What to do with 1 1/2 days in Seward in late August

Hello to all -- Our family (2 adults, 3 teens) will be arriving in Seward off a hulking cruise ship on a Friday morning in late August and would like suggestions for what to do that%26#39;s beautiful or interesting before we have to head up to Anchorage the next evening on the train. Since we will have just been on a cruise for a week, not sure if everyone will be up for the 6-hour Kenai Fjords cruise so we were wondering about possibilities for something a little more active that the teens might enjoy more -- say, river rafting, fishing, and/or horseback riding -- but don%26#39;t have a sense if that%26#39;s close by enough to pack into our tight schedule. Any thoughts from those in the know?

What to do with 1 1/2 days in Seward in late August

Hi, welcome to the forum

Lots of things to do. Fishing in Seward is great, either charter a boat or from shore. Also there is SeaLife Center, Ididaride and Godwin Glaciers sled dog tours %26amp; sled rides, Exit Glacier, and the more challenging Harding Icefield hike. The latter 2 you would either need a car, or taxi, or can go for $9 pp with Exit Guides. If you time your Exit visit for 10, 2 or 4, you can go on a free Ranger-guided hike to the face of the glacier.

If you%26#39;d like to rent a car (if one is still available, Hertz is the only agency in tiny Seward), you could drive to nearby Cooper Landing (about 1 hr). There are some great hikes there, such as Russian River Falls, about 2 hrs (might see bears). Also wonderful salmon fishing on Russian and Kenai Rivers. Wildlife/scenic river floats too, as well as horseback riding.

If you%26#39;d prefer to head a bit further to Anchorage to the teeny-tiny town of Hope, you can goldpan or do the famous 6 mile whitewater rafting. Might want to do only the first 2 canyons as the 3rd is class V (you can decide after the first 2 if you want to add it on). Also available at the same time is calm river floats for those of us who aren%26#39;t quite so daring, lol.

So what I%26#39;d suggest (if you can still get a car) is to rent one for the first day and go to Cooper Landing and/or Hope. Then spend the 2nd day in Seward, where you don%26#39;t need a car unless you prefer it, and catch your train to Anchorage.

What to do with 1 1/2 days in Seward in late August

Thanks and thanks, too, for the past posts which I%26#39;ve now also read!

As a teen I can vouch for the fjords tour, though all teens are different. I love wildlife and saw tons on that trip: sea birds, otters, seals, Humpbacks, porpoises, bears... The glacier was just another plus. Then again, I%26#39;m more contemplative and don%26#39;t need tons of action to keep me interested, though there was a good amount on that trip. If they%26#39;re not as much into animals rafting or riding may be more in order, though I can%26#39;t see fishing being any more exciting. :)

Manitoba- They take unexperienced tourists on class V rapids? I thought you were required to have technical experience on those things. With my limited knowledge about rafting class V%26#39;s aren%26#39;t necessarily bigger or more exciting than class IV%26#39;s; there%26#39;s just a death factor involved (whirlpools or undercut rocks or some such). At any rate, rafting would def be a fun trip for the teens.

Kristian

Kayaking is very popular with several companies to choose from.

Bike rentals.

Late August should be good for silver salmon fishing which you can do right from the shore if you don%26#39;t want to charter a boat.

I%26#39;d rethink about a wildlife cruise. You can see much more from a small boat than you can on your big cruise ship. Consider a combo wildlife/fishing charter? With a 6 per person limit for silver salmon you could fill a cooler quickly to bring home or have shipped.

Sealife Center is nice.

Exit Glacier is great but the kids would probably get bored on the ranger led walk.

“They take unexperienced tourists on class V rapids?”

Kristian, it certainly appears that way, though I%26#39;m basing that only on what I%26#39;ve read at websites.

For example, the Alaskan Rafting website mentions that there is one point about 3 miles in, that some or all of the rafters might walk around because at times it can be class V. Quote: ';At ultra-high water everyone (even the guides) walk around it, at high water only the guides run it, at moderate high water only the people willing to assume a 50-50 chance of a flip run it, and finally, at moderate water it reverts to class III status where it is deemed suitable for beginners';

--which sounds like maybe beginners don%26#39;t usually make the Class V run; however, later on after the second canyon: “At this point, participants who signed up for 3 Canyons (and those who only signed up for 2 but who now want to add-on the 3rd) must get in the river in their river gear and pass a swim test in order to continue down the river in to the 3rd Canyon. 2nd Canyon only participants are shuttled back to their vehicle.”

http://www.alaskanrafting.com/sixmile.html

So from that, I’m concluding that people who prove they can swim and are physically fit, (and presumably demonstrate at least a moderate ability to paddle during the first 2 canyons) would be allowed to go on to Canyon 3 at the discretion of the outfitter. It doesn%26#39;t say that only experienced paddlers can do Canyon 3. Though I am 99.9% positive I would be heading for the shuttle back to my car after the second canyon (maybe even the first!), with not one thought of continuing to Class V in the 3rd canyon. That looks way too scary to me, and I would not recommend it for beginners--but maybe I%26#39;m just chicken. But it sure would be fun to do at least the first canyon!

Oh, and just a note for the OP: while Kristian saw lots of wildlife on his Kenai Fjords tour, as I did on my first tour, that is not always the case. Wildlife have their own agenda. My second tour was nowhere near as much fun as the first because we saw NO land animals, NO humpbacks, NO porpoises, NO sea lions, NO orcas. The captain did his best, and took us to a cove to see millions of jellyfish to try to make up for it, and watching the calving glacier was neat, but the rest of the trip was boring.

Maybe the wildlife/fishing combo glacierlady suggested might be a better choice, then at least you will have something to do if the wildlife isn%26#39;t around.

I think Class IV is more than enough for this trip should we go that route. (But can you answer this for me: why do so many of the Alaska promo photos show rafters and/or kayakers w/o drysuits? What are the water temps in late Aug?)

But, getting back to my original queries: what companies would you rec for a wildlife/fyords/fishing trip out of Seward?

Thanks again.

We will be in cooper landing at kenai princess late august...was feeling stuck and then read one of the posts saying that there is a 2 hr russian river hike and bear viewing that area...is that a tour or a marked trail??

thanks so much!

Elise

Hi Elise.

Maybe someone else can confirm, but it looks like your lodge is several miles from the start of Russian River Trailhead (mile 52.5 Sterling Hwy). It is an easy, marked trail if you can find a way to get there.

BTW, it is by no means guaranteed that you will see bears during that hike or at the falls.

Have you thought of doing one of the river floats down the Kenai R?

I havent checked into the river floats. Are there any you can recommend?

Again, if your hotel is out in the middle of nowhere, you%26#39;re stuck with the excursions offered through your hotel. I shouldn%26#39;t really say ';stuck';, I%26#39;m sure they%26#39;re good tours, just you won%26#39;t have a selection of different outfitters.

Check the hotel website to see what they offer.