Visiting park number three on our quest to visit all 8 National Parks in Alaska and finish all 63 U.S. National Parks.
DAY 1
How we got to Glacier Bay National Park
We had been in Anchorage, so we took an Alaska Airlines flight from there to Juneau, where we explored for a couple of days. Then we caught a flight on Alaska Seaplanes https://www.flyalaskaseaplanes.com to the small town of Gustavus. The flight takes about 25 minutes, and it’s absolutely gorgeous the whole way.
Upon landing, we were picked up by the shuttle from the Glacier Bay Lodge https://www.visitglacierbay.com/lodging-camping/glacier-bay-lodge/. On the way to get us, the driver had seen a bear eating strawberries in a field, and he asked if we would like to try to find him again. We did and saw one of the biggest bears we saw while in Alaska. Then the driver took us to get our National Park sign pictures. He went above and beyond for us.
We checked into the lodge, which was really quite nice, and had a great lunch at their restaurant. All the restaurant staff are so friendly. They come from all over the country, and it’s fun to hear where. The visitor center is right in the lodge, so we explored, watched the movies, and got our postcards and stickers.
After lunch, we headed out for a hike on the River View Trail, which took us through a beautiful rain forest along a river. It was a fun hike. At the end of the trail, we spent time on a large rock by the river. While there, we had the most amazing eagle sighting. It was basically putting on a show for us.
We had dinner at the lodge restaurant again. It’s basically the only food nearby, but it’s great. We headed to bed early because we had to be up at the crack of dawn for our all-day boat adventure.
DAY 2
The main event in Glacier Bay National Park
We were up with the sun and at breakfast by 6:00 a.m. The Glacier Bay Lodge has a great breakfast buffet, and you can order off the menu as well. We headed down to the boat dock to board our ride for the whole day on the Glacier Bay Day Tour https://www.visitglacierbay.com/tours/glacier-bay-day-tour/.
We were excited to see more of this beautiful park. The majority of it can be seen only from a plane or boat, so we decided to check it out by water. Our high-speed catamaran offered the chance to see massive glaciers, snow-capped mountains, whales, sea lions, puffins, coastal bears, seals, eagles, and so much more. We were not disappointed.
We were served a nice lunch and beverages, and other snacks are available for purchase. The tour is narrated by a National Park Service Ranger. He was a wealth of knowledge and able to answer all our questions, and he had a great eye for spotting wildlife.
I can’t even tell you what the best part of this tour was because there was so much. But the glaciers are just fabulous and make you feel so small. We passed icebergs floating by and saw so much wildlife. The sea otters were adorable.
I must admit, we are the kind of explorers who like to move and be active, so sitting on a boat all day was a little hard for us. But the things we saw were so incredible and numerous that we were definitely not bored. I highly recommend this tour.
Once we returned to the lodge, we went hiking for a bit to get the blood moving and then had dinner. It was a super day.
DAY 3
Heading home
After breakfast, we did some hiking near the lodge, which was really worth it. There were some ponds nearby that moose frequent, and it was another beautiful rain forest area. While we hiked, we passed several people who had just seen a bear, although we never did. There was a beautiful fog over the water of the bay, and it was a lovely time to be out hiking.
We caught a shuttle back to the little Gustavus airport and flew back to Juneau and then straight on to Anchorage. Glacier Bay isn’t the easiest park to get to, but we loved it.
I’d love for you to like, share, and comment on this post. I especially want to hear about your visits to Glacier Bay National Park. You can read about our other Alaska adventures https://seymoreoftheworldwithme.com here.
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Happy Travels,
Stephanie