations are recommended, as these permits are limited; they may be obtained by contacting the park office. Reservations are recommended for most commercial visitor services.

Visitors Center and Programs
Visitor Center: The Glacier Bay Visitor Center is located on the second level of the Glacier Bay Lodge in Bartlett Cove and is open from mid-May to mid-September. It has an information desk, an Alaska Natural History Association bookstore, and an auditorium. Exhibits illustrate the park's natural and cultural history.

Programs: Park rangers present evening programs, films/videos in the visitor center auditorium, walks and hikes through the forest and along the shore, and a public address commentary onboard tour boats and cruise ships entering Glacier Bay.

Food Supplies and Concessions
Food/Supplies: There are groceries, supplies, a small cafe, and a hardware store in Gustavus.

Concessions: The Glacier Bay Lodge operates boat daytrips during the summer and offers a camper/kayaker drop-off service at designated locations in the bay. Various large cruise ship and tour boat companies bring visitors into the park.

Guided kayak adventures and kayak rentals are available, and there are guided kayak, backpacking, and raft trips down the Alsek River. Hunting and fishing guides are available for forays into the Preserve portion of Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve.

Visitor Impact
Black and brown (grizzly!) bears are wild animals and should always be considered potentially dangerous. Help the wildlife remain wild by not feeding any animal, including squirrels, gulls, and all other creatures.

Some areas of the park are closed or otherwise restricted because of gatherings of bears or concentrations of their food resources, nesting bird colonies, feeding humpback whales, or other wildlife situations. Check with park rangers for current conditions and closures.

Additional Information
There are only 7 miles of maintained trails in the park. They wind along the beaches and through the rainforest around Bartlett Cove in the Glacier Bay Province.