Depot Locations
Anchorage Train Depot
411 West 1st Ave
Anchorage, AK 99501
Seward Train Depot
410 Port Ave
Seward, AK 99664
Route Details
Schedule
6:45 AM – 11:20 AM
(~4 hours, 35 minutes)
Distance
107 miles
Alaska Railroad Anchorage to Seward
It’s an early start to the day (we recommend getting to the depot an hour before your 6:45 AM departure), but you’re in for a treat on this beautifully scenic train ride from Anchorage to Seward.
Just after departing the depot the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet will come into view. Notice that the railroad tracks parallel a paved pathway here. This is the Coastal Trail, an 11-mile trail connecting downtown to Kincaid Park. It’s a wonderful place to explore by bicycle or by foot.
As you continue through Anchorage, you’ll pass Westchester Lagoon and several original neighborhoods including Spenard, named after early Alaska homesteader named Joe Spenard. After crossing Dimond Boulevard, a busy commercial area, keep an eye out on the right side of the train for a unique subdivision with bush planes parked alongside homes, as well as a short grassy air strip adjacent to the tracks. Though you’re in a big town, there’s no mistaking you’re still in Alaska.
You’ll soon leave Anchorage behind and drop down to sea level where you’ll follow the Turnagain Arm for the next hour or so. Off to your left you’ll see Potter’s Marsh, a great spot to view migratory birds and moose, particularly on this morning train. The track winds along the coast, traveling by small communities such as Indian, and around scenic vistas like Beluga and Bird points. Because the tracks curve so often in this area, you can get great photos of the train and Turnagain Arm from viewing platforms and vestibules.
Just over an hour after departing Anchorage, a brief stop is made in Girdwood. This small ski town is home to Alyeska Resort, a favorite year-round destination for locals and visitors alike. After another 10 miles you’ll pass Old Portage Station and the cutoff branch line that heads to the town of Whittier.
You’ll leave the coast now and enter into remote wilderness only accessible by train as you start a long climb through the Kenai Mountains. The train is traveling through the Chugach National Forest. At nearly six million acres it is the second largest National Forest in the country. After passing though the Placer River Valley, you’ll reach Spencer Glacier. With its iceberg studded lake and proximity to the train tracks, it is one of many excellent photograph opportunities on this trip. A whistle stop is made on the Glacier Discovery Route at Spencer Glacier for travelers who want to get off and hike, camp, or take a day tour.
As you wind along the Placer River canyon, you’ll travel through a series of five relatively short tunnels and past a picturesque curve alongside Bartlett Glacier before cresting a 1063-foot pass called Grandview. This is a particularly scenic portion of your journey, and the train will slow down to make sure everyone can take a picture or two or ten. Next up is Trail Glacier, Trail Creek, and the Trail Creek Canyon, with great views of all three. Soon you’ll reach the small community of Moose Pass on the banks of Upper Trail Lake. About 200 residents live here, along with a likely larger population of moose.
At Moose Pass the highway and railroad tracks meet back up. Both the road and rail tracks travel along the shores of Kenai Lake. This 22-mile-long lake is the headwaters of the Kenai River, home to world-famous salmon fishing runs. Often the lake is a stunning turquoise color, a result of the sun reflecting off fine glacial silt particles suspended in the water.
Next you’ll travel over Divide, another lower pass of the Kenai Mountains, then cross the Resurrection River and into the coastal town of Seward at about 11:20 AM. The train remains in Seward for the day before heading back to Anchorage in the evening. You can read more about Seward, and if you need help booking Seward hotels, cruises, or tours, we can help with that.
