sealife

Located at the head of Resurrection Bay, Seward is a popular port for many cruise ships, including Celebrity, Viking, Royal Caribbean and Silversea vessels. It’s also the gateway to rugged Kenai Fjords National Park, and the southern terminus of the Seward Highway. The good news is, it is possible to explore Seward in a wheelchair. In fact, this port city offers visitors a number of wheelchair-accessible tours and attractions. And that’s reason enough to spend at least one day in this Kenai Peninsula community on your next Alaskan cruise or road trip. 

Explore Kenai Fjords

Although the lion’s share of Kenai Fjords National Park (www.nps.gov/kefj/) is comprised of backcountry trails and inaccessible glaciers, visitors can get a peek at the diverse wildlife and stunning scenery of the park on a day cruise.

Conducted by Kenai Fjords Tours (www.alaskacollection.com/day-tours/kenai-fjords-tours/), the Classic Kenai Fjords Park Tour tour departs twice daily from the Seward harbor. There’s level access to the ticket office , with a large drop-off area in front. Accessible parking is available in front of the Kenai Fjords Tours office, and in the remote parking lot, which is a few blocks away. There’s also accessible shuttle service from the remote parking lot to and from the harbor.

There’s level access out to the tour boat, and employees will provide boarding assistance with advance notice. Unfortunately the vessels cannot accommodate scooters. The main deck features good pathway access; and wheelchair users can transfer to a reserved accessible table or stay in their own wheelchair. If you opt for the latter, there’s also a handy fold-down table next to the accessible space. Additionally, there’s a large accessible marine head — reserved for disabled passengers — on the main deck.

Enjoy the Cruise

Although there’s only stairway access to the top deck, the main deck has large picture windows, so the view is equally good in both spaces. And the captain provides an excellent interpretation of the wildlife found in the water and along the shore. Sightings include whales, seals and puffins and maybe even bear or moose.

About midway along, the captain stops and turns off the engine so passengers can see and hear the glaciers calve off into the water below. Afterwards the crew retrieves a piece of an iceberg, so everybody can get a closer look. In short, it’s a very scenic, informative and entertaining cruise. Add in a tasty lunch served at your table, and a very accommodating crew, and you have the perfect way to enjoy Seward in a wheelchair.

Alaska Sealife Center

A visit to the Alaska Sealife Center (www.alaskasealife.org/) is the ideal companion to a Kenai Fjords Cruise, as it offers a closer look at some of the local marine life. This unique facility, which is a cross between an aquarium and a research center, was partially funded by Exxon after the Valdez oil spill in 1989. Prior to that disaster, researchers had very little knowledge about the delicate ecosystem of Prince William Sound.

The tourism component of the facility allows visitors the chance to get up-close-and-personal with a variety of marine mammals, birds and fish found in the area. Accessible parking is available in the adjacent lot, and there’s level access to the center. There’s barrier-free access throughout the building, elevator access to all floors and a loaner wheelchair at the information desk. Best of all, the wheelchair-height aquariums offer unobstructed views of the marine life.

The first-floor exhibits include interpretive panels about fishing sustainably and wild Alaskan seafood, while the second floor has a nice collection of interactive exhibits. There’s also level access to the seabird aviary on the second floor, where visitors can get a close look at the resident puffins, cormorants and murres. And don’t miss the equally enjoyable antics of the stellar sea lions, harbor seals and ringed seals in the enclosure across the hall. And if you’d like a backstage look at the animal enclosures, a level overlook offers an accessible glimpse of that too. All in all, the Alaska Sealife Center is a fun and educational stop, and a must-see on any Seward itinerary.

Visit Exit Glacier

Finally, a drive out to Kenai Fjords National Park to see Exit Glacier is a must-do on any Seward visit. Not only is it one of Alaska’s walk-up glaciers, but Exit Glacier is the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park that is accessible by road. It’s located three miles north of Seward, just off the Seward Highway. Keep a lookout for Herman Leirer Road and follow it for about eight miles, until it dead-ends in the parking lot.

There’s accessible parking near the Exit Glacier Nature Center, with level access over to the small building. Inside there are a few exhibits as well as a staffed ranger desk. There are also a few accessible picnic tables outside, near the accessible restrooms.

The wheelchair-accessible one-mile Glacier View Loop Trail begins on the other side of the nature center. The paved trail leads through a cottonwood forest and transitions into a hard-packed dirt trail topped with stabilized granite. About halfway along the trail there’s a level viewing spot, where you can get an excellent view of Exit Glacier, as it spills down the mountain from the Harding icefield. And if you didn’t bring along binoculars, there’s also a wheelchair-height viewing scope in the viewing area.

And although the view is spectacular, the walk is equally pleasant, as there are interpretive plaques and benches to sit and enjoy the forest along the way. And if you are visiting Seward on a cruise, Exit Glacier makes a great shore excursion. No matter how you get there, Exit Glacier is a must-see for anyone who visits Seward in a wheelchair.