Camp at Bartlett Cove Campground in Glacier Bay NP

Depending on how you arrive to Gustavus, (which may or may not be the most difficult part of this adventure) you'll want to head to the Visitor Information Center at Bartlett Cove within the park to grab a free camping permit if you are there during the summer season and to sit through an orientation training. If you're like me and go in the off-season, a permit and the training aren't required - but I still recommend stopping in, the rangers are incredibly helpful!

You'll either want to bring your own or use one of the park's bear canisters to keep all of your "smellables" in - food, deodorant, chapstick, you name it! This is bear country so the park requires you to keep these items in a canister and in the food caches that are placed throughout the campground area. Cooking and eating are only allowed in the intertidal zone (the area on the beach between high and low tide lines). And never leave your food unattended!

From the Visitor Information Center it's about a 1/4 mile walk to the first campsites that are all tucked into the scenic rainforest. They provide wheelbarrows for those who may need help transporting their gear from the VIS to the campground. There's a fire pit with free firewood as well as a warming shelter located within the campground area.

This is a primitive campground, with outhouses dispersed throughout the area, but there are (heated!!) bathrooms, water, and garbage cans located by the Visitor Information Center.