A weekend in Seward & Kenai National Park, Alaska
Seward is about two and a half hours from Anchorage and totally worth a trip if you have time! This Alaskan city is nestled in Resurrection Bay and known for its glaciers, fjords, wildlife, whale tours and its proximity to Kenai National Park, home of Exit Glacier.
We took a short trip to Seward during our month in Alaska & were smitten by this coastal town! We visited during late September which is “off season”. This basically meant whale tours were coming to an end (but still happening!) and lots of restaurants were closed or had limited hours. Just keep this in mind if you decide to visit in late August or September! We actually decided not to take a tour during our time there because we had another trip planned the following week that included a wildlife tour!
We enjoyed our lunch at the Zudy’s Cafe with views of the bay and then grabbed some coffee from Resurrect Art Coffee before headed to the AMAZING Waterfront Playground to let our girls play for awhile. Another perk is there are bathrooms at the park - parent win! Another great option to do with kids is the Alaska SeaLife Center! It is open throughout the entire year, but does close a few days a week during off season.They offer a resident & military discount and kids 2 and under are free! Once inside there are two levels of animals including a touch tank, and an outdoor viewing deck of Resurrection Bay. They have an elevator for easy access with wheelchairs & strollers. Be sure to check online before planning your trip down!
The real reason we made the trip was to see Seward and then head to Kenai National Park to hike up for a view of Exit Glacier. There are various routes you can take ranging from a 1 mile loop to an 8 mile round trip hike - which we loved because there was something for everyone. We opted for the Glacier View Loop Trail! It was the first time we had experienced a handicap accessible option which allowed us to push our kids in their strollers on the small gravel, rather than carry most of the way there and back. They are normally great little hikers but had already had a long day so we gave them a break and still got to take in some beautiful views of Exit Glacier! The Glacier Overlook trail is just slightly longer & another great option that leads you to an overlook much closer to the Glacier than the Loop Trail did.
Our favorite part was when we stopped for a little to let the girls out to explore, Colin hopped down into the Outwash Plain and was able to grab some small pieces of ice that had broken off of the glacier for the girls to hold! They were in awe and held on to those piece of ice until their hands hurt. It was a fun way for them to understand what Exit Glacier actually was actually made up of!
All in all, a road trip to Seward is well worth a visit if you find yourself with the time during your stay in Alaska!