USFWS
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska Region   

Wildlife Viewing

Near Seward - Chiswell Islands

"Got Milk?" The Chiswell Islands' Steller sea lion rookery is the most accessible, and one of the few open for public viewing. Carolyn J. Gudmundson/NMFS. Click to enlarge.

Where

The rugged and rocky Chiswell Islands rise from the Gulf of Alaska at the mouth of Resurrection Bay, 20 miles from Seward on the Kenai Peninsula. They are the most visited seabird colonies of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

How To Get There

Seward can be reached by road from Anchorage (125 miles).

When

Daily from May through September, several tour boat companies offer all-day tours that visit these and other islands.

Highlights

Horned and tufted puffins, common and thick-billed murres, and black-legged kittiwakes swarm around these grassy sea stacks. Other attractions: endangered Steller sea lions on their breeding rookery, sea otters, humpback whales, and the chance of seeing rhinoceros auklets and ancient murrelets.

In the Vicinity

The adjacent Kenai Fjords National Park, with headquarters in Seward, has calving glaciers, nesting bald eagles, and seal haul-outs. The park is featured on the same boat tours that visit the refuge islands.

LINKS to learn more

Bird List (Seward)
Visitor Services

Last updated:September 8, 2008