Shearwater Cove, Alaska: Is this Yurt Stay Near Seward Worth It?

We almost didn’t book this stay at all, and I am SO glad we did!

Staying at these remote yurts in Resurrection Bay aren’t exactly something one would normally do on a budget friendly trip, but in this guide I will break down why we thought a stay at Shearwater Cove was worth it.

Half of our group already had their hearts set on Orca Island Cabins, they’d been following the place for a while and knew that’s where they wanted to stay near Seward for at least one night. The rest of us were planning on keeping it a little more budget-friendly by getting a regular hotel in town, and doing a kayak day trip.

But while I was pricing out that hotel night and the kayak tours, it was starting to make sense to go with our hearts and try to stay somewhere more remote in Resurrection Bay. That’s when I stumbled onto Shearwater Cove, a similar off-grid yurt experience to Orca Island, just south, for a little less money. About a month before the trip, we scrapped the hotel plan and booked Shearwater Cove instead.

This was one of the best decisions we made for the whole trip. It ended up being one of the most memorable things we did in Alaska. Here’s the actual breakdown of why Shearwater Cove in Alaska is worth it.

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What Shearwater Cove Actually Is

Shearwater Cove is an off grid eco-lodge & collection of yurts about 10 miles from Seward, tucked into Resurrection Bay. You can’t drive there. The only way in is by boat, which the lodge provides as part of your stay, a roughly 45-minute ride out from the Seward harbor.

That boat ride alone is worth mentioning on its own. On the way out to the island we watched up close a sea otter eating a crab (pictured below, so cute!). It’s not just transportation, it’s a siteseeing tour before you’ve even checked in. Which adds to the overall value this stay provides.

Once you’re there, you’re staying in an off-grid yurt with a private outdoor bathroom, access to hiking trails, and unlimited use of sea kayaks for as long as you want, whenever you want.

The Orca Island crew had already locked in their plans well before we found Shearwater, so this ended up being the one point in the trip where we split into two groups. But because the properties are in a similar area and offer the use of kayaks we ended up meeting each other out on the water while kayaking, so honestly, the split barely mattered in the end.

If you’re deciding between Orca Island and Shearwater Cove, Orca Island has a slightly better direct water view from the yurts themselves. Shearwater felt more tucked into the trees, among the rainforest. Both are good calls, we were happy with ours, and we didn’t feel like we missed out on anything by not staying at the other.

Quick Facts – Access: Boat only, ~45 minutes from Seward Harbor (included in your stay) – Yurts: Sleep up to 4 people, (one bed, one futon) Season: Seasonal, roughly late May through early September – What’s included: Round-trip boat, yurt lodging, unlimited kayaks and gear, hiking trail access – What’s NOT included: Food. We packed in easy prep food items from the grocery store.

Things to Do at Shearwater Cove

We did a forest walk and a short beach hike, checked out the on-site yoga space, and spent an afternoon sea kayaking on our own. We saw jellyfish, starfish, and just paddled at our own pace with zero itinerary pressure.

The real highlight was the paddle to humpy cove and the waterfall. We were there in the fall and there were thousands of salmon running. We watched four river otters fishing together, catching a fish right in front of us. A curious seal kept circling our group, diving for fish over and over until it finally caught one. We counted five bald eagles, saw a couple of them repeatedly. Then a puffin on the way back.

This is what we were able to fit in with just one night, but if you have the ability to do more than one night you can paddle to Fox Island, do a few more of the hikes and just have more time to really soak it in.

The Actual Cost Breakdown

Here’s where I want to get specific, because vague budget advice is useless.

We booked through Booking.com for shoulder season (early September) and paid $278 per person for one night, split four ways in the yurt. That was a solid rate, and part of it came down to timing.

If you book directly through Shearwater Cove’s site for the same shoulder-season window (late May through mid-June, or mid-August through early September) in a group of four sharing a yurt, current rates land closer to $330 per person for one night (I still think this is great value!). Peak season (late June through early August) run a little higher.. So booking through Booking.com and traveling in shoulder season saved us real money without sacrificing anything about the experience. Worth double-checking current Booking.com availability and pricing to see if there is a deal happening.

Now here’s the comparison that actually made this a no-brainer, and the same math that talked us out of the regular hotel plan in the first place. A guided sea kayak day tour (that went where we wanted to go) out of Seward runs $150 to $180 per person, and a basic night of lodging in Seward itself runs $80 to $100 per person. Add those together and you’re at roughly $230 to $280 per person, for a scheduled kayak tour and a forgettable hotel room, which was essentially our original plan.

For about the same money, or in our case, less, we got an unlimited self-guided kayaking day, a legitimate wildlife-spotting boat ride both ways, a private off-grid yurt, and hiking trails, all in one package. That math is not close. Shearwater wins.

For context, this single night was the most expensive line item in our entire accommodation budget for the trip, more than any other night we booked. I break down the full trip cost in detail in my what Alaska costs to travel post, but the short version is: it was worth being the priciest night of the trip, as the value is absolutely there.

Honest Thoughts & Logistics

I promised you honesty, so here it is: there isn’t much to complain about. It rained on and off during our stay, and was at least misting most of the time, but that didn’t slow us down at all. Since we only had one night we didn’t get a chance to take the trail up to the alpine meadow and viewpoint, but with the rain I don’t think we would have anyway as it can get slippery.

The yurts are off grid, there is no wifi and the toilets are composting. You need to be comfortable with this kind of stay. The toilet can make the bathroom smell slightly, it is not bad, just something to be aware of, If you need to be reachable or plan to work while you’re there, this is not the place. This is a great place to unplug. It’s genuinely restorative to be off the grid for a night.

Also worth flagging: checkout mornings are either 8:30am or 11am depending on your booking, and the lodge specifically recommends building in an extra hour or two of buffer afterward, since you’re at the mercy of boat scheduling and weather. Don’t book a tight connection right after checkout. Here is my full Alaska itinerary in detail if you’re curious about the logistical side of things.

Should You Book It?

If you’re already planning a Seward stop and you’re the kind of traveler who wants an incredible, off the beaten path experience then book it! The value is totally worth it and the whole thing is genuinely run very well and the staff are great.

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