Depot Locations
Seward Train Depot
410 Port Ave
Seward, AK 99664
Anchorage Train Depot
411 West 1st Ave
Anchorage, AK 99501
Route Details
Schedule:
6:00 PM – 10:15 PM
(~4 hours, 15 minutes)
Distance:
107 miles
Alaska Railroad Seward to Anchorage
The Coastal Classic train makes its trip to Seward in the morning and then sits idle waiting for the return to Anchorage at 6:00 PM. You’ll catch the train at the depot near the Small Boat Harbor. It’s a convenient location, especially if you’re coming off a day cruise.
If you are arriving in Seward by cruise ship, the “big ship” dock is a short distance from the Small Boat Harbor and train depot. Many cruise passengers disembark their cruise ship in the morning, take a Kenai Fjords day cruise during the day, then catch the evening train. Note that there is only one train a day from Seward to Anchorage. If you need to leave Seward earlier, the Park Connection is a good option. If your schedule allows you to spend a night or two in Seward, that’s even better.
After pulling out of the Seward train station you’ll pass the Seward airport on your right. The airport is busy with local air taxis and private pilots, though there is no scheduled commercial airline service to Seward. Just past the airport you’ll cross the Resurrection River. The river, along with Resurrection Bay, was named by an early Russian merchant and explorer who took shelter in the bay during an Easter storm. Also sharing this name is the Resurrection Pass trail network that travels 72 miles from Seward to the small historic town of Hope.
As you leave Seward behind, you’ll soon enter the Chugach National Forest. Nearly all of the remainder of your trip to Anchorage will be within the borders of either the Chugach National Forest or the Chugach State Park. The National Forest is about the size of New Hampshire at six million aces, 30% of which is covered in ice. The Chugach State Park is a half-million acres, making it the third largest state park in the country. We often talk in stats like these, but nothing quite brings the sheer expanse of these wilds to life better than traveling through them by train.
Next you’ll start to climb into the Kenai Mountains. After crossing the Snow River, you’ll follow the eastern shore of beautiful Kenai Lake for approximately six miles before reaching the small community of Moose Pass. About 200 residents live in this scenic town which is nestled between Upper and Lower Trail Lakes, and is also where the railroad tracks break away from the Seward Highway. For the next 24 miles you’ll travel through a remote section only accessible by train.
As you cross over the 1063-foot summit pass of the Kenai Mountains, it’ll become clear why this area is called Grandview. For the next dozen or so miles, have your camera ready as you cross the Grandview pass, over the Placer River bridge, by Bartlett Glacier, and through a series of tunnels to Spencer Glacier. Next you’ll cross the Placer River Valley before reaching the Turnagain Arm and rejoining the highway. This location is known as Old Portage Station and is also where the 12-mile spur track to Whittier connects with the main rail line.
Depending on the time of the year, the remainder of your trip is a spectacular journey into late evening sun as you travel along the Turnagain Arm to Anchorage. Keep an eye out for beluga whales, mountain goats, and bald eagles, as well as adventurous humans surfing on the incoming tide, kite boarding along the windy points, or climbing the rocky coastal cliffs. You will make a brief stop at Girdwood, home to Alyeska Resort, before continuing along the arm past Bird Creek, Indian, Windy Point, and Beluga Point. From Windy Point, if you look directly across the Turnagain Arm you can often just make out the community of Hope, mentioned above as a bookend of the Resurrection Pass Trail.
Before heading into the city of Anchorage, you’ll pass the historic Potter Section House on your left. On your right you will see the Potter’s Marsh bird sanctuary, part of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge. After traveling through Anchorage, past several residential neighborhoods and commercial areas, you’ll rejoin the coast one last time as you roll along the outskirts of downtown into the rail depot. Learn more about Anchorage, and if you need help finding or booking Anchorage hotels to tours, we can help with that as well.
