If I Were Going...: Alaska #16: Seward

Lowell Point

On our last full day in Alaska, Scott and I went our separate ways. He went halibut fishing and I had the day to explore Seward on my own. I have been to Seward a number of times, but usually just to take the Kenai Fjords boat trip and leave. So, this was a treat.

Located on Resurrection Bay, itself a fjord of the Gulf of Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is 130 miles from Anchorage.

Seward from Resurrection Bay

With a permanent population of almost 3,000 people, Seward is named for former U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward, who orchestrated the United States' purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

Bald Eagle in town

It started as a fur-trading port in the late 1700s but wasn’t incorporated as a city until 1912. It then was an important port for the military buildup in Alaska during World War II.

A large portion of Seward was damaged by the 1964 Alaska earthquake.

Lodge on Resurrection Bay

By definition, Seward has a subarctic climate but it has relatively moderate temperatures compared to the rest of Alaska in both winter and summer because of the moderating effect of the Gulf of Alaska. Only January sees an average daily high temperature below freezing, and temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit are rare.

The oceanic influence also causes lots of precipitation, with the heaviest amounts occurring during the fall and winter.

Seward's local economy is largely driven by commercial fishing and seasonal tourism.

Many lodging facilities, restaurants and shops in the city are open only from mid-May through mid-September. In the summer, Seward bustles, but after the season ends, it's almost as if tumbleweed is blowing through town.

Seward is among the most lucrative commercial fisheries ports in the United States, according to reports from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Commercial fishing boats in Seward annually offloaded approximately 13,500 tons of fish and shellfish, valued at about $42 million. And, sport fishing is a huge part of the city's tourism business.

Seward Harbor

Because Seward is the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad and is connected to Anchorage and the rest of the Kenai Peninsula via road, it is a major northern end-port for several major cruise lines, including Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America and Celebrity Cruises. It was formerly served by the Alaska Marine Ferry system, but service was discontinued in 2005.

Seward Harbor

As I mentioned, Seward is the land-base for Kenai Fjords National Park, I talked about the ocean/coast-based portion of the Park in my last two posts (here and here). But, there is also a land-based portion, the Exit Glacier.

Exit Glacier from trail to the overlook

The Exit Glacier was my first stop on my day of exploration. I have to admit, I went early hoping to see some wildlife. Back in 2013, I saw a Black Bear there.

Why did the Bear cross the road?

The recession is frightening

Flowing from the Harding Icefield (the largest icefield in the U.S.), the Exit Glacier is one of the most accessible valley glaciers in Alaska.

This is a different type of glacier than the tidewater glacier we visited on our Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour.

The Exit Glacier received its name for serving as the exit for the first recorded human crossing of the Harding Icefield in 1968. It was previously Resurrection Glacier.

It is also a visible indicator of glacial recession caused by climate change.

The distance from the first marker showing the glacier's terminus in 1917 to the present foot of the glacier is remarkable. And, extremely frightening.

We visited in 2001 and 2013 and it looks so different, I wouldn’t have recognized it.

Exit Glacier in 2013

A spur road of the Seward Highway leads to the only road-accessible portion of the Kenai Fjords National Park. A system of hiking trails leads to the terminus of the glacier and up to the Harding Icefield itself. Although it is one of the Harding Icefield's smaller glaciers, it is one of the most visited because of its easy accessibility and abundant hiking trails around and above the glacier.

When I arrived on a sunny morning, the glacier area was completely shrouded in fog, one of the interesting things that happens around huge slabs of ice.

Fog on the glacier

It was too early to go to the Visitor Center, so I took a walk around the woods and then hiked up to the glacier overlook. It started out cool and damp and ended warm and sunny.

Much of the hike is through a wooded area, but the end of the trail (that has to be constantly extended as the glacier recedes) climbs a bit.

Hiking to the glacier

Most interesting was the visible scrapes along the rock walls that had been scoured by the wall of ice as it moved forward before it receded.

Glacial scrapes

I also walked around the expansive run-off basin that is braided with cold, silty streams running through the glacial rocks.

Outflow stream; outflow basin; stream full of glacial flour

I went back to the Visitor Center hoping to get a stamp for my passport only to learn from a man who was carrying boxes out that it was closed for the season. Hey, maybe a sign on the door would be in order!?!

Further, he was admonishing people to get out and hike rather than just going into the Visitor Center. Hey, I just completed a loop that was several miles long!

Exit Glacier above the outflow basin

After that adventure, I headed off for Lowell Point State Recreation Site, where I both visited the Lowell Point beach and hiked to Tonsina Point.

Lowell Point Road reaches south from Seward along Resurrection Bay to a beach with campgrounds, services and a trailhead.

Photo: Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council

We've driven there before, but never beyond to the more natural areas.

Lowell Point

The area features a beach that ends up against some cliffs, a salt marsh and a mature coastal temperate rainforest of Sitka Spruce and Hemlock running up the mountainside.

Forest above the ocean

On the little strip of beach near the trailhead, I saw one Marbled Murrelet floating in the water ...

Marbled Murrelet

... and I watched a kayak tour paddle by (that is them way in the distance).

Lowell Point

Then, I took off on the hike to Tonsina Point without a clue of where I was going or how long it would take. I figured that I could always turn around if it got too long or too steep or too muddy. It ended up being three miles – probably a bit too far for my lightweight shoes and no water, but I did it.

The hike went through a dense forest

Well, I may have hiked three miles; but maybe less. I have not yet found a good trail map and one description mentioned TWO bridges. I only crossed one.

Tonsina Bridge

Glaucous Gulls

I think that was because it was low tide, so I didn’t have to walk back through the woods to cross the water. Instead, I was able to walk down the beach. From the trailhead, a gradual climb goes high above the shoreline of Resurrection Bay where you can see glimpses of the water through the spruce and hemlock trees.

A view of Resurrection Bay

After you reach the highest point on the trail, it is fairly step and a but muddy going down the other side. To help with the trip -- and to protect the environment -- there are a few places where wooden boardwalks have been built. On a rainy day the trail would be impossible. But, I had a nice sunny (and a bit steamy) day.

Trail boardwalk

When you (finally!) reach the bottom, you cross the bridge from which you can see spawning (and rotting) salmon and lots of birds feeding on them. On a good day, there might be bears. But, there weren't any evident on this day.

View from the bridge

Plus, you see the magnificent view -- the reason why you did the hike in the first place ...

Tonsina Point

Then, you can walk out to the shore ...

Tonsina Point

While I was there, I saw a group on a tour (possibly the kayakers I had seen earlier), lots of Glaucous Gulls enjoying the salmon feast ...

A Glaucous Gull diving for a salmon snack

... and a lovely little Spotted Sandpiper eating bugs as it hopped from rock to rock in the creek ...

Spotted Sandpiper

It was a pleasant walk on a beautiful day.

Tonsina Point

Then, I drove around a bit to explore other areas in Seward and, as the day ended, I went down to the harbor to wait for Scott to return from his fishing trip with Puffin Fishing Charters.

They came in a bit later than I expected, so I was afraid that Scott would come back empty-handed. But, no worries. The boat came back with a nice haul. Scott had caught this limit: two halibut and a rockfish.

The rules state you can keep one halibut over 28” and one under. Scott actually caught an even bigger fish after he had taken his over-28-inches fish, so he couldn't keep it.

That big halibut in the middle was caught by a woman on the trip. Before Scott's boat came in, I saw another fisherman posing with his halibut that was at least twice the size of that one. It was huge. A great catch, but how do you eat that much?

Scott said that the trip had been remarkably calm and sunny (even warm) – quite surprising for being at sea outside Seward.

Scott with the boat's catch (three are his)

Once we photographed the catch, we turned it over to be processed so that we could take it home with us when we flew home the next day.

The next morning, we picked up our fish and headed back to Anchorage for our evening flight home.

Along Seward Highway

Just outside of Seward, we stopped at the Ptarmigan Creek Campground. When we camped there back in 2013, I saw a Canadian Lynx early in the morning. This time, no such luck. But we did walk briefly along the beautiful wooded trail.

Ptarmigan Creek Trail

And, we watched some spawning salmon from an observation deck.

Ptarmigan Creek observation deck views

Then, we headed north. We stopped in Whittier for lunch and so that Scott could pick up some halibut he ordered there before he knew he was going fishing.

Getting it home is harder than catching it

We made one error in bringing the fish back. We decided to check it with our baggage.

I knew we both had two bags that were free for me to check because of my Platinum status on American Airlines. And, I knew the first checked back was $50. So, I assumed that it would cost $50 to bring the fish home.

Ah, but no! They counted our cooler as a THIRD bag -- $150! Ack!

The gate agent told me that I could take my small bag through security and gate-check it for free, esentially getting around the system. But, that bag was packed with a bottle of wine and other liquids, so I would have had to repack. Had I known (which I now do) that it would cost $150, I could have avoided the fee. Oh, well. I guess that’s why halibut costs so much. We got it home safely and it is delicious.

So, that was our National Park trip for 2018: