Photo by Harold Faust
Photo by Harold Faust
Welcome to the Iditarod National Historic Trail
When the town founders of Seward landed on the beach in 1903 there existed a series of trails from Resurrection Bay to the gold fields of Nome. In 1908 the Alaska Road Commission surveyed a new trail from Seward to Nome to provide more direct winter transportation by dog sled. During the winter of 1910-1911 nearly 1000 miles of trail were marked and cleared. Although the route was named Seward to Nome Mail Trail by the Road Commission, it became known as the Iditarod Trail. It kept this name because the Iditarod mining district was the most common destination of those leaving Seward. Heavy traffic continued over the trail until the 1920's when mining declined.
A renewed interest in the trail started in 1973 with the first running of the 1049 mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. This annual race commemorates the important role sled dogs played in the opening of the frontier of Alaska. In 1978 the Iditarod Trail was delcared a National Historic Trail.
