Glacier Bay, West Arm, East Arm, Icy Strait, Cross Sound, Dundas Bay

Passengers will board the Snow Goose at the Park Service Dock in Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay – a short taxi ride from the town of Gustavus. Following lunch and a brief safety and crew orientation, we will set sail into Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. For the next 8 days, we will cruise, kayak, and hike this magnificent gem of our National Park System.

The waters here are icy cold, and the air is crisp and clear. Wildlife abounds within the bay because Glacier Bay is a National Park and affords all the protections that come with such status. Guests can look forward to days of intimate contact with humpback whales, bears, moose, wolves, sea otters, seals, sea lions, goats, eagles, and puffins, to name just a few.

Since Glacier Bay has just recently emerged from the ice, it is considered a geologically young area. A trip up Glacier Bay is like a trip back in time. Old-growth forests give way to bare rock as we make our way back into the bay's upper reaches. Here, the tidewater glaciers still tremble and roar as they slowly retreat back, dropping huge icebergs into the sea. Magnificent granite cliffs tower above our small ship as we wind our way up the fjord through the ice floes toward the faces of these massive glaciers.

Along the way, our expert naturalist and guide will point out the finer points of plant succession, glaciations, local geology, and the interconnectedness of the animals that call this area home. The biodiversity of this place is simply amazing.

Evenings will bring secluded anchorages with time to reflect and share a delicious meal prepared by our Chef in the galley. Many evenings will offer time to quietly explore the shores by kayak or slowly motoring along in the skiff. It's amazing how much can be seen and heard along the shores in the quiet evening time. Before bed, the Captain will bring out the charts to review the happenings of the day and to make a plan for the following day. We keep the schedule incredibly flexible to allow for adaptation to the multitude of variables that can be encountered along the way.

Toward the end of the trip, we plan to leave Glacier Bay and head west toward the outer coast of Alaska. Here, in the near coastal environment, we will encounter a completely different landscape of windswept islands, rugged sea cliffs, and whirling sea birds.

The last day of our trip will take us back to Gustavus, where we will arrive at 11 a.m. With a newfound appreciation of the world in which we live and memories to last a lifetime, guests will disembark. Many will opt to catch the afternoon flight back to Juneau to continue on with their Alaska adventures or head home, while others may want to stay in one of the hotels or bed and breakfasts in Gustavus to experience a small, coastal Alaska town further.