Experience the best of Seward

Seward sits at the head of Resurrection Bay on the Alaskan Kenai Peninsula, backed by steep mountains. It was founded in 1903 as the starting point of a railroad into Alaska's interior and named for William Seward, the US Secretary of State who arranged the purchase of Alaska. The harbour is a base for fishing boats and sightseeing cruises, and a trail runs along the waterfront. The Seward Highway to Anchorage winds through mountains and beside Turnagain Arm.

Kenai Fjords National Park covers the ice-draped mountains and fjords west of town. Exit Glacier, in the park, is reached by a short road and trail, and a longer climb leads to the Harding Icefield. Boat trips in the bay and fjords look for humpback whales, orcas, sea otters, sea lions and puffins, and for glaciers calving into Aialik Bay. The Alaska SeaLife Center shows marine animals and research.

Fresh halibut and salmon, fish and chips and king crab are the local meals. The historic Iditarod Trail begins here, and the Mount Marathon footrace climbs the peak above town every Fourth of July. Summers are cool, green and long in daylight; winters are snowy and short in daylight, and rain is common in the coastal autumn.