The Best Things to Do in Seward, Alaska (2024)

Season: Year Round$179+3.5 - 8 hrs

Hop on board the all-sea­son Miss­ing Lynx and Lost Lynx, the ves­sels bound for what­ev­er Seward Ocean Excur­sion suits your fan­cy. Want to whale watch, see glac­i­ers, go bird watch­ing or just check out hid­den coves? Cap­tains Bixler and Krystin McClure will help your small group plan an out­ing catered to your pref­er­ences. No mat­ter the sea­son, you can always catch some excite­ment in Res­ur­rec­tionBay!

Season: June—September$425+ per person12 hrs

Icon­ic Alaskan fish­ing amid the stun­ning views of Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park: Go angling out of Seward with the experts at Crazy Ray’s Adven­tures and expe­ri­ence this win­ning com­bi­na­tion for your­self. No expe­ri­ence necessary!

Season: May - Sept$224+30 min - 2 hrs

Get abird’s‑eye view of one of Alaska’s most dra­mat­ic land­scapes — Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park — on an unfor­get­table scenic flight out of Seward. Expe­ri­ence the extreme­ly rare oppor­tu­ni­ty of aGlac­i­er Land­ing on the Hard­ing Ice­field on this small group, inti­mate adventure.

Season: May 1 – 3rd week of September$199+3-10 hrs

Take abou­tique, small-group kayak­ing trip with expe­ri­enced guides at Liq­uid Adven­tures and get close to glac­i­ers in kayaks or pad­dle­boards while look­ing for whales and oth­er marine mam­mals. You can even com­bine your adven­ture with ajet­boat, heli­copter, or wildlife cruise. There’s noth­ing quite like it in all of Alaska!

Season: Mid-May to Mid-September$99+1.5 to 6 hrs

Vis­it Idi­tar­od cham­pi­on Mitch Seavey’s home­stead, home to three gen­er­a­tions of Idi­tar­od mush­ers. Expe­ri­ence an excit­ing two-mile dog sled ride, tour the rac­ing ken­nel, meet the dogs, cud­dle adorable husky pup­pies, and lis­ten to sto­ries from the Idi­tar­od trail. Then climb aboard acus­tom-designed sled; an Idi­tar­od race fin­ish­er dri­ves you through rain­for­est to ariv­er-cut canyon sur­round­ed by mountains.

Season: May 19 - Sept 7$125+4 hrs - 7 days

Mem­bers of 1% For The Plan­et, Kayak Adven­tures World­wide strives to ful­fill their mis­sion to inspire an active stew­ard­ship of our nat­ur­al world. Through small group sea kayak tours in Res­ur­rec­tion Bay and Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park, they focus on safe­ty, edu­ca­tion, and con­nect­ing guests with the unique and frag­ile ecosys­tems you’ll visit.

Season: Year Round$14.99+

Dri­ve through Alas­ka with an audio tour guid­ing you along icon­ic routes. Audio Tour Alas­ka gives you an insider’s take on every­thing from points of inter­est to his­to­ry, wildlife, and cul­ture, along with cap­ti­vat­ing sto­ries. Guides to pop­u­lar routes include Anchor­age to Tal­keet­na; Tal­keet­na to Denali Nation­al Park; Denali to Fair­banks; Anchor­age to Seward; and Tern Lake toHomer.

Season: Year RoundSee website for rates1 - 2 hrs

The Alas­ka SeaL­ife Cen­ter (ASLC) is the only pub­lic aquar­i­um in Alas­ka that is acom­bined marine research, edu­ca­tion, and wildlife response facil­i­ty. Explore an under­sea kelp for­est, meet the birds in the aviary, enjoy the antics of Steller sea lions and seals in the Rocky Coast exhib­it, andmore.

Season: May 1 -3rd week of September$449+8-10 hrs

Get up close to the Alaskan glac­i­ers and wildlife you came to expe­ri­ence by tak­ing acruise into Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park on acus­tom-built cata­ma­ran out of Seward. The dif­fer­ence from oth­er cruis­es, is that you’ll then get off the boat and into akayak, pad­dle around ice­bergs, and watch for wildlife from your own vessel.

Season: June 1 - Sept 7$1643 hrs

Bald eagles are known to nest in this wood­ed spot near Res­ur­rec­tion Bay — and when you sign up for atour with Stoney Creek Canopy Adven­tures, you’ll get to soar just like these icon­ic birds. This three-hour tour — the only canopy tour on the Kenai Penin­su­la — com­bines ziplines, rap­pels and sky bridges, with panoram­ic views of Mount Marathon, Res­ur­rec­tion Peaks and all the gor­geous scenery around you. It’s easy, and unde­ni­ably thrilling.

Season: May 11 to Sep 07 $109+Half day to full day excursions

For aclos­er, qui­eter, and more peace­ful ver­sion of the Alaskan glac­i­er and wildlife cruise, trav­el by sea kayak. Pad­dle the shore­line of Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, where encoun­ters with sea otters, seabirds, and spawn­ing salmon are com­mon. Choose from avari­ety of three-hour excur­sions or take afull-day trip.

Season: May - September$99+3.5 - 9 hrs

Take aspec­tac­u­lar pri­vate guid­ed hik­ing tour in Seward — where the moun­tains meet the ocean — to explore glac­i­ers and alpine ridges. When you go with Seward Wilder­ness Col­lec­tive, you get agreat tour plus adia­logue with their knowl­edge­able guides about the impacts of cli­mate change, with liv­ing exam­ples right in front of youreyes.

Season: April - Sept
$4,000 Day Cruise, 8 Hrs Up To 6 Guests | $8,000+ Multi-Day, Up To 6 Guests
Cruise Ship Type: Small Ship Cruises
Ship Name: M/V Caroline

Spend the after­noon, or afew days explor­ing the waters of Res­ur­rec­tion Bay and Prince William Sound aboard the M/V Car­o­line, abeau­ti­ful cus­tom-built yacht set for adven­ture! It’s the per­fect set­ting for afam­i­ly or small group vaca­tion. Fill your days loung­ing on the fly­bridge, fish­ing, kayak­ing, strolling beach­es and cruis­ing to your next fan­tas­tic destination.

Season: May 25 – Sep 8$435+3+ hrs

Start with adra­mat­ic flight­see­ing trip in either aheli­copter or ski plane and then get out onto an ancient riv­er of ice for athrilling glac­i­er explo­ration either hik­ing or climbing.

Season: May 15 - Sept 15$109+ per person15+ minutes

With Scenic Moun­tain Air and you’ll be fly­ing over one of Alaska’s most beau­ti­ful areas from Moose Pass. Set on the Kenai Penin­su­la, 25miles north of Seward, this cen­tral loca­tion makes it easy to explore icon­ic nat­ur­al fea­tures — like glac­i­ers, ice fields, and moun­tain lakes. Or, use their exper­tise to fly to remote pub­lic use cab­ins or lakes for fishing.

Season: May 11 - Sept 2$325+ per personFull Day

When in Seward, head out on the water with Alas­ka North­ern Out­fit­ters on their com­fort­able 46-foot cata­ma­ran – the Sea Quest — for an epic day of fish­ing for hal­ibut, salmon, ling­cod, and rock­fish. It’s the only char­ter ves­sel in Seward with an upper view­ing deck. This lets you sight­see or have lunch on the upper deck while watch­ing the action below. . Inside you’ll find alarge and heat­ed inte­ri­or, indoor seat­ing for every­one, tables, and...more

Season: May 10 - Sept 15$94 to $430

The Coastal Clas­sic train runs between Anchor­age and the town of Seward — a four-hour trip that’s the most beau­ti­ful along the entire Alas­ka Rail­road. You’ll see Tur­na­gain Arm as the train departs Anchor­age, then apanora­ma of moun­tains, glac­i­ers, lakes, and streams. You may even see wildlife like Dall sheep, Bel­u­ga whales, moose, bear, and more! Day Trip from Anchor­age: Seward, Gird­wood Mul­ti-Day Trip from Anchor­age: Overnight Seward, or...more

Season: Mid-May through mid-Sept$2896.5-7 hrs

Inti­mate cata­ma­ran cruis­es into Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park from Seward for just 22 pas­sen­gers, or up to 30 on pri­vate char­ters. Cruise through Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, keep­ing an eye out for hump­back whales, orca whales (killer whales), puffins, Steller sea lions, Dall’s por­poise, har­bor seals, and alarge vari­ety of bird species. Then make your way into the nation­al park, and stop at the face of atide­wa­ter glac­i­er. You’ll enjoy adeli­ciouslunch...more

Season: May 2 - Sep 15$375+Full Day

Profish-n-sea Char­ters, out of Seward, offers salmon and hal­ibut fish­ing with friend­ly, expe­ri­enced Alaskan guides. Trips last afull day; you’ll motor 2to 2.5hours from Seward to the Gulf of Alas­ka, Mon­tague Island, and oth­er out­er-coast hotspots. Profish-n-Sea knows the three keys to catch­ing fish: boats, knowl­edge, and gear. That’s why the boats are always clean, the gear sharp, and the crew friend­ly, help­ful, andfun.

Season: March 8 - Oct 13$109+3.5 hrs - Full Day

Res­ur­rec­tion Bay and Kenai Fjords are great places to see wildlife and glac­i­ers. And Major Marine’s ves­sels, which have cozy heat­ed cab­ins and an out­door view­ing area, can take you out to see both. This fam­i­ly-owned tour oper­a­tor has gone above and beyond to give guests an amaz­ing day on the water since1990.

Season: May - September
$5,850+ (Inside Passage $2,650+)
5 days / 4 nights
Cruise Ship Type: Small Ship Cruises
Ship Name: M/V Sea Star

Set sail for 5days and 4nights with the crew of the M/V Sea Star for small ship adven­ture cruis­ing in Prince William Sound, Kenai Penin­su­la or along the Inside Pas­sage. The well-appoint­ed yacht accom­mo­dates just 12 guests, allow­ing for aper­son­al­ized expe­ri­ence where you are the explor­er! Unplug from day-to-day life and soak up the won­ders of Alaska’s amaz­ing coast­line. All meals pre­pared by an on-board chef and fea­tur­ing freshlocal...more

3.5 Hr Day Sail, $769 up to 6 people | $2949+ Multi-day3.5 Hour Day Sail to Multi-Day

Char­ter asail­boat out of Seward and hit the waters of gor­geous Res­ur­rec­tion Bay! Choose an after­noon tour if you’re just in Seward for the day, or opt for amul­ti-day cruise. Your char­ter comes with asea­soned cap­tain, or expe­ri­enced sailors can rent the boat and take the helm them­selves. Sur­round­ed by moun­tains, the bay offers ide­al sail­ing con­di­tions, and you’ll have plen­ty of chances to see wildlife and glaciers.

Season: May 20–3rd week of SeptemberExit Glacier Shuttle $20 | Guided Hikes & Glacier Treks $89+2.5 - 9 hrs

Tra­verse the majesty of Exit Glac­i­er by ice hik­ing or ice climb­ing, or opt for anature hike in the gor­geous ter­rain around Seward, Alas­ka. Nev­er ice climbed or hiked on aglac­i­er? Not aprob­lem. All trips include instruc­tion to get you started.

Season: Dec 15 to Mar 15 2.5+ hrs

Embrace Win­ter on an epic cold-weath­er snow­shoe trek out of Moose Pass, asmall town on the Kenai Penin­su­la, in the heart of the Chugach Moun­tains. Extend the expe­ri­ence with an overnight or 2‑night stay in ahand­made, Mon­go­lian-style yurt on the shores of remote GrantLake.

Season: May - Sept$75+ per person5 - 60 minutes

The area around Seward abounds in glac­i­ers, mak­ing it the per­fect place to go heli-flight­see­ing. Fly above town and Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, opt for aglac­i­er land­ing, or longer flights over Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park. They can even drop you off on top of Seward’s famous Mt. Marathon to enjoy the amaz­ingviews.

Season: Mar 14 to Sep 29 4 to 8.5 hrs

This vet­er­an tour oper­a­tor runs aa fleet of fast, mod­ern boats in Res­ur­rec­tion Bay and Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park. You’ll vis­it tide­wa­ter glac­i­ers as you watch for puffins, sea otters, Dall’s por­pois­es, sea lions, and more. Some tours are designed to please bird­ers or shut­ter­bugs, while oth­ers are per­fect for families.

Hop aboard the M/V Gam­bler and cruise out to Res­ur­rec­tion Bay for arelax­ing and per­son­al­ized out­ing with local­ly-owned Alpen­glow Char­ters. Cou­ples and fam­i­lies will rel­ish their time togeth­er explor­ing Seward’s enchant­i­ng coast­line, guid­ed by an engag­ing and knowl­edge­able crew. Options fit into the busiest of sched­ules: from a4hour lunch cruise, aremote overnight, to a2‑day land and sea journey.

Alas­ka Saltwater’s small-group whale watch­ing, wildlife, and glac­i­er tours offer dai­ly excur­sions into the pris­tine Kenai Fjord Nation­al Park. Your cap­tains and crew — expe­ri­enced and well-versed in the area’s nat­ur­al habi­tat — spe­cial­ize in tak­ing out film crews, pro­fes­sion­al pho­tog­ra­phers, seri­ous bird­ers, and guests that want an unfor­get­table experience.

Difficulty: Difficult

This trail is also called the Prim­rose trail at the north end. It begins in abeau­ti­ful rain­for­est and even­tu­al­ly takes you up to amul­ti­ple of beau­ti­ful lakes in high mead­ows. Anglers can fish for rain­bow trout in thelake.

Difficulty: ModerateDistance: 4 miles

Many peo­ple know of the gru­el­ing Mount Marathon race­course in Seward, some 130miles south of Anchor­age. How­ev­er, most peo­ple don’t know that there’s also ahik­ing path to the top at Race Point — and it’s far less demand­ing. This 2.25-mile route, which entails hik­ing three dif­fer­ent trails, takes you up the moun­tain and lets you to explore aglacial val­ley along theway.

You can hike right up to Seward’s Exit Glac­i­er and feel the dense blue ice while lis­ten­ing to it crack­le. Walk the low­er trail to get agood pho­to in front of the glac­i­er face. Or, choose the more chal­leng­ing 7‑mile round-trip Hard­ing Ice­field Trail. There is ashort ranger-led walk dai­ly at 11am and 3pm, from Memo­r­i­al Day through LaborDay.

Distance: 6 milesElevation Gain: 3000 feet

Don’t expect to run very much of this world-famous race route, which begins 2.5hours south of Anchor­age and climbs near­ly 3,000feet from down­town Seward. Though the first part of the route is very runnable, the next 1.5miles climb Mount Marathon and are too steep and rocky for most to run. Just the hike itself makes for avery inten­sive workout.

Difficulty: ModerateDistance: 4 miles

Your best bet for this trail is to go out on one low tide, spend the night — in either afor­est ser­vice cab­in or camp­site — and then return the fol­low­ing day or sev­er­al days lat­er on anoth­er low tide. Great for­est-to-beach hik­ingtrail.

Difficulty: ModerateDistance: 3 miles

The hike to Ton­si­na Creek, ascenic 3mile trail that takes about 1hour in each direc­tion, is alocal favorite. Locals and vis­i­tors alike walk out to the creek itself, and some con­tin­ue on to Caines Head StatePark.

Known to locals as the Divide Ski Area, this trail was built by ded­i­cat­ed com­mu­ni­ty vol­un­teers from the Seward Nordic SkiClub.

Difficulty: Easy

The trail begins at mile 12.1 of the Seward High­way. Watch close­ly for the sign and pull into the off-high­way park­ing area. The trail begins as the Idi­tar­od Trail, and many improve­ments have been made to this sec­tion. The Troop Lake Trail branch­es off of this famous trail approx­i­mate­ly 1mile from the start, reach­ing the lake about ahalf milelater.

Difficulty: ModerateDistance: 3 miles

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

Difficulty: DifficultDistance: 3 miles

This trail is aspur off of the main trail that con­nects the North and South Beach trails in Caines Head State Recre­ation area. This is areal­ly good hike for the whole fam­i­ly with gor­geous views of the sur­round­ing moun­tains. Also, because it is part of atrail sys­tem, this makes for an excel­lent day trip. There are many trails to hike and oppor­tu­ni­ties to get some great pictures!

Difficulty: EasyDistance: 1 mile

These pop­u­lar trails lead to two beau­ti­ful, pris­tine lakes. Even bet­ter, they’re both easy hikes, which makes them per­fect for peo­ple of all ages. Bring afish­ing pole and angle for stocked trout in Merid­i­an Lake or grayling in Grayling Lake.

Much like the Mount Marathon trail, this hike is alit­tle stren­u­ous. Luck­i­ly, the Jeep Trail gives you more bench­es and oppor­tu­ni­ties to rest. The trail goes from rain for­est to alpine, pass­es by beau­ti­ful water­falls, and small moun­tain lakes, and ends with the beau­ti­ful Marathon Bowl.

Difficulty: DifficultDistance: 16 miles

If you want ataste of dim spruce for­est along awild riv­er bot­tom, try the first few miles of this most­ly lev­el route into the Res­ur­rec­tion Riv­er Val­ley. From the trail­head Mile 7of Exit Glac­i­er Road, the trail runs 4.5miles to Mar­tin Creek and is suit­able for moun­tain bik­ing or ski­ing after snow­fall. It fea­tures two prim­i­tive camp­sites and occa­sion­al access or views of to theriver.

Difficulty: ModerateDistance: 2 miles

This trail extends from the Caine’s Head North Beach through rain­forests and alpine mead­ows to sev­er­al linked beach­es that are great for pic­nic­ing and beach combing.

Access the park from behind the State of Alas­ka Seward Job Cen­ter com­plex. Walk­ing trails link two small lakes through the old growth trees.

This steep hike is abit of achal­lenge, but it pays off. The trail winds through aspruce and hem­lock for­est into the sub-alpine and alpine zones, with breath­tak­ing panoram­ic views of Res­ur­rec­tion Bay and Seward. Be sure to bring acam­era and plen­ty ofwater!

Eas­i­ly acces­si­ble and not very difficult