Tonsina Beach Hike – Seward Alaska

Tonsina Beach Hike is a beautiful adventure that exposes you to dense forests, fresh mountain creeks and an incredible expansive view of Resurrection Bay.

GPS Coordinates:

Trailhead:  60.069882°, -149.443903°
Tonsina Beach:  60.047215°, -149.443496°

Trail Map

Driving Directions

The Trail:

The Trailhead GPS Coordinates are for the Tonsina Creek road.  You can drive a little bit farther along the road but it soon narrows down to where only an ATV could get through.  Simply park and start hiking along the trail.

I found this device strapped to a tree near the trailhead. Not sure what it is…

The trail is very worn and visible.  You will be hiking on a rocky trail for the majority of the hike as it makes it way to the beach.  It is a beautiful hike and it really doesn’t require that much time to complete.

There are ferns all over making the forest very dense and very quiet.  We didn’t hear or see many animals but we still enjoyed the lush vegetation.

The trail was almost completely covered by willows and other trees that made it seem like you were hiking inside a tree tunnel

The trail eventually levels off and you will come to an amazing overlook of Resurrection Bay and Tonsina Beach.  At this point you will hike down to the small bridge.

Pretty soon you will reach the flat area at the “summit” of the hike which is around this point

This area is overlooking Tonsina Beach. From here you will hike down to a bridge.

The bridge is very sturdy and is the only way to cross over the creek unless you want to swim across.  It was here that we found lots of old dying salmon slowly waiting out their existence in this quiet creek.

Here is the bridge you will need to cross.

Old salmon fish

Cross over the bridge and you will be hiking through tall birch and spruce trees.  You could almost bypass this part of the hike but this is probably one of the coolest parts!

Another bridge inside the spruce forest

Tonsina Beach isn’t much farther.  The trail is easy and flat until you reach the rocky beach.

We saw lots of bald eagles and seagulls hanging around eating salmon.   We never did see any bears or moose but that doesn’t mean they aren’t around.  Just always use caution and be watchful as you hike.

When we visited, we were the only people on the beach.  It was very peaceful and I would love to do it again!

Trek Challenge:  Prove that you have been to Tonsina Beach!  Take a selfie or picture of yourself while at Tonsina Beach.  Upload your photo by clicking the “Yes! Verify my picture” button on the left hand side bar.  If verified, you will receive a badge on your user page and you will rank up.

The Return:

Head back the same way you came.

Personal Thoughts:

 While working in Alaska, my mother came to visit me so I thought it would be neat to come check out Seward.  Seward in itself is a really great place to visit and one of my favorite places in Alaska.  After having lunch one day we decided to just explore around the city and we ended up at Tonsina Creek road.  We got out of the car and started hiking, not knowing anything about where we were going.  This hike ended being my mother’s favorite thing she did while in Alaska and it is also one of mine.