LeConte Glacier is the southernmost active tidewater glacier in North America, calving icebergs into LeConte Bay about 35 kilometres northeast of Petersburg. Charter boats from the Petersburg harbour make the trip regularly, threading through icebergs of every size to approach the glacier face — a blue-white wall that groans, cracks, and occasionally thunders as tons of ice crash into the sea.
The bay is rich with wildlife: harbour seals haul out on floating ice, humpback and orca whales feed in the surrounding waters, and bald eagles are a constant presence overhead. Most full-day charter trips combine the glacier with whale watching and halibut or salmon fishing on the way out or back. Book through local outfitters in Petersburg; trips typically run from late spring through early fall.
story: "LeConte Glacier has been retreating for decades — the face now ends well inside the bay that the glacier once filled completely. Scientists use annual photographs to track the rate of retreat, and the comparison images on display at the Clausen Museum are among the most striking visual records of climate change in Southeast Alaska."