Juneau, Endicott Arm & Icy Strait

Alaska Southeast — Juneau, Endicott Arm & Icy Strait

United States

Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage around Juneau is cold-water, high-latitude cruising with big tides, floating ice and bears and whales close aboard. From Statter Harbor at Auke Bay you can run south down Stephens Passage to Taku Harbor State Marine Park, to Holkham Bay and its two glacier fjords, Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm, or west across Icy Strait to Hoonah, Point Adolphus and Gustavus, the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Endicott Arm leads to Dawes Glacier and to Fords Terror, a cliff-walled basin behind a tidal narrows. Tracy Arm carries a documented hazard: on August 10, 2025 a landslide near South Sawyer Glacier produced a tsunami with a run-up of about 481 m, and USGS has been reported as saying the slope remains unstable; several cruise lines dropped Tracy Arm for 2026, and SailSpo's Guides route up Endicott Arm instead. Glacier Bay needs a vessel permit from June 1 to August 31 (25 private permits a day, online lottery), a KWM20 check-in, and respect for whale waters and seasonal closures. Fuel and provisions are thin outside Juneau, Hoonah, Bartlett Cove and Elfin Cove. Bareboats are scarce: SailSpo confirmed one supplier, Auke Bay Adventures, with a 26 ft and a 42 ft boat. Humpbacks must be kept at least 100 yards away under NOAA rules, and tidewater glaciers need a wide berth.

Top of the list

1. 1Endicott Arm (to Dawes Glacier)The fjord run of the region, with ice, waterfalls and Dawes Glacier at the head; SailSpo routes it in place of Tracy Arm.
2. 2Fords Terror Narrows and Inner BasinA cliff-walled basin behind a tidal narrows that is passable only near slack water; best seen by dinghy from the outer anchorage.
3. 3Dawes Glacier (Head of Endicott Arm)The tidewater glacier at the head of Endicott Arm; view from well back, among the ice.
4. 4Point Adolphus (Icy Strait)The best humpback whale feeding ground in Icy Strait; keep 100 yards or more from every humpback.
5. 5Glacier Bay Permit Desk and Orientation (Visitor Information Station)The gate to Glacier Bay: a permit lottery, an in-person orientation and VHF check-ins on KWM20.
6. 6Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park)A sheltered state marine park with a public dock, cannery ruins and a cabin, a natural first night out of Juneau.
7. 7Statter Harbor (Auke Bay)Juneau's northern harbor and the charter base; fuel, floats and the road to Mendenhall Glacier.
8. 8Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center (Juneau)Juneau's roadside glacier and a good land warm-up before the fjords.
9. 9Bartlett Cove Public Use Dock and AnchorageGlacier Bay's headquarters: dock, fuel, lodge and the visitor information station.
10. 10Pack Creek Bear Viewing Area (Admiralty Island)Permit-limited brown bear viewing on Admiralty Island, best from July when the salmon run.
11. 11Hoonah Harbor (George Hall Harbor)A Tlingit town on Port Frederick with fuel, water and provisions before Icy Strait.
12. 12Lower Tracy ArmA great fjord with a serious landslide hazard in the upper arm; learn the status before you decide.

Charts and guides

• NOAA nautical charts and the NOAA Coast Pilot for Southeast Alaska; check the current chart edition and Notices to Mariners for Holkham Bay, Endicott Arm and Icy Strait
• NOAA Tides and Currents predictions for Juneau (station 9452210) for tides, and NOAA current predictions where available (none confirmed for the Fords Terror narrows)
• NWS Juneau marine forecasts for the inside-water zones (PKZ011 Glacier Bay, PKZ012 Northern Lynn Canal, PKZ013 Southern Lynn Canal, PKZ021 Icy Strait, PKZ022 Cross Sound, PKZ031 Stephens Passage)
• National Park Service Glacier Bay pages: private boating, boating regulations, and whale-waters news releases; VHF KWM20 Bartlett Cove on channel 12 or 16, phone 907-697-2627
• NOAA Fisheries Alaska humpback whale approach regulations (100 yards)
• Forest Service Juneau Ranger District for Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness and Admiralty Island; ADF&G bear safety guidance for shore stops
• Alaska DNR State Parks pages for Taku Harbor and Funter Bay State Marine Parks, and CBJ Docks and Harbors for Juneau harbor information; specific commercial cruising guide titles were not verified

Sample routes

• 7-day Juneau, Taku Harbor and Endicott ArmDay 1 · Statter Harbor (Auke Bay) → Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) · 28 nmFuel at the harbor first; first night at the Taku Harbor dock, cannery ruins and the Tiger Olson cabin.Day 2 · Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) → Tracy Arm Cove (Holkham Bay) · 18 nmDown Stephens Passage to Holkham Bay; overnight in Tracy Arm Cove (ice on the bar, check the cove entrance in good light). Do not continue up Tracy Arm.Day 3 · Tracy Arm Cove (Holkham Bay) → Fords Terror Outer Anchorage (Endicott Arm) · 20 nmUp Endicott Arm among the ice; anchor outside Fords Terror and go in by dinghy only at slack water.Day 4 · Fords Terror Outer Anchorage (Endicott Arm) → Dawes Glacier (Head of Endicott Arm) · 13 nmSlow run toward Dawes Glacier, stopping well short of the ice front; return to the outer anchorage that evening if ice allows.Day 5 · Fords Terror Outer Anchorage (Endicott Arm) → Tracy Arm Cove (Holkham Bay) · 20 nmBack down Endicott Arm with the morning light; overnight at Holkham Bay.Day 6 · Tracy Arm Cove (Holkham Bay) → Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) · 18 nmBack up Stephens Passage to Taku Harbor.Day 7 · Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) → Statter Harbor (Auke Bay) · 28 nmLast leg to Statter Harbor; fuel and clean-up before check-in.
• 7-day Juneau, Funter Bay, Hoonah and Glacier BayDay 1 · Statter Harbor (Auke Bay) → Funter Bay (Admiralty Island) · 11 nmOut of Juneau to the protected anchorage in Funter Bay; ashore, cannery pilings and the state marine park.Day 2 · Funter Bay (Admiralty Island) → Hoonah Harbor (George Hall Harbor) · 19 nmWest across the mouth of Lynn Canal and into Port Frederick to Hoonah; fuel and the cannery at Icy Strait Point.Day 3 · Hoonah Harbor (George Hall Harbor) → Point Adolphus (Icy Strait) · 16 nmDay trip to Point Adolphus for humpback whales (keep 100 yards or more); back to Hoonah to stay.Day 4 · Point Adolphus (Icy Strait) → Bartlett Cove Public Use Dock and Anchorage · 10 nmAcross Icy Strait to Bartlett Cove; fuel, orientation at the Visitor Information Station and the KWM20 check-in.Day 5 · Bartlett Cove Public Use Dock and Anchorage → Bartlett Cove Public Use Dock and Anchorage · 0 nmA day in Glacier Bay under your permit, or ashore at Bartlett Cove if you have none (trails, lodge).Day 6 · Bartlett Cove Public Use Dock and Anchorage → Funter Bay (Admiralty Island) · 34 nmOut of Bartlett Cove after the exit call; across Icy Strait and back to Funter Bay.Day 7 · Funter Bay (Admiralty Island) → Statter Harbor (Auke Bay) · 11 nmBack to Statter Harbor.
• 3-day Taku Harbor weekenderDay 1 · Statter Harbor (Auke Bay) → Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) · 28 nmFuel up, then south down Stephens Passage to Taku Harbor.Day 2 · Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) → Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) · 0 nmA lay day: fishing, crabbing, cannery ruins and a walk; watch for bears.Day 3 · Taku Harbor Public Dock (Taku Harbor State Marine Park) → Statter Harbor (Auke Bay) · 28 nmBack to Statter Harbor for the return.