Tracy Arm
Granite walls, hanging valleys, harbor seals, ice, and the Sawyer glaciers create a long marine sequence rather than one viewpoint.
Artwork inspired by Rockwell Kent
A narrow fjord leads through waterfalls and floating ice toward twin glaciers. Granite walls, hanging valleys, harbor seals, ice, and the Sawyer glaciers create a long marine sequence rather than one viewpoint. The fjord’s bends conceal scale until late in the approach.
Choose a small-vessel excursion if close geological reading matters, then watch cliff vegetation and ice density change as the boat travels inland. Ice can block the final approach, and wildlife protection rules limit proximity; no tour can promise the same terminus view every day. Leave enough time to connect granite walls, Sawyer glaciers, and the surrounding community or ecosystem rather than reducing the place to one attraction.
- Wilderness
- 653,179 acres
- Forest
- Tongass
- Access
- Boat or aircraft
Quick guide
- Start with
- Choose a small-vessel excursion if close geological reading matters, then watch cliff vegetation and ice density change as the boat travels inland.
- Look closely at
- Read granite walls first, then reconsider Sawyer glaciers with that context in mind.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Choose a small-vessel excursion if close geological reading matters, then watch cliff vegetation and ice density change as the boat travels inland.
- Look closely at
- Read granite walls first, then reconsider Sawyer glaciers with that context in mind.
- Connect the story
- Granite walls, hanging valleys, harbor seals, ice, and the Sawyer glaciers create a long marine sequence rather than one viewpoint. The fjord’s bends conceal scale until late in the approach.
- Plan around
- Allow 1½ hours–full day. Ice can block the final approach, and wildlife protection rules limit proximity; no tour can promise the same terminus view every day.
Good to know
Ice can block the final approach, and wildlife protection rules limit proximity; no tour can promise the same terminus view every day.
Notice these
- granite walls
- Sawyer glaciers
- floating ice