Driving Tours

The Kenai Peninsula's lifeline is the road down from Anchorage, a 127-mile drive to Seward on a good two-lane highway, most of it through public land without development or services. Highway 1, commonly known as the Seward Highway, is more than scenic -- it's really a wonderful attraction in itself, designated a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road. A detailed booklet about the highway with maps and mile-by-mile descriptions, The Seward Highway: Alaska's All-American Road, is distributed by the public land information center in Anchorage.

There are excellent campgrounds and hiking trails all along the way in the Chugach National Forest.

The mileposts start in Seward. Here we count backward, since you'll likely start from Anchorage.

Miles 127-79 -- The highway begins at the south end of Anchorage, the only way out of town in that direction, and runs along Turnagain Arm 48 miles to the Portage Glacier.

Miles 79-75 -- Beyond the Portage Glacier turnoff, the road traverses the salt marshes to the south side of the Arm. These wetlands are good bird-watching grounds. The dead trees on the flats are left over from before the 1964 earthquake. The area was inundated in the quake, when the entire region shifted -- including the Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound -- lowering this area 12 feet and raising areas to the east as much as 30 feet. Everything moved laterally, too. Besides being the second strongest earthquake ever recorded, the '64 quake moved more land than any other. People who were here tell of their surprise when the tide came far higher than they had ever seen it before in the days after the earthquake, until finally they realized that the land itself had sunk. Large parts of Homer, Hope, and Seldovia disappeared under the waves at high tide. Seward, Whittier, Valdez, and Kodiak were swept by destructive tsunami waves.

Miles 75-68 -- The highway steeply climbs through the spruce forest to the fresh, towering alpine terrain of the 1,000-foot-elevation Turnagain Pass. The vistas here are stupendous year-round.

Mile 68 -- If you find the meadow and tundra hard to resist for a walk, go ahead. Park at the pullout with the toilets on the right side at the pass summit and follow the path, or just amble off into the wildflowers (assuming the ground is dry when you're there). In the winter and spring, this is a backcountry skiing and snowmobiling paradise. Skiers go on the left (east) side of the road and snowmobilers on the right. Always check with the Chugach National Forest for avalanche conditions first. An avalanche near here killed five riders in spring 1999.

Mile 68-57 -- The pass forms a divide; crossing it, Granite Creek flows down toward the south. The road follows, falling back below the tree line of stunted spruce and then popping back up into sweeping views. Arcing to the northwest after the Granite Creek Campground, the highway follows another north-flowing river, Six Mile Creek.

Mile 57 & Hope Highway -- The Hope Highway divides off to the north and west along Six Mile Creek while the Seward Highway continues south. Rafting companies based in Anchorage use this wild stretch of water for some of their most challenging rides.

A Side Trip to Hope -- If you want a break, you'll find Hope at the end of the 17-mile Hope Highway. It's a charming gold-rush-era village and the starting point for some great hikes (on Resurrection Pass Trail and Porcupine campground). A few white-frame buildings remain from the days when Hope was a gold-mining boomtown after a strike in 1894. Before the 1964 earthquake, the rest of the town used to stand where the creek gives way to a tidal meadow. Wandering the gravel roads, you'll find more quaint spots. Today, Hope's year-round population is about 150. For information, contact the Hope-Sunrise Community Library (tel. 907/782-3121), which is open daily in summer from 11am to 4pm, when volunteer manpower allows. You can also find Hope information online at www.advenalaska.com/hope. The Hope and Sunrise Historical and Mining Museum (tel. 907/782-3740) is a one-room log cabin displaying historic objects and photographs, a barn, blacksmith's shop, miner's bunkhouse, and old-time school. Volunteers keep the museum open Memorial Day to Labor Day daily noon to 4pm. Hope has several places to eat, all with very small-town flavor. Locals have been gathering at one cafe since 1896 (it shows). Another local restaurant was rebuilt by volunteer labor after it burned down. Likely Hope's best place for a meal -- or even to overnight in a cozy cabin -- is Bowman's Bear Creek Lodge (tel. 907/782-3141; www.bowmansbearcreeklodge.com). Cabins are $125 double in summer, $100 in winter. The restaurant is open in summer Tuesday through Sunday 2 to 10pm, in winter Thursday through Sunday the same hours.

Miles 57-46 -- The Seward Highway climbs steeply from the Hope Highway intersection, up the canyon of Canyon Creek, before leveling out above the tree line at an elevation of about1,400 feet. Next come a series of alpine lakes in a narrow mountain valley.

Mile 46 -- Upper Summit Lake lies smooth and reflective in a steep alpine valley. On the far side is the Tenderfoot Creek Campground, a calming spot warmed by sun off the water. On the near side is a traditional highway stopping place without neighbors for miles in any direction, the Summit Lake Lodge, at Mile 45.5 (tel. 907/244-2031). The main building is a traditional log roadhouse that's been updated to house a modern restaurant. Meals can take some time, so eat here only if you've not in a rush. Even if you don't want dinner, however, the location can't be beat for a driving break. You can enjoy an ice-cream from the counter in the log gift shop while you stroll near the lake. The lodge rents six motel rooms with private bathrooms, but without TVs or phones.

Miles 46-37 -- The highway continues through similar mountain terrain before descending into the trees again and branching at Tern Lake. This is a stirringly beautiful spot year-round, and a good place to get out and taste the fresh mountain air and watch for moose, waterfowl, and other birds. There's a picnic area. To the right at the intersection, the Sterling Highway leads to Cooper Landing, Soldotna, Kenai, and Homer.

Mile 36 -- Look on the right to turn for the luxurious Inn at Tern Lake (tel. 907/288-3667; www.ternlakeinn.com), a family-operated lodge surrounded by mountains and hiking opportunities with four airy, well-made rooms overlooking a pond. The inn has many amenities -- even a tennis court. It's a place to enjoy a few days of quiet, as you'd be too sorry to leave if you stop only overnight. Summer rates are $145 to $175 double, winter $90.

Mile 32 -- Moose Creek has a viewing platform to watch thousands of spawning salmon, in season; half a mile on, the Trail Lake Fish Hatchery sits on the edge of Upper Trail Lake. This is the first of a string of sparkling mountain lakes that the road will follow for the next 15 miles.

Mile 30 -- The community of Moose Pass, with a population of about 200, sits on the shore of Upper Trail Lake.

Mile 18-0 -- Down among the big spruces of the coastal forest, the highway comes to Seward.

Why All the Dead Trees?

There are whole mountainsides on the Kenai Peninsula and in Anchorage that lack large trees or have huge groups of dead, weathered, or downed trees. The spruce bark beetle is to blame. Although a natural part of the forest system, the beetles' population exploded in the last 2 decades and swept across Southcentral Alaska, wiping out 4 million acres of white and Sitka spruce, the biggest single insect kill of trees ever in North America up to that time. The beetles bore under the outer bark layer to eat the trees' phloem, the soft inner bark that carries food manufactured in the needles down to the roots. The beetles reproduce in the tree, sending the next generation in flight in May and June in search of more victims. The blight stopped spreading only when susceptible trees were dead.

Scientists believe global climate change allowed short, spotty beetle outbreaks to become a long, widespread plague. Cool, damp springs can stop beetles in a year or two, but since 1987 the state has had a solid string of exceptionally warm, dry seasons. Ecologists also have noticed shrinking ponds, a rising tree line, and many other indicators of a changing climate on the Kenai Peninsula. In places, the ecological makeup in the forest appears to be transformed, but it will be decades before we learn if natural succession leads back to a new spruce forest, or if large tracts become grassy parklike areas. In the meantime, be careful with fire. (You can learn more on my website at www.wohlforth.net/SpruceBarkBeetles.htm.)