Seward, Alaska, Hiking Trails

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The "real" Alaska starts 20 minutes out of Anchorage and 100 feet off the road.  To get to it you can pay a tour operator; or you can simply stop at any trailhead along our highways and go for a 5-minute walk.  Out of Seward we have a dozen maintained trails ranging from easy walking trails to mountain hikes.

Top:  Exit Glacier as seen looking down the Resurrection River from the Resurrection River Trail.  Bottom:  Moss-covered rocks and old spruce stands line much of the lower Resurrection River Trail.

Exit Glacier Trail

A 1/4 mile walk from the trail head will bring you to the face of Exit Glacier.  This trail is maintained by the National Park Service.  It is flat, well maintained, easy walking and quite busy for most of the day.  This is a great trail to take in the evening after dinner.

Two Lakes Trail

This trail is located right in town.  It is about a mile long and loops around two small lakes.  This is an easy walking trail and is well maintained.  Every time I walk this trail I am amazed that such a pretty trail is so close to town.  This is another great walk in the evening after dinner.

Resurrection River Trail

The trailhead is located just before you enter the Kenai Fjords National Park at Exit Glacier, about 12 miles out of town.  This trail follows the river so it is pretty much flat and easy walking.  Moose are often visible out on the river bed.  About 6 or 7 miles into the hike, you will come to a bridge that has been washed out.  Unless you plan on fording a river, this is about as far in as you can get.  The trail is well traveled so it is in good shape.  It does get a little muddy after rains.  I recommend this trail for easy hikes or when the weather precludes hikes to higher elevations.

Iditarod National Historic Trail

Mile 0 of the Iditarod trail is right in Seward.  There is a tripod to mark its location.  The trail runs along the waterfront then along the highway.  It disappears then restarts 2 miles later on the north side of Nash Rd.  From here it gently climbs for about 4 miles to Bear Lake.  From Bear Lake, the trail is poorly maintained.  However, the trail is in the process of being reestablished by the Forest Service, and this section has not been completed.  Over the next several years the trail is slated to be restored for summer and winter travel all the way to Girdwood (30 miles south of Anchorage).  But for now I don't recommend travel on the trail beyond Bear Lake.  The lower stretch is suitable for walking, running or biking.

Caines Head and Tonsina River Trail

This trail starts at Lowell point a couple of miles south of Seward.  The trail is another relatively easy trail following the coastline.  There is not much to see for the first mile or so as the trail is inland from the coast.  Then the trail switch-backs down to the Tonsina River Valley where you will pass over a salmon spawning creek, through a tall spruce forest, then an old ghost forest, and out on to what I consider a classic Alaskan beach.  This is my favorite short hike, and you probably find me here on sunny days.  This is also a great destination if you only have an hour or so.  From here the trail continues about 6 more miles along the beach to Caines Head.  It is important to know when high and low tide is because parts of the trail are impassable when the tide is in.  If you get caught by the tide don't try to push on, find safe ground and wait 3 or 4 hours until the tide heads out again.  Caines Head is the location of WWII bunkers and gun emplacements.  The point has a commanding 360 degree view of Resurrection bay.  Take a flash light to explore the bunkers.  If 15 miles round trip sounds like too much, we can arrange a sea taxi to take you one way or round trip.  This is a good trail on overcast days when it doesn't make sense to hike into the clouds.  Caines Head is a State Park with hike-in campground located just up from the beach.

Caines Head as seen from Humpy Cove on the opposite side of Resurrection Bay.

Lost Lake Trail

The trail head for Lost Lake is about 5 miles north of town.  This trail is moderate in difficulty.  You can hike or bike it; however it does steadily gain altitude to 1800 feet.   It's about 15 miles long and comes out near Kenai Lake.  The Seward end of the trail is much nicer and it makes a great 5 to 10 mile up and back trail.  There are lots of vistas that look back over Seward and Resurrection Bay.  This is a good all weather trail.

Harding Ice Field Trail

This trail starts at the bottom of Exit Glacier and follows alongside the glacier until you can see over the top of the Harding Ice field.  The trail rises 4000 vertical feet in 3.8 miles which makes it quite an aggressive hike.  If you're not an aggressive hiker the alternative is to give yourself plenty of time, like 8 or 9 hours.  I do not recommend this trail if there is a chance of rain or low clouds.  For one, if you are in the clouds you can't see anything anyway.  Also, there are a lot of bear in this area and if you're not used to hiking around bear, hiking in the clouds isn't the best of ideas.  On the other hand if it is a sunny day, this hike is definitely worth the full day excursion.  Looking over the ice field is truly a wondrous sight.  The trail is in the National Park and well maintained and well traveled.  The bear are around people all summer long and if you don't go running off the trail chasing them, they will pretty much ignore you.  If you want to see a black bear, this a good place to do so.  Last time I hiked the trail there were five black bear, including one with a couple of cubs.  Brown bear are fairly rare around Seward.

The source of Godwin Glacier as it leaves the Sargent Ice Field.  A similar scene awaits hikers at the top of the Harding Ice Fields Trail.

Mount Alice Trail

Mount Alice is the tallest mountain in the area and is located across the bay from Seward.  The trailhead is about three miles out Nash Rd.  As soon as the road starts heading up hill off the flats, pull off at the first turn out.  The trailhead is not marked.  On the opposite side of the road you will see a path leading through the Alders.  Once behind the Alders it is easy to find the trail.  This trail is unimproved but well traveled by locals.  The trail is similar to the Harding Ice field trail in difficulty.  I like this trail because the hill side faces west and gets the evening sun until almost midnight (during the summer).  About 4 miles up the trail you get to a knoll that looks down over Godwin Glacier and out over Resurrection Bay.  Beyond this point it isn't a hiking trail, but more like a climbing trail.  I have not journeyed beyond this knoll and wouldn't recommend going further unless you have and know how to use climbing equipment.

Mount Marathon Waterfall Trail

Mount Marathon towers over downtown Seward.  The old International Order of Odd Fellows building, now home to A Swan Nest Inn, is visible on the right.

This trail starts at the top of Monroe St. right in town.  Don't confuse this trail with its sister, the Mount Marathon Race Trail.  This trail is strenuous for the first mile and then is moderate as it steadily climbs around to the back side of Mount Marathon to the Marathon Bowl.  There is nothing fun about the first part, but the views once you clear the tree line are sensational and well worth the effort.  If you like to feel the burn when you hike or run this is a great way to start or finish the day.  If not, pack a lunch or dinner and make a day hike out of it.  From the upper part of the trail you can see 30 miles out Resurrection Bay to the open ocean and the Gulf of Alaska.  Late in the year berry picking is excellent along the trail.  It's about 3 miles to the bowl.  This is also the trail to use if you want to climb to the top of Mount Marathon but don't want the extremes of the race trail.  This trail is not maintained but traveled enough that it stays in good shape.  It can get a little over grown in places by the end of summer.

Mount Marathon Race Trail

Race Point on Mount Marathon is shown by the black arrow.  This is the halfway point of the Mount Marathon Race.  "It's all down hill from here."

The race starts in downtown Seward.  It heads up Fourth Ave. and then up Jefferson St. and then straight up and up and up 3000 vertical feet of mountain.  The only reason to hike/climb this trail is to say you did it.  The only other trail that I have hiked that comes close to this is the climb to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the winter with ice on the trail and back up the same day.  This is shorter but a lot steeper.  This is a grueling hike in good weather and can be quite dangerous in bad weather.  If you start down the wrong ridge you can get stuck with no way down or back up.  The trail is three miles round trip from downtown.  The fastest race time is under 45 minutes, and yes, I am one of the locals that annually proves to myself we still have the right stuff by sprinting up and back on the 4^th of July.