Alaska by Train: Denali, Seward and the Kenai Fjords

1. Day 1: Arrive in Anchorage

   Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to your hotel downtown

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Anchorage
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), where a driver meets you for the fifteen-minute ride to a central hotel downtown; we choose one close to the Alaska Railroad depot you leave from in the morning. If you land early, the afternoon is yours: the Anchorage Museum covers Alaska Native cultures, art and the state's history, and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail starts at the edge of downtown and runs along Cook Inlet, with the Chugach Mountains behind the city and, on a clear day, Denali far to the north. In the evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how the trains work, what goes in the day bag, how the bags travel, and what the week's weather looks like. Then we walk to a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, with Alaskan salmon or halibut on the menu in season.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner in Anchorage

   Optional experiences

   • Anchorage Museum
   • A walk or bike ride on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: The Denali Star to Denali

   Anchorage depot by train via Wasilla, Talkeetna, Hurricane Gulch and Broad Pass to Denali Park

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Denali Park
   Day 2 details

   We leave the hotel after an early breakfast for the Denali Star, which pulls out of Anchorage at about 8:20 am. Your bags go in the baggage car, so the day is just you and a window. The line runs north through the Mat-Su valley and past Wasilla, then along the Susitna River to Talkeetna, where climbers start for Denali; the train stops there in late morning, from about 11:05 to 11:20 am. On a clear day the mountain stands up over the river flats; often it is in cloud, and your guide will tell you where to look. After Talkeetna, lunch comes from the train's cafe, included, eaten at your seat or at the cafe tables. In the afternoon the train climbs into the Alaska Range, crosses the high bridge over Hurricane Gulch and runs through Broad Pass, the high point of the line, with open tundra on both sides. We reach the Denali Park depot at about 3:40 pm, and a short transfer takes us to our hotel near the park entrance for two nights. The evening is free.

   Included

   • The Alaska Railroad Denali Star from Anchorage to Denali, Adventure Class
   • Lunch from the train's cafe, included
   • Transfer from the Denali depot to the hotel

   Optional experiences

   • GoldStar dome seating with its dining room, priced at booking
   • Flightseeing over Denali from the park area, weather permitting

   Free time: Evening free near the park entrance

   Activity: About seven and a half hours on the train, with room to walk about and an open-air vestibule for photos.

   

3. Day 3: Deep into Denali National Park

   The Denali park road to the Eielson Visitor Center and back

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Denali Park
   Day 3 details

   An early start, because the first buses see the most animals. Private cars may only drive the first 15 miles of the park road, so we ride a park transit bus, with your guide on board, past Savage River and over Sable Pass and Polychrome Pass to the Eielson Visitor Center at Mile 66, where the mountain fills the view on a clear day. A new bridge over the Pretty Rocks landslide was finished in 2026, and the Park Service plans full bus service again from 2027; if a section is closed in your season, we turn at East Fork (Mile 43) instead. Drivers stop for wildlife: grizzlies on the open slopes, caribou, moose in the willows, Dall sheep on the ridges, sometimes a wolf. No food is sold beyond the entrance, so we carry a packed lunch and eat it at Eielson. The round trip takes about eight hours, so we are back near the entrance by mid-afternoon, with time to rest before dinner together near the hotel.

   Included

   • Denali National Park entrance fee
   • Park transit bus to the Eielson Visitor Center (Mile 66) and back, with your guide
   • Packed lunch for the bus
   • Dinner with the group

   Optional experiences

   • Flightseeing over Denali, weather permitting
   • Rafting on the Nenana River

   Easier option: Ride the free shuttle to Savage River (Mile 15) instead of the long bus and walk the flat Savage River Loop, about 3 km, then rest at the hotel.

   More active option: Get off the bus with your guide for an off-trail walk on the tundra, then flag down a later bus back.

   Free time: Late afternoon free before dinner

   Activity: About eight hours on the park bus, on a gravel road with wildlife and toilet stops. Bring binoculars, layers and water: food is not sold beyond the entrance area.

   

4. Day 4: Horseshoe Lake, the sled dogs, then the train south

   Horseshoe Lake and the park kennels, then Denali Park by train to Anchorage

   • By train
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Anchorage
   Day 4 details

   A slower morning near the park entrance. After breakfast your guide walks the group down to Horseshoe Lake, an oxbow lake below the bluffs where beavers have built a dam and lodge; the loop is about 4 km with one steady descent and climb. Then the free park bus takes us to the kennels at park headquarters for the rangers' sled dog demonstration: the dogs still haul supplies and patrol the park in winter, and you can walk along the kennels to meet them. We check out, the bags go ahead to the depot, and the Denali Star southbound leaves at about 12:30 pm. This time you see the line in afternoon light and from the other direction: Broad Pass, Hurricane Gulch, then the long run down the Susitna valley, with another chance at Denali if the cloud has lifted. Lunch and an early dinner come from the train's cafe, included, so there is nothing to organise on arrival. We reach Anchorage at about 8 pm and transfer a few minutes to a central hotel, chosen close to the depot. The Seward train leaves early tomorrow.

   Included

   • Guided walk to Horseshoe Lake
   • Sled dog kennel demonstration at park headquarters
   • The Alaska Railroad Denali Star from Denali to Anchorage, Adventure Class
   • Lunch and dinner from the train's cafe, included
   • Transfers to the Denali depot and to the hotel in Anchorage

   Optional experiences

   • GoldStar dome seating with its dining room, priced at booking

   Easier option: Stay at the hotel or the visitor center area for a slow morning and join the group at the train.

   More active option: Start at 6:30 am with your guide for the Mount Healy Overlook Trail, about 8 km return with roughly 520 m of climb. It takes about four hours, so you miss the kennels but are back well before the 12:30 pm train.

   Activity: About seven and a half hours on the train. The Horseshoe Lake loop is about 4 km, with one steep section down to the lake and back.

5. Day 5: The Coastal Classic to Seward and Exit Glacier

   Anchorage by train along Turnagain Arm, via Girdwood and the Kenai Mountains to Seward, then Exit Glacier

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Seward
   Day 5 details

   The Coastal Classic leaves Anchorage at about 6:45 am, so breakfast comes from the train's cafe as the line runs south beside Turnagain Arm, where the tide moves fast over the mudflats and Dall sheep graze on the cliffs above. The highway shares this shore, but after Girdwood and Portage the track turns away from it into the Placer River valley, past Spencer Glacier and Bartlett Glacier to Grandview, a stretch with no road at all, before rejoining the highway near the Trail Lakes. We reach Seward at about 11:20 am, drop bags at the hotel and have lunch in town. In the afternoon a 20-minute drive takes us to Exit Glacier, the part of Kenai Fjords National Park you can reach by road. Your guide walks the trail to the glacier viewpoint, past signs that mark where the ice stood in past years, and explains why it has retreated so fast. The evening in Seward is free.

   Included

   • The Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic from Anchorage to Seward, Adventure Class
   • Breakfast from the train's cafe, included
   • Lunch in Seward
   • Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • GoldStar dome seating with its dining room, priced at booking

   Easier option: Walk only the flat first section to the outwash plain, or stay at the Exit Glacier Nature Center.

   More active option: Climb the first part of the Harding Icefield Trail with your guide to Marmot Meadows for the view down onto the glacier.

   Free time: Evening free in Seward

   Activity: About four and a half hours on the train. Exit Glacier walks are 2 to 3 km on gravel paths; the Harding Icefield option is steep.

6. Day 6: Kenai Fjords National Park by boat

   Seward Small Boat Harbor through Resurrection Bay into the Kenai Fjords and back

   • By boat
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Seward
   Day 6 details

   After breakfast we walk to the Small Boat Harbor for a six-hour cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park, where glaciers from the Harding Icefield run down to the sea. The boat follows Resurrection Bay south past cliffs and small islands, then out into more open water and into one of the fjords to sit in front of a tidewater glacier, engines off, listening for ice to crack and fall. The captain and crew call out wildlife as it appears: sea otters, Steller sea lions on the rocks, puffins and other seabirds, often humpback whales and sometimes orcas. Lunch is served on board. We are back in Seward by mid-afternoon with time to rest or walk the waterfront. In the evening we meet for a seafood dinner in town, the last dinner together off the train.

   Included

   • Six-hour Kenai Fjords National Park cruise from Seward, with a tidewater glacier
   • Lunch on board
   • Seafood dinner with the group in Seward

   Optional experiences

   • Sea kayaking in Resurrection Bay

   Easier option: Stay in the heated cabin for the open-water stretch; the views are as good through the windows.

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Seward

   Activity: The open water outside Resurrection Bay can be rough. Take seasickness tablets before boarding if you are prone to it, and bring a hat, gloves and a waterproof.

7. Day 7: Seward, then the evening train to Anchorage

   Seward, then the Coastal Classic to Anchorage and the airport

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   Day 7 details

   The morning starts at the Alaska SeaLife Center on the waterfront, a public aquarium and marine research centre where you can watch Steller sea lions, harbor seals and puffins from above and below the water and learn how the centre rescues stranded animals. Lunch is in town, then the afternoon is yours: walk the waterfront path along Resurrection Bay, look for sea otters in the harbor, or walk the Tonsina Point trail with your guide. The Coastal Classic leaves Seward at about 6 pm, so you ride the Placer River valley and Turnagain Arm again, this time northbound in the long evening light, with dinner from the train's cafe, included. We reach Anchorage at about 10:15 pm. A transfer takes you to the airport for an overnight flight, or to a hotel if you are staying on. Book a flight leaving after about midnight, or add a night in Anchorage, which we can book at cost.

   Included

   • Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward
   • Lunch in Seward
   • The Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic from Seward to Anchorage, Adventure Class
   • Dinner from the train's cafe, included
   • Drop-off at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) or a hotel in Anchorage

   Optional experiences

   • An extra night in Anchorage, booked at cost

   More active option: Walk the Tonsina Point trail with your guide, about 5 km return through rainforest to a beach on Resurrection Bay.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Seward

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about midnight, or add a night in Anchorage: the train arrives at about 10:15 pm.

Wildlife and weather: Alaska's summer is cool and changeable: expect 10 to 20 C, rain at any time and colder air on the water. Denali the mountain is often in cloud, so a clear view is luck, not a promise. Bears, moose and caribou are easiest to see early in the day; whales and puffins are around the Kenai Fjords from late May to August.

• Anchorage1 night
• Denali Park2 nights
• Anchorage1 night
• Seward2 nights