Four wild, remote parks in Northwest Alaska make up the Western Arctic National Parklands. Together, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve and Bering Land Bridge National Preserve include more than 11.5 million acres of parkland.
Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Cape Krusenstern National Monument, established in 1978, is a coastal plain bordering the Chukchi Sea in Northwestern Alaska. Its landscape is decorated with lagoons, rolling hills, bluff s and 114 beach ridges, created by the changing shorelines of the Chukchi Sea over thousands of years.
Archeological sites in the monument provide detailed evidence of an estimated 9,000 years of prehistoric human existence. And some of these sites date back further than some well-known remains of ancient Greek civilizations.
Activities in the area include hiking, kayaking, fishing, flightseeing and wildlife viewing.
Access to the monument is from Kotzebue, which is served by commercial airlines out of Fairbanks and Anchorage.
The visitor center is also located in Kotzebue. In the summer, visitors may access the park by charter flight or boat. In the winter, access is by plane, snowmobile or dogsled.
Kobuk Valley National Park
Kobuk Valley National Park, established as a national monument in 1978 and a national park in 1980, is located in Northwest Alaska. The park, surrounded by the Baird and Waring mountain ranges, protects several unique features including the Great Kobuk, Little Kobuk and Hunt River sand dunes.
The 25-square-mile Great Kobuk Sand Dunes were created by the grinding action of ancient glaciers and stabilized by the area’s vegetation. Along with the Little Kobuk and Hunt River dunes, sand dunes cover most of the southern Kobuk Valley.
A section of the Kobuk River also runs through the park. Its bluffs, some of which stand more than 150 feet high, hold permafrost ice wedges and Ice Age mammal fossils.
Activities in the park include hiking, camping, boating, fishing, flightseeing and wildlife viewing.
Access to the park is from Nome or Kotzebue, both of which are served by commercial airlines. The visitor center is located in Kotzebue. In the summer, visitors may access the park by charter flight or boat. In the winter, access is by plane, snowmobile or dog sled.
Noatak National Preserve
Noatak National Preserve, located in North west Alaska, is one of North America’s largest mountain-ringed river basins. It is also home to the Noatak River, a national wild and scenic river, and features a wide variety
of Arctic flora and fauna.
The area was designated as a biosphere reserve in 1976, a national monument in 1978, and a national preserve in 1980.
One of the preserve’s most popular activities is floating the Noatak River from the mountains of the Brooks Range to the waters of the Chukchi Sea. Other activities include hiking, camping, fishing, flightseeing and wildlife viewing.
Access to the preserve is from Nome or Kotzebue, both of which are served by commercial airlines. The visitor center is located in Kotzebue.
In the summer, visitors may access the park by charter flight or boat. In the winter, access is by plane, snowmobile or dogsled.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
When you step onto the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, located on the Seward Peninsula in Northwest Alaska, you will be standing on the land bridge that first brought humans from Asia to the Americas more than 13,000 years ago. Once thousands of miles wide, the majority of the bridge now lies beneath the Chukchi Sea.
The preserve, which is one of the most remote national park areas in the country, was established as a national monument in 1978 and a national preserve in 1980.
Activities include camping, hiking, boating, wildlife viewing, snowmobiling, dog mushing, cross country skiing and fishing. There are also several public use cabins in the area, including one at Serpentine Hot Springs, where visitors can soak in the natural warmth of the hot springs.
Access to the preserve is from Nome, which is served by commercial airlines. The visitor center is also located in Nome. In the summer, visitors may access the park by charter flight or boat.
In the winter, access is by plane, snowmobile or dogsled.
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