Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve covers 3.3 million acres of mountains, tidewater glaciers, temperate rainforest, and fjords — homeland of the Huna and Yakutat Tlingit.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: National Park Service — Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve →

Xunaa Shuká Hít — the Huna Ancestors' House dedicated at Bartlett Cove on August 25, 2016 — is the first permanent Huna Tlingit clan house in Glacier Bay since the advancing Little Ice Age glacier destroyed their villages over 250 years ago.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: National Park Service — Huna Tribal House (Xunaa Shuká Hít) →

Cruise entries to Glacier Bay are limited to 153 use-days per summer season, with no more than two large cruise ships per day — a permit most itineraries never get.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: National Park Service — Glacier Bay Cruise Ship Prospectus →

Glacier Bay belongs to a binational UNESCO World Heritage Site of 24-plus million acres containing the largest non-polar icefield in the world.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek →

The glacier that filled Glacier Bay peaked around 1750 and has since retreated 65 miles — Vancouver found five miles of retreat by 1794; John Muir found 40 more by 1879.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: National Park Service — Glacier Bay Glacial History →

Glacier Bay receives about 550,000 visitors a year — the majority arrive by cruise ship.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: National Park Service — Glacier Bay Cruise Ship Prospectus →

Margerie Glacier, the signature stop on Glacier Bay cruises, is about 21 miles long and flows roughly 2,000 feet per year — around six feet per day.

As of 2026-07-31 Source: National Park Service — Margerie Glacier →