Bartlett Cove

Easy trails wind out from Bartlett Cove into the surrounding forest and along the shore. The Forest Loop Trail wanders through young coastal rainforest that has grown back since the glaciers retreated, while the Bartlett River Trail follows the shoreline and river through richer woods and tidal meadows.

These walks are gentle and accessible, and they reveal how quickly life returns to land freed from ice, from mossy forest floor to the intertidal zone. Near the dock, the skeleton of a humpback whale is displayed, a reminder of the rich marine life just offshore.

Glacier Bay is the ancestral homeland of the Huna Tlingit, who were forced out when the glaciers advanced centuries ago and have maintained their deep connection to this place ever since. At Bartlett Cove stands the Huna Tribal House, a clan house built in partnership with the tribe as a permanent home for their presence in the bay.

Carved and painted in traditional style, it is a place of ceremony, teaching, and welcome, and it tells the human story of Glacier Bay alongside its natural one. Visitors are invited to learn about the living culture whose homeland this remains.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Bartlett Cove is the one developed area of Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, sitting at the mouth of the bay near the town of Gustavus. While the rest of the park is a vast wilderness of ice, mountains, and water, Bartlett Cove is home to the park lodge, the visitor center, the boat dock where tours up the bay depart, and gentle trails through coastal rainforest. It is also the site of the Huna Tribal House, honoring the Huna Tlingit whose ancestral homeland this is. For most visitors, Bartlett Cove is where a trip to Glacier Bay begins, whether they explore on foot or head out onto the bay by boat.

At Bartlett Cove you can walk the gentle Forest Loop and Bartlett River trails through lush coastal rainforest and along the shore, visit the park's visitor center and the Huna Tribal House to learn about the natural and cultural history of Glacier Bay, and see a displayed humpback whale skeleton near the dock. It is also the departure point for the boat tours that travel up the bay to the tidewater glaciers, so many visitors combine time at Bartlett Cove with a day on the water. With its accessible trails, cultural sites, and quiet beauty, Bartlett Cove offers a rewarding experience even for those not heading deeper into the park.

Bartlett Cove is reached by way of the small town of Gustavus, which is the gateway community to Glacier Bay National Park. Because there are no roads connecting Glacier Bay to the rest of Alaska's highway system, visitors typically reach Gustavus by small plane or by boat, and then travel the short distance to Bartlett Cove. Once there, the developed area, trails, lodge, and boat dock are all close together. Since access involves flights or boats to a remote location, it is important to plan travel and lodging well in advance and to check current schedules and conditions.

The Huna Tribal House at Bartlett Cove is a traditional Tlingit clan house that stands as a permanent home for the Huna Tlingit people in their ancestral homeland of Glacier Bay. The Huna Tlingit lived in the bay for generations until advancing glaciers forced them out centuries ago, and they have maintained their deep connection to the place ever since. Built in partnership between the tribe and the National Park Service and carved and painted in traditional style, the tribal house is used for ceremony, teaching, and welcome. It allows visitors to learn about the living Huna Tlingit culture and the human history of Glacier Bay alongside its remarkable natural story.