Glacier Bay Wilderness, Wilderness area in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.

Glacier Bay Wilderness is a vast protected area featuring glaciers, mountains, and forests in southeastern Alaska. The landscape includes both land and extensive marine zones where whales, sea lions, and other marine wildlife thrive.

Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument on February 26, 1925, under the Antiquities Act. Jimmy Carter expanded the monument in 1978, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of December 2, 1980, added 523,000 acres and created Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The bay joined a binational UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and became a Biosphere Reserve in 1986.

The Tlingit, especially the Huna people, have long called these waters and coastlines home. Their ancestral connection to the land remains visible through their continued presence and stewardship of the region.

Visiting requires boat access since most of the area is reachable only from the water. Weather conditions change quickly here, so bring appropriate gear and plan for variable conditions.

What makes this place distinctive is that ocean waters are legally protected as part of the wilderness, not just the land. This integration of sea and land preservation is rare in wilderness designations across the country.