Seward & Kenai Fjords Points of Interest

The City of Seward is the his­toric town where the Alas­ka Rail­road got its start. It was the orig­i­nal head­quar­ters of the Engi­neer­ing Com­mis­sion, those pio­neers that were tasked with the con­struc­tion of the rail line.

Seward has one of the few rel­a­tive­ly intact Main Streets in Alas­ka, and gives you a good idea of what the territory’s ear­ly coastal towns looked like. Despite two destruc­tive fires, some of the town’s ear­li­est build­ings are still stand­ing. In its ear­ly days, it was a rough and row­dy area, a place where one of Seward’s most famous mas­cots held sway – for a time.

Hol­gate Glac­i­er, found in Hol­gate Arm in Aia­lik Bay, with­in Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park, is a tide­wa­ter and moun­tain glac­i­er. While it is one of the small­er glac­i­ers in Aia­lik Bay, Hol­gate Glac­i­er is still a pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion to see calv­ing glac­i­ers. And it is actu­al­ly advanc­ing! Hol­gate Arm is often filled with ice, but on a good day you can get to a close and safe dis­tance from the glac­i­er. Catch a cruise from Seward, or go kayaking!

Seward Water­front Park extends from the small boat har­bor to the SeaL­ife Cen­ter and con­tains paid tent and RV camp­ing, play­grounds, a skate park, pic­nic­ing areas, beach access, and a trail lined with his­tor­i­cal landmarks.

Start your tour of this mam­moth glac­i­er here. You won’t find restrooms or water on the trail, so stop in here before head­ing out. Be ready to see wildlife along the trail, like bears and moose. And remem­ber, if you see a bear, don’t sur­prise it, just let it go on its way.

Just south of Seward you could spot hump­back whales, sea lions, bird life and old growth for­est habi­tat. There’s a great sand beach at the end that will reward your explo­ration, so let’s go!

By mid­day, fish­ing boats have returned with their catch. Walk over to the fish clean­ing tables to see hal­ibut, salmon, and oth­er quar­ry from the deep.

Close to Anchor­age and endowed with abun­dant recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties, cen­tral Kenai is Alaska’s play­ground. Two high­ways, numer­ous trails, and sev­er­al major rivers slice through the spine of the Kenai Moun­tains. World-class fish­ing, hik­ing, riv­er raft­ing, and canoe­ing – plus alpine lakes and gold his­to­ry – make for an ide­al day trip or week-long vacation. 

Estab­lished in 1964, Seward’s Small Boat Har­bor is locat­ed on the north­ern edge of Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, which mul­ti­ple pub­li­ca­tions have ranked as one of the top sail­ing des­ti­na­tions in the Unit­ed States. From the har­bor you’ll find easy access to Exit Glac­i­er, Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park, fish­ing, kayak­ing, camp­ing, flight-see­ing, and an assort­ment of oth­er activ­i­ties. Seward plays host to a vari­ety of ves­sels that make up the com­mer­cial fishing…  ...more