Visiting Glacier Bay National Park on your own

Tracy Losee from Glacier Bay Lodge sits down with Jennie to talk about one of Jennie's favorite topics - visiting Glacier Bay National Park on your own instead of on a cruise! We talk about what to do, logistics and why this park is so special.

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Transcript

 Welcome to the Alaska Uncovered Podcast with me, your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, my occasional co-host and full-time husband, Jay, and I bring you accurate, helpful, and entertaining information about Alaska Travel and life in Alaska.





 



The Alaska Uncovered Podcast is supported by our Patreon members. We are so grateful for our Patreon members who keep us going. You can join them at patreon.com/alaska uncovered, and as a monthly member of the planning club, you can get your questions answered by me every single week.

It's a weekly ask me anything, and every week there's an extra episode with answering everyone's questions. It's really fun. So find us over there.



Before we get into the show, it's March now and summer is approaching, and if you're visiting Alaska this summer and you don't have a plan yet, you need my help. So please book one of my planning sessions. Let me help you get your plan going or finalize your plan if you've already started,, the.

URL is too long to read, so you'll just have to follow the link in the show notes. I love meeting you and I'd love to help you get going, so find me there

alright, enjoy the show.

My guest today is Tracy Losee. Tracy is works at Aramark and she works with the properties in Alaska, which includes Glacier Bay Lodge, which is what we're talking about today. Working with Tracy has been really fun and some of you, probably many of you I know have listened to the episode.

We have like this about Denali, about visiting Denali on your own with Tracy's colleague Robin. And so I have loved working with both of you over the years and I am super excited that we're talking about Glacier Bay today. So welcome Tracy. Thank you for being here. 

Thank you, Jennie. It is awesome to be here with you and I only hope that I can.

A small way into filling Robin's shoes. I hear that. That was a very popular podcast. 

You know, it is actually the episode with the most downloads of any of the 165 episodes that we have. Isn't that wild?

So, listeners, if you've been with us since the beginning, and I mean since the very beginning we had another episode that was specifically about Glacier Bay with Ranger Matt, who is now at a, a different park. , Not in Alaska, but we talked all about Glacier Bay in that episode in March of 2020.

Three. So that was three years ago. And that is also one of our top 10 episodes. So today, so if you wanna hear more, like from a ranger and, and even more about the part, go back and listen to that episode. 'cause it was a really good one and it included, just spoiler alert. , Matt talking about being what we called the cruise ship ranger, where you're like, you know, so he talked about climbing up the ladder, you know, from the ranger boat onto the ship and all that stuff.

Mm-hmm. So that episode was about Glacier Bay. If you're cruising, if you're on your own, like all kinds of things. So today what we're gonna talk about, which is like a really special topic and one that is very close to my heart, and I know yours too. Tracy is visiting Glacier Bay, not on a cruise ship on mm-hmm.

Your own, which is, um. Not very many people. Let's just say that'll come back to 

that later. It's definitely, yes. It's definitely fewer than the cruise ships. 

Yeah. 

Um, entirely possible. 

I believe that 96 or 97% of visitors to the park are on cruise ships. I know you wouldn't know that. 

No, but it No, it makes sense though.

Um, I do know that the park allows only two, , large cruise ships per day into Glacier Bay. Yes. But if you multiply the numbers 

Yeah. 

Of the average cruise ship, you know, that would be at least several thousand people cruising through. 

Yes. 

Um, you know, and then Glacier Bay Lodge, which is in Gustavus by contrast, um, Gustavus has about 600 residents total.

Yeah. So fewer than even when cruise ship. And, um, the lodge itself, um, you know, we hover around 50 rooms available for guests, so Yeah. 

Right. And you're open for three months, basically, plus a week or two. 

Yeah. 

So if you do the math, if there was a hundred people there every night, which there aren't of course, 'cause some people aren't in a double room.

And then I'm sure there are nights that not every single room is booked, but like, if you work out that math, it's not very many people is the point 

comparatively. Although I personally, I think that it is a much better way to get the full flavor of Glacier Bay. Right. I mean, 

I completely agree with that.

Yeah. 

Most, most crews, guests only get to see it from the deck of the ship. 

Yeah. 

With a few exceptions probably, but 

Yep. 

Um, as opposed to coming to the lodge, uh, staying in the area and experiencing the full, uh, uh, the full, um, expanse of what. Glacier Bay has to offer. 

Totally. I totally agree. Okay, so Tracy, before we get too distracted here with like all the awesome stuff about Glacier Bay, can you tell everybody just a little bit about how you got to Alaska?

Like how did, and, and like, like listeners like me, Tracy is someone who is in Alaska a lot, but also lives elsewhere. So, um, Tracy, can you just talk a little bit about how you got to Alaska and, um, I know you also work, uh, with Denali Park Village and with Joy on bus tours, but since we're talking about Glacier Bay today 

mm-hmm.

You know, tell us how you, how you first got into this. 

Um, you know, honestly it was pure luck and. Relationships. Um, we have mentioned Robin a couple times already. Who did the Denali Park Village podcast with you? Robin has been my close friend for many years, way before I got involved,, in Alaska.

So Robin's family and my family, um, were camping. We were doing our family vacation together., This would be 2021. And, uh, the camp that we stay at doesn't really have internet access or anything like that. So one day I saw Robin running through camp with her laptop under her arm, and I'm like, Hey, where you going?

As she runs to her car and she's like, we've had a slide in the park. I have to go find internet, which meant nothing to me. Um. But that night when we were sitting by the campfire, I said, so, uh, what about this slide? And it turns out that, , the, the Park Road into Denali had had a road slide about halfway down.

Mm-hmm. 

And, uh, she had to, do some logistical things to, you know, make adjustments for guests. So, 

yeah. 

Uh, not to get too far into that, but, , at that time, this was just after COVID and Robin was the sales manager for our Alaska properties. She was also the only employee doing that. Usually you have a team, but everything was only open like 60%.

, And so as we talked about this, she said, you know, next season though, they're gonna let me hire a team because we'll be open, a hundred percent. And you would love this job. At the time I was in the service industry in Las Vegas bartending and, um, serving and making great dollars, , as you do in a job like that in Vegas.

Yeah. But, you know, also hitting my, you know, we'll call it middle years. And, uh, my body was starting to really hurt from that, like every day, you know, eating Advil like candy, uh, trying to stay ahead of things. And, um, I thought, you know, this might not be the worst time to do a brand new career. Yeah. So, , so I took a chance, you know, Robin loved her job.

Um, I would be working with somebody I like and respect very much. So I jumped in with both, both feet, took a big pay cut, to start at basically the bottom. 



I can't express how lucky I am just to have been given the opportunity, , having the support, , in order to grow in this position,

I spend probably a total of eight weeks, 10 weeks in Alaska, um, each year between the beginning of the season, the end of the season, and then some of the, , conventions and things we attend, uh, in the off season. 

Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, right around that time, that was right around when I met both you and Robin was like, it was right when you were starting and right after the pandemic.

Mm-hmm. The landslide and Denali and, oh man, there was just a lot, a lot happening then. Um,

yes. Cool. Okay. So Tracy, let's talk about Glacier Bay a little. Yes. We'll get to some like logistics around like 

mm-hmm. 

The lodge and that kind of stuff later. But for the moment, let's talk just a little bit about the park.

Mm-hmm. And um. You know, this is one that I have a lot to say about also. So Listers, some of you, if you've been around me for a while, know the late Clark is actually my favorite national park in Alaska, but Glacier Bay is like right there. And probably the next time I go to Glacier Bay, it'll probably go back to the, I'll probably just switch between those two.

Yeah. Forever. So, let's talk about GI like 

Claire Glacier. Hass more Bears. I know, I get it. 

Yeah. Let's talk about Glacier Bay. Mm-hmm. And why it's so unique and such a special place. Now again, listeners, most people visit on a cruise ship. Mm-hmm. So today we're really talking about visiting as an independent traveler and staying there for more.

Time. Right? Yeah. So just keep that in mind. Yeah. While we're talking about the, some of the things we'll talk about in this episode. Mm-hmm. And I'll try to break in and, and mention that, you know, here and there. Tracy, why do you love Glacier Bay? 

You know, glacier, going to Glacier Bay is like taking a step out of real life and you're, you're going somewhere that's so remote and, that you can almost forget about all of the stress and all of the, regular life stuff.

Um, I am, can't think of very many times in life that I've been happier than when I'm working at Glacier Bay. It's, you know, just to give. A little bit about the area itself. Just to give you a perspective, you know, you're looking at 3.3 million acres of wildly varied landscape. You have the rugged mountains, um, glaciers.

You have rainforest, which a lot of people don't expect in Alaska, but it's temperate rainforest, not unlike the Pacific Northwest. 

Yep. 

Along with these wild, untouched coastlines, um, sheltered fjords, you've got the wildlife, which is just unbelievable. Everything from bears and moose. , Eagles, if you're a bird person, , yeah.

Lare Bay is the place for you. 

Yeah. 

This is really, it's one of the highlights of the whole inside passage., As far as global significance, um. It's a, uh, marine and terrestrial wildlife Sanctuary Sanctuary. Wilderness sanctuary. Sorry. And I guess wildlife is correct too., It's also one of the largest internationally protected biospheres in the world.

Um, 

yeah. Tracy, can you talk about that a little bit? Mm-hmm. Because that in a episode, um, last year where we were talking about Ani National Park mm-hmm. Which is in the Yukon. Mm-hmm. Can you talk a little bit about that gigantic collected area together that goes beyond Glacier Bank? 

Yeah. I mean, these, these areas, this whole area is so significant.

, Not just the United States but worldwide. , And in fact, uh, it's recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage site, which means that, , it's universally recognized for both its natural features and cultural features. So important that it merits protection of all people worldwide, not just where the individual parks lie themselves.

So as a collective, both in terms of, cultural heritage and wildlife sanctuaries, uh, marine wildlife, , it's recognized internationally as being unbelievably important.

Yeah. And when you put all those parks together, like Ringle, Saint Elias, glacier Bay, Ani, you've got like an enormous area.

I believe it's the largest protected area in the world. 

, Geographically,, I don't think many people like, unless you're, you know, super into it. Like I love Glacier Bay, so I have a lot of fun facts, but,, it hasn't been a bay for very long, like geologically, um, it's only been a couple hundred years. Yeah., Explorers in the 17 hundreds found one massive glacier, um, uh, you know, thousands of feet thick and spanning what is now a 65 mile fjord, essentially.

So the Glacier Bay itself, you know, it's only been a few hundred years. Yeah. And it was covered completely with ice.

Totally. It's such a cool place, and I love that you talked about like how recently Glacier Bay w was under ice, so like 

Yeah. 

Listeners, the whole park, including Bartlett Cove, were the lodges 300 years ago that was under ice, not 3000, not 30,300 in the like mm-hmm. Late 17 hundreds. Mm-hmm. This was like mm-hmm.

You know? 

Yeah. It was completely different. 

Yeah. 

And you know, it's, 

it's, that is one of the coolest things about it to me. 

It's, and it's fascinating. The people that live there actually had to, , you know, the glaciers basically chased them out. 

Yeah. 

So the Huna Kling Nation had to leave the area when the glaciers came in.

Yes. 

Um, and then as they receded, of course, um, a lot of explorers and exploration, uh, happened and a lot of these people, , were never able to return to their ancestral homes. Yeah. Um, which is perhaps an entirely different conversation, but, 

yeah. 

But fascinating to think about that. Now these, people are still, they're still there.

Yep.

Yeah. And  the Huna tribal house. Mm-hmm. Um, that's there in Bartlett Cove is like mm-hmm. An absolute must do.

It's so, 

it is 

cool. And Glacier Bay has cultural rangers and I don't, I'm not aware of another park that has that. There probably are other parks I just don't know about them. And we did talk about this more in the other episode mm-hmm. With Ranger Matt too, so, 

yeah. 

Yeah. It's just the, the cultural history plus the geology and the landscape is just so unique.

Yeah. 

Yeah. 

Well, and when, yeah. And when they're tied together, it makes such a meaningful, I mean, you can't, I am not any way begging on cruise ships. They're wonderful. 

Yeah. 

It's a great experience. Yeah. But you cannot get the same experience. On a cruise ship.

Yeah.

I completely agree. This 

up, 

um, just to follow up on that, uh, is located on the beach at Bartlett Cove, just below Glacier Bay Lodge. So we partner with them. The, this is actually a partnership. Between, uh, the Huna Klingit, , and the United States Government National Park Service to make sure that their culture is preserved 

Yeah.

And that people who come there can be educated and enjoy,, their unique and beautiful culture. Yeah. So the Tribal House has lectures. They show films. They, feature native craftspeople this summer, um, two new totems totem poles were raised, one of the entrance sign of Glacier Bay.

Mm-hmm. So that was really unique and special to be able to see. Um, you just cannot get that experience by cruising through. No. 

Can 

different, can't. 

And I will say, just as like a technical point, there are a couple of small ship expedition cruises mm-hmm. That spend time assuring Glacier Bay National Park.

Yes, sir. But, um, large, and you, you kind of alluded to that earlier, Tracy. Mm-hmm. But so like we are saying cruise ships, of course there's a lot of different kinds of cruise ships. Right. But 

yeah, 

most people are on bigger ships 

mm-hmm. 

That don't go ashore in the park. And I agree with you, Tracy, it's still an awesome experience.

Mm-hmm. I mean, any way you can go to Glacier Bay, you should course, of course. But I really feel like, especially for park lovers and people who like solitude, going to Glacier Bay on your own is really a magical experience of one of the best you can have in Alaska. My opinion. 

I completely agree. 

Yeah. And I wanted to mention,

one other thing too that I think about a lot, you know, many of our listeners are love national parks. I know we have plenty of people 'cause some of you have hired me to help you plan your trips, , who are going to every national park in the system, which is very, very cool. Mm-hmm. One thing I just wanna say about Glacier Bay, that way, you know, when you see these lists on social media of like most visited, most crowded, least visited parks.

Mm-hmm. 

Glacier Bay will never show up on a least visited list because of the hover. You know, Tracy and I don't really know, but because of the two times, three to 5,000. People per day times. Mm-hmm. I don't know, a hundred days or whatever that is, but if you have this experience that we're talking about today, being there, staying at the lodge, it is a very uncrowded experience because 

it is, 

you said what?

There's 50 rooms on 

the property. Yeah.

Right. 



Even if the lodge is completely booked 

Right. 

You know, there's still, yeah. You're looking at, if every, you're looking a hundred room has two people in it, maybe there's a hundred people in this gigantic park.

Like, I mean, come on. I mean, it's exactly, it's just great. So I just want, I know that's a little bit of a side point, but I feel like it's important and people don't know that. 

No, it is, it's a very, very unique, very unique, almost. I hesitate to use the word exclusive, but almost exclusive. I mean, you really feel like you're getting to see something and you are 

Yeah.

That very few people in this world will ever get to see. 

Yep. 

You know, a hundred people a day for about three and a half months staying at the lodge. Now, there are a few other, , well, I shouldn't save in a few, there's several other lodges Yeah. In Gustavus, none of which are in the national park.

Mm-hmm.

Unlike Denali and some of the others, you cannot drive your car, , to Gustavus. No. You're either going to get onto a ferry, which runs a couple days a week, or you're flying in.

Yep. 

You have the option of sea planes throughout the year. Yep. And Alaska Airlines does fly, uh, during the peak season. So from, yeah, the beginning of June, till the end of August. 

Mm-hmm. 

Um, yep. It's so, it's not easy to get to, um, weather and stuff can affect travel. It's really, it's really quite a. A magical thing to go there.

Yeah. 

And experience it. 

And I'll agree with you that it's not easy to get to, but I will also say that Juneau is a two hour flight from Seattle. 

Yes. 

And then Gustav is like a 30 minute flight from Juneau. 

Yes. 

Yeah. 

So you are right in that you can't drive there, but like 

Right. 

It's much easier to get to you than like, 

yeah.

Hawaii or the Caribbean, or honestly, even some other parts of Alaska. 

Yeah. 

I think, yeah. 

Thank 

you 

for 

clarifying, because yeah. Yeah. When I say easy, it's not like, I mean it. It's easy to get there and like, yes, there is transportation there. Yeah. It's not prohibitively expensive and it goes every day for sure.

Yeah. 

Yep. 

It does take some planning because you cannot, it does just hop in your car 

Definitely. 

And get there. 

Yeah. 

So it's, you know. 

Yeah. We'll come back to kind of the planning logistics in a minute.

And listeners, just to be clear, I have visited Glacier Bay on a cruise ship and I have visited Glacier Bay. The way we're talking about today on your own, , at the lodge. So I've done both of these and they're both great, but they're different. But this is just like a personal favorite. So Tracy, can you talk about some of the things that people can do while they're in the park?

Because this is very different than other parks. You're not gonna get like the park map and then drive around to see the sites, right. So, 

right. 

Can you talk a little bit about some of the things people can do and 

mm-hmm. 

Maybe some of your favorites. 

Absolutely. I'm gonna lead with our main attraction, the thing that everybody comes to do, pretty much.

And that's the, glacier Bay Boat tour? 

Yes. 

This is an eight hour tour on a large catamaran. It's, uh, the capacity is about 150 people. It shouldn't surprise you that based on the occupancy at the lodge, we rarely have over a hundred people, so it's never. Super crowded., This is a three level, um, boat with two enclosed decks with full picture windows and then an open deck on top that you can go up to when the boat is not moving.

Um, and the Glacier Bay boat tour takes you, uh, up past the, the east arm of Glacier Bay. 

Yep. 

Up the west arm. You stop at several islands, um, for wildlife viewing, and the captain and crew are always on the lookout with binoculars for, wildlife on the shores, such as, bears.

Yeah. 

We have brown bears, of course, also black bears. And um, so they're always looking out and the captain will stop and pull closer if they spot wildlife. On the shore. And then as you move up into the West Bay, you start hitting these big, unbelievable glaciers. Uh, usually the boat will go into, um, uh, close to three typically, and that's gonna depend on things like weather on whale, uh, for example, Johns Hopkins, which is, one of the biggest and, uh, loudest, most active, if you will, glaciers.

You can't get in there until later in the summer because early in the season, the harbor seals are, it's their breeding season. 

Yeah. 

And even, um, even kayaks aren't permitted up there., This is a total aside and a fun fact that I find fascinating. Baby harbor seals, have very low body fat compared to the adults.

Mm-hmm. So every time. They don't go, they don't go into the water typically until they're a little older, but if they're scared into the water, they will go in. But every time they do that, before they're fully outfitted with those fat layers that they need, , it decreases their lifespan by about 10%.

Mm-hmm. 

So that's why even kayakers aren't permitted. Yeah. So the boat goes up,, you'll see several glaciers, and then on the way back down again, the captain and crew are looking for other wildlife. Yeah., In the meantime, on board, we have an interpretive ranger who tells you all the things about, uh, what you're seeing.

Each spot that we're visiting. Fun facts about the animals and birds. Uh, they have demonstration materials so you can like, feel what a polar bear feels like. Mm-hmm. You can feel a moose fur. Um, we serve lunch on the boat and, you can also, uh, purchase snacks and so forth. So it is just a, it's a wonderful way to spend the day.

Almost it, everybody that comes to Glacier Bay. Takes Glacier Bay boat tour and they should, they should. It's only tour of its kind 

in 

that area. 

Yeah, I totally agree with you, and I don't tell people very often that something is a must do. 

Mm-hmm. 

This is a must do if you're in g Glacier Bay. And I also think listeners, you should know that if you don't do this tour, you don't actually see the glaciers at the head of the bay.

Mm-hmm. You can't see them from Bartlett Cove, which is where the lodges and, um, you can't see them from Gustav, which is 10 miles from Bartlett Cove, you know, like we were talking about earlier. Mm-hmm. So, , this is how you see the glaciers. Exactly. And it's, it's also an awesome experience. So 

yeah. It's wonderful.

I've done it several times. Yeah. And I will do it every opportunity I have. It's different every time. You see different things every time. Yep. Different glaciers, depending. Yep. Yep. Um, another thing that, um, listeners might not know that we offer, and this is obviously for the more adventurous set,. The boat tour also drops off and picks up kayaker campers in the bay.

Yeah. 

So if you are somebody who is, , experienced in going out into the wilderness and camping and kayaking, you have, you know, ability to navigate yourself, which for me would be terrifying, but I know there are people that do this., You can bring your kayak or rent one locally, uh, get your permit for, , for camping and so forth in the Outback and from, uh, that would be from Park Service.

And then you can reserve space on the day boat. We stop daily one time in the East Bay where we'll pick up and drop off campers at a designated place and one time per day in the West Bay where we pick up and drop off. So this is for people. Once you're dropped off. You are not getting a ride again until the next day.

Some people, uh, look at the website and think that they will be kayaking during the boat tour. That is not a thing. 

Yeah. That, that is an important, there, there are kayak tours that you can do in Bartlett Cove. 

There are, and I can tell you, 

but 

that's a separate thing. It's a separate thing. Yep. There's no kayak, there's no kayaking that is associated specifically with the boat tour.

Yep. 

We operate as a shuttle service, if you will. Yeah. People who go to the East Bay are looking for kayaking. Um, the West Bay is where people go when they're looking to kayak around the glaciers. So that's what that West Bay dropoff is for. And so yeah, for experienced adventure seekers, that is a wonderful way to see Glacier Bay.

Yeah. 

I can't wait to try it someday myself with a 

guy. Me too. You know, my only regret about the time that I, the three years that I lived in Skagway, is that I never did kayak camping in 

mm-hmm. 

Glacier Bay, which a lot of my colleagues did. And that would've been a cool way to do it because. I don't have the experience to do that by myself.

But 

yeah. Anyway, I would definitely need a guided trip. And if you do need a guided trip's, I know who to direct you to. That's cool. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. Glacier Bay Lodge partners with, glacier Bay Sea Kayaks. 

Mm-hmm. 

And these lovely people, um, , Kara and Leah, rent kayaks for, um, unguided paddling, if you like, day paddling.

So if you just want to take out a kayak and paddle out into Bartlett Cove and do your own guiding, you can do that. Both half day and full day. They also offer guided half day and full day kayaking. I've done both and they're fabulous. Yeah. If you go on the full day, you actually eat lunch on the beach.

It's wonderful. 

Awesome.

Glacier Bay also offers, um, uh, flight seeing through Ward Air, which is, , uh, charter. 

Mm-hmm. 

And you can see the bay that way. Um, there's also several hiking trails in and around our lodge and also in the Gustavus area.

Um, depending again on your experience level and your, tolerance for pain. So everything, we have everything from an easy boardwalk, um, stroll through the rainforest right by the lodge to, um, hikes that would last all day., So we have, hiking trails that go to, uh, the Bartlett River, and you can also go further all the way up to Bartlett Lake.

I'm gonna just say that the Bartlett River Trail is one of my favorite hikes in Alaska.

Mm-hmm. It's wonderful. It feels like you're walking through a rainforest. There's Yeah. Moss, like, kind of hanging from the trees. It, it's very Jurassic Park vibes for sure. Um, yes, definitely. Really, really lovely. Not a difficult hike. As far as elevation, um, there's a lot of tree roots and so forth. Like, it's, it's not easy footing per se, but absolutely wonderful.

Um, so yeah, lots of wonderful things that you can do in Glacier Bay. And in fact, one of our initiatives, um, at the lodge is to try to help people understand that this isn't a one, a one day and done sort of experience. We do have a lot of people. This is understandable based on how tours run and so forth.

But we do have a lot of clients that come in one, you know, one day they take the boat tour in the morning and then they fly out that afternoon. And I feel like, well, I'm happy that they got to see some of Glacier Bay feel like they're cutting themselves short and really denying themselves the opportunity of seeing everything that the area has to offer.

So 

yeah, 

we really do encourage people don't, don't book just one day or two. Stay for three. 

Yeah. 

Build your, you know, or more, but build time. I totally agree. Build in some time, because for example, um, sometimes flights get canceled because of fog. 

Yep.

You know, um, if, if the boat tour gets canceled for some reason, and it does occasionally happen,

It's rare to cancel the boat tour because of weather, but it does happen.

Mm-hmm. 

We don't cancel it because of rain. 'cause the animals don't care about rain. No. They all come and they would never 

go because 

Yeah. 

Listeners, you need to know that it rains in Glacier Bay a lot. Mm-hmm. So like, don't go with this idea that if it's not sunny, I mean this is anywhere in Alaska.

Mm-hmm. If you're thinking your trip will be ruined if it rains. You are really gonna have a hard time because the odds of it raining are really high and that is not gonna ruin your trip. So, 

not 

at all. So I'm sure you're tired of hearing me say this, but like this is kind of something that I'm dealing with every day as a guide.

Like, it's raining today and it's still gonna be awesome. Yep. So 

sometimes more awesome. 

Yeah. Especially wildlife and glaciers. Yes. 

Yep. Yeah, exactly. 

Yeah. 

Those bright, sunny days, um, in my experience, sometimes you don't see as many animals. 

Yeah. 

They just, um, I don't know why that would be exactly, but they tend to seem to like the more overcast.

, We already talked a little bit about the Huna Tribal House and the awesome programs that they have.

One other thing I was thinking about that's a pretty great Glacier Bay activity is just like beach combining. When the tide is low, there's such a great rocky beach out there near the campground. Mm-hmm. And I think that's pretty magical also. 

There is, there is that, , which is, I've done that many times and it is wonderful.

You see all kinds of wildlife out there, um, including, you know, birds, bears, um, if you go on the other side near the Bartlett River,, there is also, um, an area that I would almost call tide pools. And when the tide goes low, you can go out there and find like massive starfish, um, all kinds of fish running around.

I mean, and you can see it by standing there. Really incredible.

Really, really very cool I've seen. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Anyway, it's awesome. Okay, so Tracy, as we move towards wrapping up today. Mm-hmm. So we've talked quite a bit about kind of the logistics of the lodge throughout this episode, but I just wanted to clarify a couple things like for listeners. So Tracy mentioned before that you can get to Glacier Bay, either on the Alaska State ferry or by flying.

Mm-hmm. Either with Alaska Sea planes, which confusingly will probably be a wheeled plane, 

right? Yeah. I know we say sea planes and people think they're landing on the water. You're not. 

No. 

You can 

do that. Not in this case, but they do land on water in other places, but not in Gusti, um, or Alaska Airlines for the weeks that they operate.

So. If, if you're staying at the lodge, you all will come and pick people up from either the ferry or the boat when they arrive. Yes, 

yes. That is correct. Yep. We go to every flight arrival and every ferry arrival. 

Yep. 

Just in case, even if we don't think that we have guests coming in that day, we still go to make sure that nobody gets left.

Yeah. And if you're not, like if you're staying at the campgrounds right next to us, um, we will, uh, pick you up for a small charge. So it's like a around, yeah. It's like $10 

or something. I've 

done it. Oh, well, yeah, yeah. Round, round trip is 30. Um, that 

sounds 

great. One way is 15, so if you need transportation, um, from the campgrounds or something like that, we can also accommodate, 

which is fantastic.

Yeah. And listers, you know, it's 10 miles and there's no like Ubers, so this is how you're gonna get to the lodge. 

Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, 

I mean, unless you have a car in Alaska. You know, like you're spending the whole summer in Alaska and you're gonna bring your car over from Juneau. But like, honestly, you don't wanna do that 'cause there's nowhere you can drive.

You just leave it and then let the lodge pick you up. Yeah, yeah. 

Okay. Yeah. And 

a couple other things to just about booking Tracy. So how far in advance, like when do you start accepting bookings For the following year? 

Mm-hmm. 

Number one. And then number two, how far in advance do you dates book up? 

Okay, so 

on average, I know 

it, so to speak to the first question.

Um, booking for, um, booking for the lodge and the boat tour run on a 366 day calendar. So for example, if we were open in January, as of today, you would be able to book. For January, whatever, tomorrow is the 30th. Right? You'd be able to book for next season. Um, January 30th. We're obviously not. I'm making it too complicated.

Basically a year ahead, you could 

book a year ahead, basically. 

Basically a year ahead. Yep. So starting when we open this May, you'll be able to start booking for next May and each day 

Yep. 

You'll be able to book for the next and the next, so in June you can book for June. 

Yep. 

Um, having said that, um, as far as when to book, the sooner the better is always the case.

Yeah. Unlike other lodges or other, um, other places, our prices at the lodge do not fluctuate online. Right. Based on availability or on the time of, like the time that you're visiting. 

Right. 

The rooms cost the same as in May, as they do in July. 

And listeners, in case you're like, why or how is that possible?

It's because for par, for Park concessionaires, like Aramark is like the Glacier Bay lodges. The Park service tells them what they can charge, and so they can't do, you're, you're not allowed to do surge pricing or demand pricing Exactly. Or whatever. So, um, that's why Exactly. 

So 

waiting, that's why other 

places 

are not that way.

Yeah. And so, you know, for some things when I book, I'll wait. 'cause I'll be like, oh, if they're not, they don't have a lot of it, bookings, maybe they'll drop their prices. The prices will not change. So the sooner the better is the best time to book. 

Yeah. 

Um, right about this time of year, things are really getting tight in June, July, August Yep.

For the times that ela, the, that Alaska Airlines flight comes in. 

Yep. 

Things are really starting to tighten. , By the time March April rolls by the shoulder seasons that early, you know, the may dates and the September dates are also gonna start getting pretty tight. 

Yep. 

Um, yep. So, so having said that, the sooner the better, but at the same time, um, booking later doesn't necessarily exclude you from coming.

Uh 

Right. 

It just 

might mean you can't come for 4th of July. 

Right. Or it might mean that you might have to be flexible a day or two in either direction. Yeah. But we always have attrition as in any place unexpected cancellations. 

Yep. 

Um, sometimes we have groups that are coming that don't end up using all their rooms.

There's a lot of reasons why space might open up closer to the date. Yeah. So a great time to check these things is like 30 days before. Yeah. If you haven't seen anything online for that July date, you want. Check out that 30 day mark. Yep. , That is a, that is a great time. Uh, that's usually about the time we find out if someone's really coming or not.

Yep. 

, Sometimes things fall out and you can swoop in and, uh, like I said, you're not gonna pay any more than if you had booked it six months ago. So, yeah. So just keep an eye on it and, you know, you could get very lucky. 

Yes. Okay. So speaking of pricing, everybody. Mm-hmm. Glia Bay Lodge has a discount for our podcast listeners.

Woohoo. 

Yes. We do. 

For the lodge and also for the day boat tour. Correct. So, Tracy, can you, can you explain how that works pe how people take advantage of that and where they can book that? 

Absolutely the easiest way to do this. I know that Jennie is going to have some links for you. 

Yes. 

Um, on her site, the, the easiest way is going to be to go to her site, um, and click those links.

It will take you to the exact spot on our website that you need to be with. The codes already pre-populated, so it makes it it a little bit easier. And 

I'll put it in the show notes for the podcast as well. So listeners just know that if you go and Google it and then put in the co like it, this is the way to do it, follow the actual link, either I'll, the link 

easier 

to my site, but I'll also put the links directly to Aramark's booking page in the show notes.

And if you just follow that link, it'll be easy. Mm-hmm. So go ahead. 

Okay. Yeah, because there, yeah. Thanks. Yeah. And there's two, um, there's, there's, um, a separate process for the rooms and the boat tour. Um, unfortunately our booking system won't let us tie those together. So for the um, boat tour, we have what's called a group code.

Yep. 

And you'll see that spot. Um, when you're booking it specifically says group code. You'll want to enter the group code in that spot. And that is, uh, three, three k like kite, five mm like Mary, Mary, Mary. Um, if you see any populations in any other of the promotion boxes, you'll want to erase them.

Sometimes the system likes to populate everything all at once. This will make sense if you do this, but make sure that 

yes, 

make sure that, um, code is the, that group code is the only thing that has anything in it for codes, if you will. 

Cool. 

If you're doing the rooms, you are going to fill in the box that says promo code.

So make sure that there's nothing in the group code box. You'll fill in the promo code. And the promo code is Alaska Pod, A-L-A-S-K-A-P-O-D. Again, I'm sure Jennie will have those, um, on and, um, those are good. I for 10%. Yay. Um, for listeners off of, um, any date that we have availability and any day that you want to come on the boat tour, we don't have any restrictions on when this is good for, so, right.

If it's, 

if there's rooms available 

Yes. If there's rooms available 

on the boat. Correct. And like you said, it's pretty rare for the boat to be sold out just 'cause the capacity of the boat is bigger than the lodge, so. 

Correct. 

I mean, I'm sure it could happen if you had people who were in a group like there for a wedding or something, staying somewhere and were doing the tour together.

I'm sure it could happen. 

Uh, you know, it's not impossible, but it's one of those things. This will be, I'm rolling into my fifth season in four Seasons. I never saw. The boat tour completely sold out. Yeah. So there's always been availability. The one, the most likely situation I could see is if we had a couple days with very large capacity and then for some reason the tour got canceled on the first day, then I could see ah, 

yeah.

That rolling those first guests into the second date. Yeah. Could again, it has not happened, 

but it 

could, um, theoretically, but it could. Yeah. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. 

Cool. Okay. Um, so Tracy, before I let you go, I gotta ask you a couple questions. I ask everyone, 

of course. 

And one of them is a little tricky mm-hmm. Because.

There is about restaurants and there is only one restaurant at the lodge, and that is where you'll be eating and it's great. Which is good because you don't have any choices. I mean, there are a couple of small places in Gustavus. Mm-hmm. But that's 10 miles away. Mm-hmm. Right. 

Yeah. 

So I thought perhaps instead I could ask you about your favorite restaurant in Juneau, because if you're going to Glacier Bay, you are gonna be going to Juneau.

Mm-hmm. 

Which has a ton of great restaurants.

Obviously if you go to Juneau, um, Tracy's Crab Shack, you've got to go there and not 

just because it's called Tracy 

and spelled the same.

Tracy is an awesome human like me. She 

is. Yes, 

she is lovely. Um, but yeah, I mean, it's just, I I hope you like seafood, but go there. 

Yeah. 

Um, oh, dang it. There's also a little restaurant downtown that I went to for breakfast

is it the Sandpiper?

It is The Sandpiper. Mm-hmm. Oh. 

Best breakfast in Juneau. 

You the best. It does not even the best a question. Yes. The Sandpiper is awesome. Yeah, 

yeah. 

The lodge is restaurant is awesome and in it's, called the, uh, Fairweather Dining Room named after the mountains, the Fair Weathers.

Yeah. 

Um. Which you can only see when it's nice out, hence 

right. 

I've never seen before. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? It's good 

to be reminded that they're there. 

Yeah. That they're there. Right. Um, the food is awesome. Our executive chef is amazing. Um, we have really come a long way, uh, with our menu.

We do breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dinner. We've started, we've become in the last year or two, quite a locals hangout. So a lot of locals come and have dinner. We've got regulars, which is not a common thing for national parks,

we have the Fireweed coffee shop in town. Okay. I use town loosely. It's this little Four corners. Yeah. Um, for like coffee and, and light snacks. The airport and, yeah. And, um, the Red Rooster, they have, , this is more like, sandwiches, burgers, things like that.

Shakes really good shakes and they have awesome karaoke. So 

fun. 

All kinds of fun things for people to do in that very small town of Gustav. 

Yay. Awesome. Okay, so Tracy, if you have one piece of advice for a first time Alaska traveler, what would it be? 

Can I give two? 

Okay. 

I'm like, 

I'll allow it. 

They're, they're, they're battling my head.

We actually touched on one before. Allow yourself ample time to experience the places that you go build in some extra time. 

Yeah. 

So that, um, so that things like weather or travel interruptions, uh, become excuses for more adventure instead of excu, you know, reasons to be stressed out. Give yourself the time , you're paying, , for somebody from the lower 48 to get to Alaska.

You're paying quite a, quite a bit of money. Um. Time you've probably saved. Build those extra days in so that you can really see all the things and experience them and not feel, anxious about any interruptions in your travel. Alaska is going to Alaska. It's going to Alaska.

So if you build in that extra time, my other piece of advice is find ways to incorporate some cultural experiences into your journey.

Yeah. 

Find a way to con connect with locals, whether that's through. Some sort of tour that's offered, or if it means going to a local gift shop and buying local Alaska made products, local craftspeople and supporting, supporting them, that is the real way to get the essence of Alaska by connecting with the people there.

The people that have been there since time I memorial as well. And, , letting that part of Alaska affect your experience. Listen to the stories that these people have to tell. Try to experience some of their traditions and culture. Uh, you won't go away unchanged. It really is magical and wonderful when you do that.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Try to step out of the normal tourist experience and Yeah. And have that connection with the people there. They're amazing. 

Yeah. They are. Well, Tracy, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and talking about Glacier Bay with me today. 

Thank you so much for having me,

. And please by all means, friends, go, you know, use those discounts. Come see us. 

Yeah, 

you, you'll be amazed. You'll be amazed, I promise. 

Yes. Wonderful.

Thanks so much, Tracy. 

 📍 Thank you my friend.



 

 





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