The Iditarod Sled Dog Race officially begins in the former railroad town of Anchorage. But the actual beginning of the trail was originally in Seward, an important shipping point for the gold rush towns in the north. The trail fans out over Alaska, but most dog sled teams traveled to Nome.

The largest amount of gold to ever arrive by dog team in Seward was 1.5 tons. This was mushed over the Iditarod Trail by 46 dogs in 1915. Today, you can follow the start of the historic Iditarod Trail along the beach that runs adjacent to downtown Seward, as in the photograph at left. The Iditarod Trail was named a National Historic Trail in 1978.