Gem of SouthCentral Alaska - Seward
Written: Aug 28 '03 (Updated Oct 14 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful - wildlife, incredible glaciers, superb Sealife Center
Cons: Pricey. Wet.
The Bottom Line: If you're going to come all the way to Alaska, make sure you visit Seward. Bring your raingear and enjoy!!!
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| pilotpat's Full Review: Seward |
INTRODUCTION
One of our favorite family destinations in the wonderful state of Alaska is the city of Seward. Seward is a must-see on your trip to the Great Land. If you were to only have one place to visit in all of Alaska, especially with children, I would without hesitation recommend that Seward be that location.
LOCATION
Located on the southern coast of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, Seward sits at the end of Resurrection Bay and is the most accessible entrance to Kenai Fjords National Park.
PACKING FOR THE TRIP
Some of this stuff is common sense, but here are the things you really shouldn’t forget when visiting Seward:
Rain Gear: For weather, think Seattle. Then think “steroids.” It rains or snows just about every day in Seward. Bring a rain jacket, rain pants, hat, and waterproof shoes/boots and enjoy while others grumble. Gore-tex or similar gear is the best if you are going to be doing a lot of strenuous activity, but if you’re just touring you can get by just fine (and a lot cheaper) with a jacket/pant set from Wal-Mart. A hat or hood is essential. I normally wear a wool felt fedora to keep rain and sun off my head, but to avoid watching my favorite hat take a flying leap into the sound, I pack a tight-fitting baseball hat for boat rides.
Warm Clothing: Think layers, and think Polarfleece! Again, remember that it rains a lot, and cotton and wet are not a good combination. On a nice day in Seward, I usually find myself wearing a set of cargo shorts or light pants, a thin longsleeve polypropylene shirt, and a polarfleece jacket. If it gets cooler, you can thrown your raingear over the top of that and you’ll be plenty warm. If it gets warmer, you can drop a layer. If you’re planning a boating trip, bring a wool sweater, and polypro or wool long underwear. No matter what the weather, my normal footwear in all of Alaska is polypro liners under wool hiking socks and my waterproof Raichle GTX Mountain Trail Hiking Boots.
Binoculars: A nice set of bright, waterproof ones (I’ll be reviewing some my Nikon Monarchs soon). You can rent these at many locations in the harbor for about $10 a day, but you’ll want some on the drive down as well. Bring a cleaning cloth and some anti-fog lens cleaner. (these are a good idea for glasses wearers as well).
Camera: But of course! Another shameless link for a suggestion: Fuji Finepix 3800 digital camera.. Don’t forget lots of film (which is extremely pricey in Seward) or memory sticks/cards (which may be unavailable in town).
GETTING THERE
Like most places in Alaska, the journey to Seward can be as much of an adventure as the destination. Plan to take it slow, with many stops, and you’ll get a lot more out of the trip.
By Air
Seward has a small airport, accessible by light and small charter aircraft. By light aircraft, it’s about an hour’s flight, though if you’re willing to spend an additional half hour or so of meandering over the Eagle River Valley, Prince William Sound, and Kenai Fjords, it could turn into one of the most spectacular feasts for the eyes available on this earth.
By Sea
Many Inside passage tours either end or start in Seward, with a bus or rail transfer to/from Anchorage. Given the choice of finishing/starting in Seward or Juneau, I would go with the former without question.
By Car, Bus, or Rail
Travel from Anchorage on the Seward Highway is approximately 2 to 2.5 hours, and rail travel – www.akrr.com - will take you several hours more (but be more relaxing).
Both take you through the scenic Turnagain Arm (click here to read my review). The rest of the trip takes you through wide-bottomed valleys with steep hillsides. If you plan to stop and fish at the numerous lakes and rivers, ensure you are familiar with the complex fishing regulations. The hillsides are a great place to glass for bears – look for black or brown spots, and then bring your binoculars to “bear.” The flats and timbers also hold bears, as well as a good population of moose. In fact, the next “civilization” you’ll find is the tiny town of “Moose Pass,” which has a small selection of shops for local crafts.
WHERE TO STAY
Hotel accomodations in Seward are expensive and limited. Don’t be afraid to try the numerous B&B’s, where you may get a more reasonable rate (and some food to boot). Camping is a great option, with many private and public RV and tent camping areas. If you are tent camping, bring at least two tarps – one for under the tent, and one for over. Back country camping is available in the Exit Glacier area and Kenai Fjords National Park. A very good option for military and DoD civilians are the two military MWR campgrounds – one USAF and one Army – which include a few cabins and hotel-style rooms (review in progress).
SEWARD ATTRACTIONS
Alaska Sealife Center: Created largely with funds from the Exxon Valdez mishap, the Alaska Sealife Center opened several years ago, but is now coming into its own. On our last visit in August 2003, we were impressed by how polished the center has become. The center’s main attractions are three huge tanks featuring harbor seals in one, Steller Sea Lions in the second, and seabirds in the third. Each has open viewing above the waterline and underwater viewing through huge windows engineered so that the animals can see the human visitors equally well. Admission is $12.50 for adults, $7 for kids (I think), and FREE for ages 6 and under.
Kenai Fjords Boat Tours: Many companies offer tours of the magnificent park. They’re not cheap, but if you’re going to do one high-dollar event in Alaska, this is where I’d drop the cash. Tours can range from around $60-150 for adults. Whichever you choose, I recommend taking one that leaves the bay, because you will have a better opportunity to see different types of wildlife, including Whales.
Kenai Fjords Tours (review in progress). We have usually used Kenai Fjords tours –www.kenaifjordstours.com - because they have the largest boats. If you’re doing one of the longer tours that goes outside of the bay, the water can get rough and you’ll be happy for a larger boat. Their boats also have seating on the lower level that is designed with huge picture windows and no structure between you and the water, which makes for great viewing if you’ve decided you’re too cold to hang out in the open air on the bow.
Major Marine tours offers only slightly smaller boats, but their big attraction is that their tours are narrated by a US National Park Service ranger. We have not used them before, but friends who have were very happy.
Mariah tours is a newcomer, which I believe is operated by Kenai Fjords Tours. They use much smaller boats which can get into tighter spaces and obviously have fewer people. We don’t know anyone who has used them before, but I would think they’d be a great option for people with good “sea legs.”
Fishing: Of course, there is fishing. Unless you have your own saltwater boat and rigs, this means working through a charter. There’s a huge number of charter companies to choose from, but most boil down to two options. A huge boat that will let you go out into bigger water and be more stable in general (but means you’ll be fishing with a whole lot of other people), or a smaller boat that may limit some of your fishing locations but may allow you to fill up the boat with just you and your friends/family. The big attractions are Halibut and Salmon, with lingcod (caught outside the bay) and sharks as occasional catches.
Lower budget fisherman are not out of options either. Break out the waders and try the gravel beaches at the end of the highway or the mouth of 4th of July Creek on the other side of Resurrection bay. Remember that the freshwaters of Resurrection Bay drainages, including the Seward lagoon, are closed to fishing.
Exit Glacier: Just north of Seward is Exit Glacier National Park. The park offers several hiking trails. The main attraction is the trail that brings you back to the glacier face, and allows you to hike clear to the Harding Ice Field that spawns it, if you desire. The trail to the glacier has signs that show how the glacier has receded since the end of the Ice Age.
Kenai Fjords National Park Office: Definitely carve out some time to visit this office right next to the boat ramp. Interpretive displays, a good sized bookstore, and films about the park are offered.
Shopping: Of course, there are several shops, mostly very touristy with souvenir-quality merchandise. However, there are some really classy shops as well which can make shopping a fun experience. Prices are high, much like the rest of Alaska.
Some shopping hints. There is a hardware store (SBS?) on the Seward Highway which is a good place to get some knick-knacks for slightly lower prices than those available right on the harbor. Another perk for military/DoD personnel and dependents is the small PX at the Seward Army Resort that is open seasonally from 0600-0900 and 1700-2100 (longer hours on weekends).
WHERE TO EAT
There is a small variety of restaurants to choose from, but we haven’t yet found a place we would call “exceptional.” One place above the average is Apollo’s, which serves Greek-Italian and has pizzas for reasonable prices (for Alaska). Another is the bakery next to the Subway store, which serves deli sandwiches and soups on fresh breads.
OTHER ALASKA REVIEWS OF MINE
Anchorage/Turnagain Arm/Portage, Alaska
Alaska SeaLife Center
Kenai Canoe Trails
"And Now for Something Entirely Different...."
OK, most of my reviews are hotels and travel related, but I thought that I'd start throwing in some more shameless links to show a good cross section of the types of reviews I've done:
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Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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Member: Pat
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Reviews written: 96
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