Seward Highway
Seward Highway Tour

Departure:	Anchorage, Alaska
Destination:	Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
Time to allow:	1 day

This tour showcases the everchanging character of the Seward Highway scenic byway. It continually changes with topography, its proximity to water, mountains, and towns. From jagged peaks and alpine meadows to breathtaking fjords and crystal lakes, this tour of the Seward Highway offers a concentrated series of diverse landscapes and experiences found together nowhere else in the nation. Visitors may experience Beluga whales in Turnagain Arm, Dall sheep at Windy Corner, or even a dog team in winter along the route. Witness a retreating glacier, experience a scenic and historic railroad, take in some world-class skiing, visit a state-of-the-art aquarium, see brilliant summer wildflowers, backcountry hiking, soaring bald eagles, and cozy pancake breakfasts by a winter fire are just a few of the reasons the Seward Highway is a destination unto itself. If you are short on time, but need to experience all the Seward Highway has to offer the following tour is for you. The Seward Highway is in a richly varied and highly diverse area of Alaska. Over the 127-mile length of its route the character of the byway continually changes with topography, its proximity to water, mountains, and towns.

Day 1

• Start: Anchorage

  

  Suggested time at this stop:	2 hours

  The city of Anchorage is located at the northern terminus of the Seward Highway. With its rich history as a city on the edge of one of the final frontiers, Anchorage offers a wealth of historic and cultural sites that may be enjoyed whether you have an hour or a day to spend.

• Stop 2: Turnagain Arm

  

  From previous stop:	same location
  Directions:	Continue south. Turnagain Arm makes up a large section of the Byway.
  Suggested time at this stop:	2 hours

  The remaining portion of the Seward Highway travels along the Turnagain Arm and offers the traveler a plethora of things to see, both on and off the water. Turnagain Arm experiences the second highest tides in the world, often up to a 38-foot change in water level. Bore tides, a rare natural phenomena when the front of an incoming tide is a moving wall of water from 3 to 5 feet high, can be witness during extremely low tides in Turnagain Arm. Contact the city of Anchorage for details and tidal reports.

• Stop 3: Portage Glacier

  From previous stop:	5 mi (8.0 km)
  Directions:	Continue south for a brief distance.
  Suggested time at this stop:	20 minutes

  Portage Glacier located on the far side of Portage Lake is rapidly receding out of the lake and provides an incredible opportunity to watch glacial action on fast forward. One-hour boat tours are available to better witness the action.

• Stop 4: Twentymile Flats

  From previous stop:	52 mi (83.2 km)
  Directions:	Continue south along the Seward Highway.
  Suggested time at this stop:	15 minutes

  Twentymile Flats is an expanse of lowlands and intertidal mudflats where three river valleys empty their silt-laden waters into Turnagain Arm and provide unobstructed views of the surrounding mountain peaks and glaciers. The view here is breathtaking, definitely worth stopping and taking in for a few minutes at the very least.

• Stop 5: Tern Lake Overlook

  

  From previous stop:	same location

  Tern Lake Overlook provides excellent opportunities to observe waterfowl, terns, beavers, Mt. Goats, and Dall Sheep.

• Stop 6: Ptarmigan Creek Recreation Site

  From previous stop:	23 mi (36.8 km)
  Directions:	Continue south along the byway.
  Suggested time at this stop:	30 minutes

  Each year from late July through early August, thousands of red salmon can be seen in this creek heading upstream to spawn.

• Stop 7: Seward

  

  From previous stop:	same location
  Suggested time at this stop:	1 hour

  Nestled among the fjords surrounding Resurrection Bay, Seward is a historic community on the Kenai Peninsula. It has a historic downtown and provides access by boat to the Kenai Fjords National Park. A main attraction is the SeaLife Center.

• End: Kenai Fjords National Park

  

  From previous stop:	9 mi (14.4 km)
  Directions:	Turn on to the Herman Leirer road at mile 3 of the Seward Highway, this 9 mile road leads to the Exit Glacier Nature Center.
  Suggested time at this stop:	1 hour

  Kenai Fjords National Park is a pristine and rugged land supporting many unaltered natural environments and ecosystems. Kenai Fjords National Park offers the chance to see puffins, otters, eagles, arctic terns, whales, seals and other marine life.

Totals for Day 1

Total Distance Traveled:	89 miles / 142.4 km
Total Travel Time:	0 minutes
Total Stopping Time:	7 hours 5 minutes