All 47 Natural Attractions in Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve | YNPG

Bartlett Cove

Protected harbor where lodge, dock, and mountains meet—Glacier Bay's boating gateway.

Beardslee Islands

Rainforest islands with dynamic tidal passages. Kayak-only access to post-glacial isostatic rebound landscape.

Beartrack Mountains

Jagged alpine peaks sculpted by glacial erosion—catch their glow in morning or evening light.

Black Bear – Bartlett Cove

Powerful black bears with distinctive flat backs inhabit Glacier Bay's coastal forests. Watch from safe distance in Bartlett Cove area, peak season late May–September.

Black-Legged Kittiwakes – Tarr Inlet

Black-legged kittiwakes nest on glacier-carved cliffs in Tarr Inlet. See them hunting from icebergs each summer.

Brown Bear – Tlingit Point

Massive coastal bears roam Glacier Bay's shores and forests. Peak July sightings via kayak—stay 100 yards back.

Dry Bay: Glacier Bay National Preserve

Braided glacier-fed delta backed by 15,300-foot peaks. Land rises faster than the ocean.

Dundas Bay

Rocky shoals and glacial moraine in a tidewater fjord. Historic cannery ruins. Boat access.

Geikie Inlet

Eight-mile deep inlet in Glacier Bay where a 150-year glacier retreat is visible. Peak July.

Grand Pacific Glacier

Debris-cloaked ice field in Tarr Inlet—witness 250 years of glacial recession from tour boat.

Harbor Seal – Johns Hopkins Inlet

Up to 1,700 harbor seals haul out on ice in Johns Hopkins Inlet each summer. Best viewing from Jaw Point; inlet closed May 1–June 30 for breeding.

Hemlock vs Spruce in Glacier Bay

Sitka spruce vs western hemlock in ecological race. Watch slow forest succession unfold post-glacier.

Humpback Whale – Glacier Bay

Spot 40-foot humpbacks breaching in Glacier Bay. Best viewing June–August on guided tours.

Icy Strait

Milky water crowded with whales and eagles. Alaska's prime marine wildlife corridor, best May-September.

Interstadial Stumps – Whidbey Passage

Ancient tree stumps preserve 9,400 years of glacial cycles and climate secrets. Wood grain visible in dark specimens preserved by Holocene ice.

Jaw Point

Johns Hopkins Glacier hemmed by Fairweather peaks, viewed from the edge of an active fault line reshaping Alaska.

Johns Hopkins Glacier

A 1-mile-wide tidewater glacier calving icebergs into Johns Hopkins Inlet; harbor seals nurse pups on the floes.

K’wálx – Fiddlehead Ferns – Glacier Bay Ethnobotany

Spring fiddleheads unfurl in Glacier Bay rainforest—witness a living Huna Tlingit harvest tradition.

Kanat’á – Early Blueberry – Glacier Bay Ethnobotany

Pink blueberry flowers, Tlingit heritage: early spring blooms in Glacier Bay.

Keishísh – Sitka Alder – Glacier Bay Ethnobotany

Sitka alder thrives in glacial outwash; Tlingit knowledge meets post-glacial succession.

Kóox – Chocolate Lily – Glacier Bay Ethnobotany

Foul-smelling chocolate flowers yield edible bulbs. Discover Tlingit ethnobotanical knowledge in Glacier Bay.

Lamplugh Glacier

Retreating tidewater glacier with calving ice face and subglacial discharge plume visible from boat tours.

Margerie Glacier

Massive tidewater glacier calving daily into Tarr Inlet. Watch harbor seals surf floes of blue ice.

Moose – Gustavus Forelands

Massive recent colonizers of Glacier Bay's wetlands—spot moose foraging willows in the Gustavus Forelands.