The 4.5 mile coastal trail leads from Lowell Point to the recreation area, ending at North Beach. It is important to time your trip around the tides. The three mile stretch of beach between Tonsina Point and North Beach can be hiked only during very low tide. Leave Seward at least two hours before low tide to avoid becoming stranded along the way. The 4.5 mile trip takes the average hiker two to three hours. Most hikers to North Beach stay overnight. Plan to stay at least until the next low tide.

Historic trails following old army roads take hikers to Fort McGilvray and on to South Beach. Fort McGilvray, once the strategic command center, is perched on a 650 foot rocky cliff that offers dramatic views of Resurrection Bay. Here are the firing platforms of the two six-inch guns that once sat ready to defend the Port of Seward. The fort is open to explore, but take a flashlight to find your way through the maze of underground passages and rooms. South Beach is a garrison ghost town with remains of the utility buildings and barracks that were home for the 500 soldiers stationed here from July 1941 to May 1943. North Beach is marked by the remains of an Army dock built in 1941. The pier survived the 1964 Good Friday earthquake and tsunami, but the land in this area dropped five feet. The deck of the old pier was eventually destroyed by waves. This beach is the main landing and anchorage in the recreation area but the old pier is no longer safe.