Seward Highway, Alaska

About this drive

Alaska Route 1 between Anchorage and Seward covers 127 miles through some of the most raw and accessible wilderness in North America. From the city outskirts, the road immediately enters Chugach State Park and follows Turnagain Arm — a long fjord-like inlet off Cook Inlet — before crossing the Kenai Peninsula to the fishing town of Seward on Resurrection Bay. The scale of what you see from the road is routinely larger than anything comparable in the lower 48: hanging glaciers visible from the road's edge, mountain faces rising thousands of feet directly from tidewater, and Dall sheep grazing on cliffs just above the highway. Beluga Point, about 17 miles south of Anchorage, is named for the beluga whales that move through Turnagain Arm with the tides — sightings are realistic in summer and early fall. The Arm also produces some of the world's most powerful tidal bores, visible as a wave rolling up the inlet at certain tide stages. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, near Portage, keeps rescued bear, elk, moose, and bison in large enclosures for reliable wildlife encounters. The highway passes Portage Glacier before climbing over Turnagain Pass and descending to the Kenai. Seward itself is a working fishing port and the departure point for Kenai Fjords National Park boat tours — the highway is worth doing as a round trip just to have dinner in Seward before driving back.

Stops along the way

• 📸 Beluga Point · Scenic Viewpoint

  A roadside overlook above Turnagain Arm, named for the beluga whales sometimes spotted in the inlet below.

Featured in

• Top 10 Scenic Drives in the USA
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