- Alaska Family Vacation: Day One (Fishing and fjording boat day, Kenai Fjords Visitor’s Center, Sea Life Center, exploring Seward)
- Alaska Family Vacation: Day Two (Fishing on the Kenai River, Exit Glacier hike, exploring Seward)
Alaska Family Vacation: Day Three
Our third day in Alaska was another day of fantastic weather — highs in the upper 60s with sun all day — and even the local people we spoke with told us how fortunate we were to have so much sunshine during our stay. We were told multiple times how unpredictable Alaska weather can be as it’s the largest temperate rainforest in the United States and certainly felt lucky to have so much sun and warmth during our visit. We definitely maximized our luck and spent as much of our time in Alaska outside as possible.
Morning: Resurrect Art Coffee House + Tonsina Creek Hike (Seward, Alaska)
Day three marked our final day in Seward, Alaska. We loved this charming coastal town and were very sad to leave. (For anyone planning a trip to Alaska who might be curious, if we were to do this trip over, we would’ve stayed another night in Seward or ventured down to Homer for a night or and spent more time out on the water because our fishing and fjording day was so incredible. One day of boating wasn’t quite enough for us!)
Thankfully we left Seward on a very high note following one of the most picturesque hikes of my life.
But first: Coffee and cinnamon rolls!
While Ryan stayed back with a sleeping Rhett on our third morning in Alaska, the big kids and I made our way to Resurrect Art Coffee House, a local coffee shop with the coziest, most welcoming feel. As we waited for our order (a latte for me, chai tea latte to-go for Ryan and cinnamon rolls for all that were baked that morning), Chase and Ryder were thrilled to find a large chess set in the upstairs loft. I sipped my coffee and browsed the local art on the walls while the boys played and loved the slow start to our otherwise rather full day!
Once Rhett was up, we spent an hour or so re-packing our bags and loading up the car before making our way to Lowell Point Road to park our car and head out on the most stunning hike.
Ryan and I were determined to do a little hiking during our time in Alaska but wanted to be mindful of what would be enjoyable for our three boys. They love the outdoors and exploring but long walks to check out beautiful views aren’t quite as exciting for them. When I read about the hike out to Tonsina Beach – a hike that included a bridge over a creek flowing with salmon – it sounded like something they would enjoy. We were also counting on the beach at the turnaround point providing them with plenty of entertainment in the tide pools, rocks and sand.
The hike was absolutely stunning and ended up being one of my favorite things we did during our time in Alaska.
We covered 5 miles which was more than we anticipated (there’s a 3-mile option but somehow we ended up on longer route). Thankfully our boys were troopers and Rhett (our almost 5-year-old) only needed to be carried a few times. (He majorly impressed us on this hike!) The hike itself is rated “moderate” and had some hills and switchbacks but it wasn’t anything our boys couldn’t handle. They absolutely loved snacking on the wild blueberries along the trail (there were tons!) and the stream with the salmon battling their way up the current was clear and so beautiful.
(Chase was dying to get into the stream and thoroughly explore but we didn’t see anyone else doing this and there were “no fishing” signs posted so we assumed this was a no-no.)
When the trees opened up as we walked out onto Tonsina Beach, the view took our breath away.
This little beach is only accessible to hikers and boaters and it felt like we were experiencing something truly special. The boys took off running on the beach and quickly found crab claws, mussels, a mermaid’s purse (the pouch that stores stingray eggs) and crazy-smooth rocks, perfect for skipping.
The hike back to our car passed by oddly fast and before we knew it we were on our way to Anchorage (via Girdwood) after a brief pit-stop at Weenie’s hot dog and burger truck in Seward for reindeer Chicago-style hot dogs (shockingly good).
Afternoon: Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (Girdwood, Alaska)
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was another “must see” destination for our family during our trip to Alaska and we timed this one to visit on Chase’s 10th birthday! Much like the Sea Life Center (where we stopped on our first day), the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is another non-profit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center featured on Alaska Animal Rescue, one of our boys’ favorite family movie night shows. We had a momentary panic when we Googled directions to the center and the hours made it look like it was closed Tuesday-Thursday but after a quick phone call, we learned something was funky with Google’s information about the center that day and were told to head on over!
Our boys love animals so much and we’ve visited a handful of rescue centers in the past but this one is so unique. The habitats at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center are expansive and feel so natural and part of the land. The animals looked healthy, alert and well cared for and every single one is a rescue and they do not breed any animals other than bison as part of a repopulation program. We loved the way we were able to get up close to the animals who seemed most curious about human visitors. The brown Kodiak bears topped all of our lists for our favorite animals at the center because they came up so close to the fencing, plopped down and looked us right in our eyes.
It was honestly a little unnerving!
We also saw black-tailed deer, porcupines, three moose, a lynx (another favorite – also very curious!), a fox, muskox, and bison. It was well worth a stop and all three boys mentioned this spot when we asked them about their favorite things we did during our Alaska vacation.
Evening: Arrive in Anchorage + Moose’s Tooth Pizza (Anchorage, Alaska)
The rest of our day was dedicated to driving to Anchorage and when I tell you the drive from Seward to Anchorage feels like an activity in and of itself, I mean it. The entire 2.5-hour drive is stunning from start to finish and meanders along the water with gorgeous snow-topped mountain views. I think Ryan and I commented on the scenery no less than 100 times over the course of this trip!
Once we arrived in Anchorage, we checked into our hotel (The Clarion – decent location but nothing special) and dropped the frozen fish we caught in Seward off at the airport. (They have a freezer and you can pay $25 per box of fish per day for them to hold it for you which we thought was so helpful!) We then made our way to Moose’s Tooth to pick up pizza for dinner and I cannot tell you how happy we were that we thought to order our pizza ahead for pickup because the wait at this Anchorage hot spot looked insane.
Once our bellies were full of pizza, we dug into birthday cake for Chase (he picked out the cake of his choice from a local grocery store) and celebrated our 10-year-old, Alaska-style!!
Then it was time for sleep before our fourth and final day in Alaska!
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So beautiful. Happy Birthday Chase!!