Spectacular tidewater glaciers and snow-capped mountains set the scene for a fantastic day on board the Glacier Bay Day Boat, a seven hour excursion from Bartlett Cove. The high-speed catamaran makes the 65-mile journey to the north end of Glacier Bay, with chances to see abundant wildlife including some rare marine mammals.
Wildlife Stops
After departing Bartlett Cove, the boat motors (slowly) through whale waters, often offering glimpses of orcas and humpbacks. Thousands of sea otters are swimming in these waters, and sightings are practically guaranteed.
The first wildlife viewing stop is the birding paradise of South Marble Island, where tufted and horned puffins, pigeon guillemots, surf scoters and pelagic cormorants are often seen. Near the shoreline, Steller sea lions bask on rocky ledges and watch idly as boats glide past.
Further along, the captain will slow the boat when sailing alongside Gloomy Knob, a barren rock face with steep cliffs where mountain goats are frequently spotted. Brown bears are also occasionally seen walking along the shoreline.
Fairweather Range
The excursion offers dramatic views of the high peaks of the Fairweather Range, home to some of the world’s highest coastal mountains, including Mt Fairweather, which tops out at 15,266ft. The landscape changes as you draw nearer to the ice field, with steeper mountains and sparser vegetation. Soon, the color of the water changes as well, with a milky blue-green hue from the silt and sediment of the massive glacial flows.
Tarr Inlet
Boats will typically take the narrow passage of Tarr Inlet, which dead-ends near one of the national park’s most spectacular glaciers. You know you're getting close when you see growlers and bergy bits (small and medium-sized icebergs) floating in the water.
At the northwest end of the inlet lies Margerie Glacier, a stunning and iconic tidewater glacier that stretches nearly a mile wide and towers some 250ft above the waterline (and another 100ft extending below the surface). Its terminus is just a small piece of this 21-mile-long river of ice that originates in the Fairweather Range. The snowy white surface appears blue in places, and its colors are more vivid on cloudy days. The boat will linger in hopes of possibly seeing calving, when huge icebergs shear off the glacier and plunge into the water.
Next to Margerie is the Grand Pacific Glacier, which is thickly covered by debris and lies just a mile south of the Canadian border.
Apart from the striking backdrop – icebergs in the foreground, the wide glacier, and chiseled mountains off in the distance – Tarr Inlet is also a good place to spot wildlife. Look for harbor seals stretched out on the ice, sea otters in the water, and black-legged kittiwake gulls flying past.
More Glaciers
You’ll pass other glaciers as you make the return journey, including the Lamplugh Glacier, a photogenic formation at the terminus of the ever-shrinking Brady Icefield. Nearby is the small, slow-moving Reid Glacier, which was once the backdrop to a cabin built by the Ibachs, a pioneering family that, in the 1920s, searched for gold in the nearby mountains. The foundations are still there, along with several trees that they planted.
