Wild, Woolly, & Wow | Best of Glacier Bay Tours and Cruises

Board the Legacy just in time for a welcome cocktail or glass of champagne before dinner. The captain and crew will introduce themselves and provide an overview of the adventure that awaits this week! (D)

You’re in for a real treat. Have your binoculars handy—South Marble Island is a birder’s slice of heaven. Puffins scoot through the water. Guillemots and gulls chatter up the airwaves. The snoozing sea lions don’t seem to mind. More thrills and chills await as you cruise to the far end of John Hopkins Inlet or Tarr Inlet where glaciers calve into the water. Backed by knife-edged peaks, bears forage along the shoreline of Tidal Inlet. Mountain goats too. Back at Bartlett Cove, if time and daylight allow, take a forest hike around the park’s HQ. (BLD)

Corner Bay is our playground for the day. Chichagof Island is known for its high population of Brown Bears with multiple trails and abandoned Forest Service roads that make for ease of hiking to lakes and rivers. Full range of activities will be available with a lean towards hiking. This is the best opportunity for long hikes on trails and old Forest Service roads. This is also home to the Chew family. Learn what it is like to live and work in the wilds of Alaska. UnCruise is the only company permitted for guiding guests in this area. (BLD

Join us for an early riser breakfast as we enter Patterson Bay, oh my! One of the most scenic areas in SE Alaska, Patterson is a deep narrow bay hemmed in mountains. We will drop off all day kayakers and early morning skiff tours and begin our day. Soon after, the ship will go on a slow meander of South Baranof Wilderness Area including Deep Cove, Port Walter, Mist Cove and eventually reach the southern extent of this primitive area. Activities will be more water-based today, with some hikes and whale watching. No other small ships visit this area. Weather permitting, this is an ideal area for snorkeling. Good chance to see Humpback or Orca whales. Alaska fishermen troll this area for prized King Salmon. End of the day will include a cruise to Gut Bay at the north end of the wilderness area. This is a very dramatic location. Keep your camera at the ready today! (B,L,D)

Wake near Cascade Creek in Thomas Bay. This bay is the quintessential playground for our guests and crew. Long flat hikes, steep elevation climbs, calm kayaking, and hikes to a glacial lake with the mighty Baird Glacier still calving ice into the lake may all be options today. Depending on tides, we may start the day near Cascade Creek or at Scenery Cove near Baird Glacier. Regardless, after lunch the boat will move to the opposite end of Thomas Bay for more adventures. This is an epic day for adventurers. Evening skiff tours and kayaks take in the pre dark hours when the sounds of the wilds beckon. (BLD)

Today’s timing of activities is entirely controlled by the rise and fall of the tide. We may visit the Glacier early or late. LeConte Glacier is the southernmost tidewater glacier in the northern hemisphere. The shallow current-filled entrance requires us to enter near slack water. If the tide is early, you may hear ice against the hull of the Legacy as you wake up. We will also visit Ideal Cove today and take advantage of trails and if the timing is right, an evening campfire ashore.(BLD)