Alaska Adventure  Travel Information

GENERAL INFO

Once you arrive in Juneau, Alaska you can travel to Gustavus via jet on Alaska Air (6/10-9/1) or on Air Excursions (year round). Because this is a rain forest, flights are sometimes delayed or cancelled due to weather so we recommend arriving in Gustavus the day before your trip and taking in some of the local nature. Flying in a small plane is a terrific way to first see Alaska and you can extend your normal flight to include flight seeing. Our recommended inns and lodges provide excellent food, facilities and hospitality. You can rent a car from Bud, or some lodges provide transportation.  There is also a taxi service. The lodges will help you arrange your transportation from your lodging to the boat. On the last day of your trip, we usually get back to the dock around 4 pm. We arrange for TLC Taxi (7.00 per person) to provide transportation to the airport or lodging.

JUNEAU
Juneau has several walking trails. Mendenhall Glacier is a must see walk, museum and exhibit. The State Museum downtown is an incredible natural history museum, from ancient history to the work of our current native artists. Lodging ranges from B&Bs to Super 8s. Most inns offer free shuttle service around town.

GUSTAVUS
Gustavus is a fun place to tour by bicycle and most lodges provide bikes for your use. We have 13 miles of road from Glacier Bay National Park to the Gustavus dock. There a a few stores, galleries and gift shops, and a great 9-hole golf course with incredible vistas on the beach and you can rent clubs. There is a museum and a gift shop at the park lodge as well as several hikes. Hikes are anywhere from a few hundred yards to an all-day hike along Bartlett River Trail. Don't forget your cameras as everywhere you turn there is a photo opportunity.

WHEN TO SEE WHAT

Glacier Bay is a rainforest and rain is the main reason it is so beautiful! Plan for wet cool weather but you will be so enthralled with your surroundings that it will not affect you as long as your rain gear is adequate!

May's long days mean a lot of time to explore and fewer people in the Bay! Some of the best weather of the season. Mountain Goats are grazing low and wildlife is usually easy to spot. Bears feed on grasses along the shore. Migratory birds are flying through on their way north. Spring on the average has less rain than fall. Sometimes there is even a bit of snow on the ground.

June has long days for exploring southeast Alaska. The weather is usually clear with less rain than later in summer and the flowers in full bloom. It is a grand time to go up into the glacier wilderness of Lituya Bay. Throughout the area, Bears are easily spotted on shore eating sweet rye grass shoots to regain the fat they lost in winter. First week of June the whales return to Glacier Bay. Good halibut and salmon fishing.

July and August are the most popular months so there are more boats and people. The whales are all here, breaching and playing and feeding. Wild berries are ripening in August and the summer flowers are in full bloom. August is good salmon stream fishing. Late August may bring the Northern Lights.

September has fewer people around and more bears by the streams fishing for salmon! Great for glaciers! The best time of the year for a possible view of the Northern Lights. Birds are migrating south for good bird watching. Great salmon stream fishing.

Gustavus Inn

Forest Trails

Gustavus Dock

Gustavus Moose

Bartlett River Black Bears

Harlequin Ducks