Set along the protected waters of Resurrection Bay on the eastern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, Seward, Alaska, is a terminus for many Gulf of Alaska cruises and is a base for exploring nearby Kenai Fjords National Park. It's surrounded by forest and park preserves, snowcapped peaks, calving glaciers, waterfalls and cliffs. Visitors can easily reach Seward by air, cruise ship, ferry, motorcoach or car.
Sights—Calving glaciers at Kenai Fjords National Park; Lowell Point or Waterfront Park for unencumbered views of Resurrection Bay.
Museums—See the history of the city at the Seward Museum; take in historic movies and displays of the area at Kenai Fjords Information Center.
Memorable Meals—Seafood at Ray's Waterfront; fish-and-chips, steaks and pastas at Christo's Palace; salmon and prime rib at Salmon Bake Restaurant; white-mushroom pizza at Resurrection Roadhouse.
Late Night—The microbrews and rustic, log-cabin feel at Salmon Bake Restaurant; pool tables, live music and karaoke at the Yukon Bar; live music and poker at The Pit Bar.
Walks—Two Lakes Trail; the trails at Exit Glacier or Harding Icefield; the biking and walking trail at Waterfront Park.
Especially for Kids—Hands-on exhibits and a touch tank at Alaska SeaLife Center; the kid's outdoor park near the start of the Historic Iditarod Trail on the beachfront.
A mecca for fishermen, biologists and naturalists, Seward continues to be a desired destination with awesome beauty nestled at the bank of Resurrection Bay and Chugach Mountains. Glaciers suspended from the highest peaks, otters playing in the bay and many other natural wonders make this one of the most scenic port cities in Alaska.
On the east side of the Kenai Peninsula, there is just room enough for the town of Seward to cling to the foot of the Kenai Mountains. The city is oriented north and south, and travelers go by road, boat or plane into the north end, with the SeaLife Center, Lowell Point and Caines Head at the south end. Not more than six blocks wide, it is easy to navigate with the water to the east and Mount Marathon to the west. Seward is also the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad.
Utilized by Alaska Natives since prehistoric times and "discovered" by Russian explorers in the late 1700s, this exquisitely beautiful location was not truly settled until the late 1890s. An ice-free port, Seward offered a viable transportation route to gold mines, to Anchorage and to the far north for mining enterprises. By the late 1890s, it became obvious that a railway was needed to transport quantities of mineral resources much greater than dog teams could haul, and in 1903, the Alaska Railroad was started north to Anchorage. Shortly after the arrival of the railroad, the city was named in honor of William Seward, the secretary of state during U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's administration who spearheaded the purchase of what is currently Alaska from the Russian government.
The town's original focus as an import and export location was briefly supplemented in the 1920s by fur production from a fox farm. A larger impact, though, came with World War II and the influx of military supplies and nearly 4,000 personnel. Seward became the largest U.S. military port north of Seattle. Following the war, Seward quickly reverted back to a fishing village as the natural resources located in Resurrection Bay drew commercial attention.
In 1964, an earthquake and a following tsunami wiped out the town's waterfront. Both the Seward Community Library and the Seward Museum have exhibits that document the damage.
The famous Iditarod dogsled race runs from Anchorage to Nome each year, but the original beginning of the trail was in Seward—on the waterfront at Fourth Avenue and Railway, to be exact (look for the Mile 0 marker with a dogsled monument and interpretive displays). The Iditarod Trail was being used as early as the 1880s for gold prospectors to haul supplies in dogsleds north to the mines in nearby Hope and Sunrise, as well as Nome. The lucky miners mushed their dogs back to Seward's port with sleds full of the precious metal, sometimes millions of dollars worth at one time. (Tales are still told of armed guards escorting one miner and his loot along the trail into town.) Today, however, Seward is a busy shipping, fishing, marine research and tourism hub.
The Harding Icefield in Kenai Fjords National Park is the largest icefield contained within the U.S.
The Dall's porpoise often flirts with cruise ships touring Kenai Fjords National Park. They are the fastest small cetacean, logging speeds of up to 30 knots.
Glaciers are typically blue in color because the ice absorbs long-wavelength frequencies of light while reflecting short-wavelength frequencies, such as blue.
An incredible 4,500 gallons/17,030 liters of water is pumped into the Alaska SeaLife Center daily to keep the Stellar sea lions happy.
The Seward Community Library holds Benny Benson's original flag which he entered as a seventh grader in a contest to design a state flag for Alaska—he won.
