Glacier Bay Lodge in Glacier Bay
National Park in Alaska
Nestled under the
spruce trees that line Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay Lodge offers the only hotel
accommodations within the park. The Lodge offers magnificent sunset views of the
Fairweather Mountain range. Directly from the Lodge take a full-day tour of the
West Arm of Glacier Bay where you'll come face-to-face with Grand Pacific and
Margerie Glaciers and make your Alaska vacation a memorable one.
Here you'll enjoy cozy hotel room accommodations among the
Sitka Spruce trees and relax in the warmth of the lobby's
massive stone fireplace. You'll take in awesome views of the
water and Fairweather Range, learn about the area's natural
history from fascinating interpretive displays and savor
delightful meals - including fresh-caught local seafood on
your great Alaska vacation. And at day's end, you'll sleep
peacefully in your comfortable room, surrounded by the quiet
of Alaska’s northern rainforest. The rustic and cozy guest
hotel rooms are accessible from the Lodge lobby by
boardwalks.
 
Glacier Bay Lodge Backcountry Camping
Free permits are required for both the Glacier Bay campground and Glacier
Bay backcountry from May 1 through September 30. To get your permit and a
bear resistant food container, campers must attend a 30-minute orientation
offered by request at the Bartlett Cove Visitor Information Station.
Reservations are not required.
 
History of Glacier Bay
National Park
Glacier Bay was first surveyed in 1794 by a team from the H.M.S. Discovery,
captained by George Vancouver. At that time, the survey showed a mere
indentation in the shoreline. The massive glacier was more than 4,000 feet
thick in places, up to 20 miles wide, and extended more than 100 miles to
the St. Elias mountain range. By 1879, however, naturalist John Muir
discovered that the ice had retreated more than 30 miles forming an actual
bay. By 1916, the Grand Pacific Glacier – the main glacier credited with
carving the bay – had melted back 60 miles to the head of what is now Tarr
Inlet.
 
Efforts for protecting Glacier Bay were made by John Muir and other
conservationists, and in 1925 President Calvin Coolidge signed a
proclamation creating Glacier Bay National Monument. At the time, the
monument contained less than half the area of the present park. In 1980, the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act elevated the monument to
national park status and also extended the park boundary northwest to the
Alsek River and Dry Bay.
Further protection and recognition of Glacier Bay's significance occurred in
1986, when the Glacier Bay-Admiralty Island Biosphere Reserve was
established under the United Nations Biosphere Program. In 1992 Glacier Bay
became part of an international World Heritage Site.
Glacier Bay National Park includes numerous tidewater glaciers -several are
actively calving icebergs into the bay. The show can be spectacular. As
water undermines the ice fronts, great blocks of ice - up to 200 feet high -
break loose and crash into the water. The Johns Hopkins Glacier calves such
enormous volumes of ice that it is rarely safe to get within two miles of
its cliffs.
Information
Glacier Bay Lodge
179 Bartlett Cove
Gustavus, AK 99826
Phone: 888.229.8687
Website: www.visitglacierbay.com
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