Explore the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is located in southeastern Alaska, in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Yakutat Borough. It protects a wild landscape of coastal mountains, glaciers, ice fields, temperate rainforest, scenic coastlines, and deep, sheltered fjords. Nature, culture, and the particular conditions of getting there offer different starting points for planning your trip.

Glacier Bay: Landscape and Access

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is accessible only by plane or boat. Access is one of the first practical considerations when planning a visit: choose your transportation to suit your destinations and check the relevant connections in advance.

Bartlett Cove and Gustavus

Bartlett Cove has a free campground for guests arriving on foot. It is set in a rainforest landscape along the shore. The campground has bear-resistant food storage containers, composting toilets, a beach fire ring, and a small warming shelter. Check current availability before your trip; facilities may change.

The Bartlett River Trail follows a tidal lagoon and passes through a spruce-hemlock forest to the mouth of the Bartlett River. Along the way, visitors may spot coyotes, moose, bears, and river otters. This route highlights the forest, waterways, and opportunities for wildlife viewing.

A 2,500-square-foot structure stands on the shore of Bartlett Cove, near the national park headquarters. It introduces the public to Huna Łingít ways of life, ancestral knowledge, and the relationship with the National Park Service. Gustavus offers a different landscape: the town lies on a plain formed by retreating glaciers. Distant mountains and ice fields of Glacier Bay National Park frame the plain on three sides, with the sea on the fourth.

Hoonah: Excursions, Forest, and Culture

Icy Strait Point is open to all visitors only when a cruise ship is in port; excursions there are also tied to a ship’s call. Experiences include the World’s Largest ZipRider: the ride descends 5,495 feet down the mountain and reaches speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Mountain Top Forest Excursions takes visitors by gondola more than 1,500 feet up to the summit of Hoonah Mountain. The offerings also include a six-mile round trip on an open-air tram through old-growth forest. The excursions are ADA-accessible and can accommodate mobility aids.

There are also ways to experience the area beyond these excursions. The Hoonah Ranger District maintains a network of nearby hiking and mountain biking trails. In summer, charter boats depart from Hoonah on fishing trips for halibut and king, coho, sockeye, chum, and pink salmon. Daily summer wildlife tours from Hoonah visit brown bears, bald eagles, humpback whales, harbor seals, Steller sea lions, and Dall’s porpoises. Since operators and schedules may change, check specific tours and dates before your trip.

For cultural insights, local tour operators offer introductions to Tlingit dance, music, art, and history. Hoonah’s totem sites feature locally carved canoes and totems. In Angoon, the painted facades of 16 tribal community houses reflect Tlingit heritage.

Angoon, Tenakee Springs, and Pelican

Angoon is the gateway to Admiralty Island National Monument and a starting point for kayaking and canoeing in the protected area. In Tenakee Springs, historic buildings stand along the shore and beside the town’s only unpaved road. Kayaks can be rented there to explore the inlet’s calm, sheltered waters; check current rental availability. The history of the bathhouse is also remarkable: a public bathhouse was built at a 107-degree hot spring before 1895. The present-day Hot Springs Bath House replaced the original structure.

Pelican combines shoreline trails with opportunities for sea kayaking. Salmon Way is a one-mile boardwalk built on pilings over the tidal zone. The surrounding area offers approximately 40 miles of sheltered waters, including Lisianski Inlet, Lisianski Straits, and Stag Bay. Pelican hosts an annual king salmon derby in early June; confirm current event dates before your trip.

Another natural attraction is the Stan Price State Wildlife Sanctuary at the mouth of Pack Creek. The sanctuary preserves brown bear habitat and allows visitors to observe and photograph bears at close range.

Explore More Destinations

Explore more destinations: Angoon, Gustavus, Skagway, Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Haines Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, Petersburg Census Area.

For the main travel overview: Alaska.