Alaska has more national parks than any other state in the Union. The diversity of wildlife, scenery, and outdoor adventure possibilities are what make this state such a sought-after vacation option for a variety of people. Even those not into “roughing it” want to see the scenery and wildlife only found in this rugged and untamed land. I’ve gone through our park pages on Adventure-Crew.com to bring you the best highlights of these fabulous parks to give you a glimpse of what’s out there and hopefully wet your whistle for an outdoor vacation you won’t ever forget.
The Alagnak Wild River is a great park for the rugged outdoorsman or woman. The headwaters of the Alagnak Wild River lie within the rugged Aleutian Range of neighboring Katmai National Park & Preserve. Meandering west towards Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea, the Alagnak traverses the beautiful Alaska Peninsula, providing an unparalleled opportunity to experience the unique wilderness, wildlife, and cultural heritage of southwest Alaska.
The Alagnak Wild River's abundant wildlife and Class I-III rapids offer exciting opportunities for sightseers and adventure-seekers alike. Whether cruising, paddling, or floating, however, anglers will enjoy some of the most attractive sport fishing in the world. With significant populations of rainbow trout, arctic char, grayling, and sockeye and king salmon, the Alagnak has become the most popular destination for sport fishing in Southwest Alaska.
As if this weren’t enough to entice you, the area also offers kayaking, camping, hunting, bird watching, and hiking/backpacking in an area that offers a wide variety of vegetation from berry bushes to Fiddlehead Ferns. There are abundant numbers of brown bears that inhabit this river land to feed on the salmon and you will also see caribou and moose.
The Aleutian World War II National Historical Park was created to tell the story of the native Aleut. It’s a great choice for World War II history buffs. The battle over the Aleutian Islands between the US and Japan is worth hearing about. You will see the remains of some army bases, with the gun mounts and lookouts that are among the most intact in the country. You can also experience the Aleut’s culture and their extraordinary basket work that is some of the finest in the world in their culture center in Unalaska, Alaska.
The Aleutian Islands span the seas between the New and Old worlds - reaching westward from the Alaska Peninsula to within 500 miles of the Asian peninsula of Kamchatka. It is difficult and costly to get to, but it is a wildly beautiful place with extremes in weather. June through August, wildflowers cover the lush spongy subarctic tundra. Wild iris, orchids, violets, and alpine azalea are but a few of the island’s species that attract botanists and artists. Although biologists have recently said that most of the marine wildlife has left these islands for unknown reasons, there is still backpacking, bird watching, fishing, hiking, Interpretive Programs, kayaking, and nature walks available. The best time to visit the park is May through October.
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve is a unique wilderness area that contains one of the largest calderas in Alaska along with several rivers of which Aniakchak River, a designated National Wild River is one that originates from inside the caldera. Its remoteness and unpredictable weather makes it difficult and expensive to visit, but those who love extreme outdoor adventure and can afford it, will not want to miss this place.
The Aniakchak Caldera is the result of a series of eruptions, the latest in 1931. Nearly six miles in diameter and covering some ten square miles, it is one of the finest examples of dry caldera in the world. The interior of the caldera contains examples of almost every kind of volcanic feature: lava flows, areas of unusually high ground temperature, cinder cones, a lava plug, warm springs, explosion pits, and layers of volcanic and sedimentary rocks exposed by volcanic action.
Fishing is just one of the enjoyments of this area, both freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing. Other activities available at the monument are bird watching, camping, fly fishing, hiking, hunting, kayaking, mountaineering, whitewater rafting, wilderness area, wildlife viewing, and hiking. Hunting and fishing licenses are required.
The ruggedness of this area offers extreme wilderness adventures. Whitewater rafting starts inside the caldera on Surprise Lake and then shoots out of the caldera through “The Gates”, a narrow gorge in the caldera wall. The river moves swiftly through this narrow gorge in the caldera wall, and large rocks demand precise maneuvering. A gradient of 75 feet per mile makes this section challenging. The hiking/backpacking in this park is also rugged as there are no formal trails within the monument/preserve. There is wildlife galore and one major sea bird colony. You have to be flown into this area and the weather has problems with high winds making it difficult to travel at times. Be sure you have the time to spend out there as you may get stuck out there longer than you anticipated.
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is a vast wilderness area for those who love outdoor adventure. Once connected to Russia, it still retains some of that heritage in the Beringia Days conference that occurs every October where participants from the US and Russia meet to share history and research of this unique land mass. For that adventure vacation, there’s bear hunting, great Alaska fishing, wildlife viewing, including bird watching, hiking and backpacking trips into the wild countryside, wilderness camping, the stimulating Serpentine Hot Springs, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and dog mushing. The park is open year-round encompassing 2.8 million acres. The highest visitation is in June and July; lowest in December, January and February.
The park is one of the most remote national park areas, located on the Seward Peninsula in northwest Alaska. Explore the remains of the gold rush era, evidence of ancient Inuit life, and visit neighboring villages and learn about traditional subsistence living and historic reindeer herding. The scenery offers extensive lava flows, ash/steam explosion craters now turned into lakes called maars, dynamic coast and beach environments of barrier islands and low sand dunes. The Serpentine Hot Springs which lie in a haunting valley marked by imposing granite spires called tors is known throughout the Seward Peninsula as a place of healing and relaxation, as well as beauty. It is the area associated with the training of shamans, the traditional spiritual leaders of the Inupiat.
Mammals include muskox, grizzly bears, moose, reindeer, wolves, wolverines, foxes, and other smaller species. The Seward Peninsula boasts a rich and diverse bird life. More than 170 known species, from every continent in the world, include such seabirds as gulls, murres, and kittiwakes; such migrating and nesting waterfowl as ducks, swans, and geese; such birds of prey as hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls; and many songbirds of tundra and uplands.
Cape Krusenstern National Monument is another place fraught with wilderness adventure. Backpacking trips, Alaska salmon fishing trips, kayaking, archeological sites that are some of the oldest in the world, camping, hiking, dogmushing, and bird watching are just a few of the outdoor adventure vacations awaiting you here. Although not one of the easiest places to get to, this national monument is well worth the effort. The park is open year around.
The Monument is a coastal plain dotted with sizable lagoons and backed by gently rolling limestone hills. It borders the Chukchi Sea and the Kotzebue Sound. There are no developed facilities in the Monument. Summer hikes are possible in the Monument although private land lines much of the coast. Hiking in the hills provides a spectacular view of tundra landforms and the Chukchi Sea. Kayaking is also possible on several large lagoons; however prevailing westerly winds often bring wind chill factors near below freezing, even in summer. Small planes may be chartered from Kotzebue to access the Monument, or to fly over the area for a view of the series of 114 beach ridges caused by the changing shorelines of the Chukchi Sea over thousands of years.
Denali National Park & Preserve is perhaps the most well known of the Alaskan parks. Besides having the highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley, making it a premier mountain climbing area, it offers excellent hiking, backpacking, and wildlife. There is ample wilderness adventure with camping, some fishing in a few clear streams, hunting, photography, and mountain biking. Other options include day hiking, cross-country skiing, dog mushing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, nature walks, local activities, and ranger programs making it the perfect outdoor vacation place. The Tundra Wilderness Tour (six to eight hours roundtrip during peak season) and the Denali Natural History Tour (five hours roundtrip) provide formal interpretive programs and a way to see the park. You’ll find numerous B&B’s along the route to Denali.
20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley hinges the great arc of the Alaska Range. The mountain is called Denali—The High One—by neighboring Athabaskan Indians. From the mountain's high buttresses and perpetual ice fields, glaciers descend radially, sculpting great gorges in the granite and sediments of the massif. Then the landscape falls away through barren rock canyons to lake-dotted tundra benches and, finally, to wide valleys formed by turbid glacial rivers, their braided beds flanked by stands of boreal forest. There are ample options for ice climbing as well as mountain climbing.
The Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve offers the outdoor adventure seeker one of the ultimate wilderness vacation opportunities within our national parks. There is mountaineering, rugged backcountry backpacking and camping trips, wild rivers to be floated whether by kayaking, canoeing or rafting, wildlife galore, dog mushing, cross-country skiing, and hunting and fishing. This is not your typical outdoor family vacation unless you aren’t the typical family!
From recent studies, we know that about 1,000 to 1,500 recreational visitors make their way into the park and preserve annually to float the rivers by kayaking, establish base campsites on remote lakes or backpacking through countless passes connecting drainages. Backcountry visitors stay for an average of 11 days during the long hours of light from June through September. Generally, these small, self-sufficient groups rely on bush planes with highly skilled pilots to drop them off and pick them up. Use increases in the autumn in the two preserve units where general hunting and angling is allowed. Winter recreational trips are a rarity and tend to occur from mid-February to May with the return of the sun.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a wilderness designated region. Therefore there are no campgrounds, roads, established hiking or backpacking trails or other maintained visitor facilities within its boundaries. When Congress established Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in 1980, it protected a vast and undeveloped area of superlative natural beauty and intact ecosystems. Two primary mountain ranges make up the central Brooks Range—the Endicott and Schwatka Mountains. There are six wild rivers in the park offering ample opportunities for outdoor sports, each unique in their own way. Animals to be seen are grizzly bears, black bears, moose, caribou, wolves, wolverines, lynx, beaver, martens, and all kinds of foxes. Fish found include arctic grayling, lake trout, northern pike, arctic char, whitefish, sheefish, salmon, long-nosed sucker, burbot, nine-spined stickleback, and slimy sculpin, chum salmon and others.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a unique outdoor adventure highlighting a wonderland of glaciers, superb Alaska fishing, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting, camping, hiking, backpacking, mountain climbing, bird watching, hunting, wildlife viewing, as well as numerous other boating options. It offers tremendous adventure travel for those seeking the ultimate in wilderness vacations.
The marine wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve provides a living laboratory for observing the ebb and flow of glaciers, and a chance to study life as it returns in the wake of retreating ice. Nearly 1200 miles of shoreline in the park provide an interface between land and sea and a vital link between the land and marine environments. The Fairweather Range makes up the western portion of the park. With several peaks over 10,000 feet and the tallest, Mount Fairweather, at 15,300 feet, this is the highest coastal mountain range in the world. The park also has coastal beaches with protected coves, deep fjords, tidewater glaciers, coastal and estuarine waters, and freshwater lakes.
Marine mammals are a highlight at the bay. Each summer humpback whales return to the bay from their wintering grounds near Hawaii to feed on the abundant small schooling fish such as sand lance and juvenile pollack. Whale numbers typically raise in mid-June, peak in July and August, are somewhat lower in April, May and September and are lowest from October through March. Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are the only large whales which can be regularly observed in large numbers from Alaska shores. Minke and killer whales along with harbor and Dall’s porpoises also feed in the park’s productive near-shore waters. Steller sea lions congregate on rocky islands to mate or to rest. Thousands of harbor seals breed and nurture their pups on the floating ice in Johns Hopkins Inlet and among the rocky reefs of the Beardslee Islands. Sea otters are rapidly colonizing Glacier Bay as well as park waters in Icy Strait and Cross Sound.
Katmai National Park and Preserve is famous for volcanoes, brown bears, fish, and rugged wilderness and is also the site of the Brooks River National Historic Landmark with North America's highest concentration of prehistoric human dwellings (about 900). It is one of my favorite parks in Alaska because of all it offers. Katmai National Monument was created to preserve the famed Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a spectacular forty square mile, 100 to 700 foot deep, pyroclastic ash flow deposited by Novarupta Volcano. There are at least fourteen volcanoes in Katmai considered "active", none of which are currently erupting.
Brown bear and salmon are very active in Katmai. The number of brown bears has grown to more than 2,000. During the peak of the world's largest sockeye salmon run each July, and during return of the "spawned out" salmon in September, forty to sixty bears congregate in Brooks Camp along the Brooks River and the Naknek Lake and Brooks Lake shorelines. Another great place to experience bears and see them in their natural habitat is at Hallo Bay Bear Lodge, where owners Clint and Simyra have been running their camp for 21 years. This is strictly a viewing camp, no hunting is done here. There are many options offered for short or long stays and Simyra has a Polar Bear tour that is for you wildlife photography buffs.
The volcanoes, salmon fishing, brown bear and other wildlife, as well as marine wildlife, backpacking, mountaineering, kayaking, hunting and bird watching ensures something for everyone. Back country camping is exciting, but the weather can be treacherous. Winds can be as high as 50-60 mph with rainstorms in the summer, and late spring and early autumn seem to be the best times for more clear days. Temperatures in the autumn average a high of 56 degrees F.
Sweeping from rocky coastline to glacier-crowned peaks, Kenai Fjords National Park encompasses 607,805 acres of unspoiled wilderness. The park is capped by the Harding Icefield, a relic from past ice-ages and the largest Icefield entirely within U.S. borders. You will see a landscape continuously shaped by glaciers, earthquakes, and storms. Inland areas that aren’t icebound consist mainly of sheer cliffs, steep gorges and box canyons – often covered by dense vegetation. This challenging wilderness will test the mettle of even the most experienced backcountry traveler. It is not a place for beginners, but several licensed outfitters do offer guided backcountry trips.
There’s glaciers, excellent salt and freshwater fishing, ice climbing, wildlife viewing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, boat charters, kayaking, backpacking, hiking and camping opportunities in this wild park. There are operators that offer scenic over flights of the park. Flight seeing is one of the best ways to get a sense of the vastness of the Harding Icefield. Soaring over this expanse of ice broken only by isolated mountain peaks, or nunataks, is like traveling back to the Pleistocene. Over flights also provide dramatic views of the Park’s glaciers, fjords and even wildlife. Snowmobiling is allowed in the park once there is at least 18 inches of snow with a solid base. Ice climbing is for the experienced. April is generally the best time of year for crossing the Icefield. The days are getting longer and warmer but there is still plenty of snow to ski and pull sleds on the approach and descent. Those lucky enough to have good weather can experience an awesome glimpse back into the ice age, when entire continents were dominated by glaciers.
The Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park offers extreme outdoor adventure for those equipped for mountain backpacking. The Chilkoot Trail allows you a chance to experience what the gold seekers went through to try and fulfill their dreams. But don’t worry if you’re not as adventurous as they were because there are plenty of other things to do in this special park! Other activities available at the park include snow skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, wildlife viewing, hunting, kayaking, fishing, dog mushing, bird watching, backpacking, boating, and horseback riding.
The only National Park Service hiking trail in Klondike is the Chilkoot Trail. It runs through US and Canadian lands. There is a transportation service at the end of the trail at Bennett to Skagway, Alaska, or Fraser, B. C. It must be noted that this trail is not for beginners. There are other day hikes and longer hikes started at Skagway, but they are not maintained by the NPS and are on national forest grounds.
Sand dunes in Alaska? You bet, and big ones too! Kobuk Valley National Park is a unique Alaskan park with much to offer in outdoor adventure. Whether it is hiking the unusual sand dunes, fishing the great rivers or the many ways of boating down the Kobuk River, you are sure to have a great family vacation. Taking a trip down the Kobuk River with a folding kayak or canoe, canoe, or an inflatable kayak promises to be an unforgettable wilderness experience. The rapids in the river run from Class II to Class V.
The Park is encircled by the Baird and Waring mountain ranges and is part of the Western Artic National Parklands. The park provides protection for several important geographic features, including the central portion of the Kobuk River, the 25-sqaure-mile Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, and the Little Kobuk and Hunt River dunes. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, reaching up to 150-250 feet, are an easy hike from the Kobuk River.
The Salmon River is classified as a national wild and scenic river where motorboats, kayaks, canoes and rafts are all used for a variety of floating experiences. You are likely to see caribou, muskoxen, wolverines, reindeer, wolves, porcupines, moose, and black and grizzly bears. The Kotzebue basin boasts a wide and diverse collection of over 150 species of birds. Of particular interest is the diversity of the migratory songbirds. Many of the breeding songbirds in Northwest Alaska migrate from wintering habitats in South America and Eastern Asia. Some come as far as Africa.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve offers tremendous outdoor adventure for those seeking a unique family vacation. It is another of my favorite Alaska parks. Although an airplane ride is the usual way to get there, it is still worth the effort. There is wilderness hiking and backpacking, great fishing, white water rafting and kayaking, beautiful scenery, glaciers, and tons of wildlife to see.
A serendipitous feature of the park is that its varied topography offers something for everyone. Contrast seashores with glacial valleys, gentle tundra foothills with colorful, glacier fed, alpine lakes. Adventures here await those who take the first step. Twin Lakes has tree and brush covered valley slopes, plus dry tundra rising to open ridge tops, which offer excellent hiking and views. Twin Lakes is a popular spot in the park for several reasons. It offers relatively easy travel, good fishing, opportunities for wildlife viewing and photography, and superb scenery. The park service has a backcountry patrol cabin on the lower lake that is usually staffed all summer. Fly-in, day use fishing parties compete with raft groups for the start of the Chilikadrotna's waters. A few backpackers or campers are likely to be exploring this area as well. Turquoise Lake is higher in elevation with tundra vegetation and generally less wildlife. It has dramatic scenery with Telaquana Mountain rising sharply from its northeast shore and vivid turquoise blue water. Offering few havens from wind and weather, it is less visited but offers excellent hiking in all directions.
Lake Clark, 40 miles long, and many other lakes and rivers within the park are critical salmon habitat to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, one of the largest sockeye salmon fishing grounds in the world. Numerous lake and river systems in the park and preserve offer excellent fishing and wildlife viewing. Mountaineering skills opens up a whole other world, including glaciers and unclimbed, unnamed peaks. The park also offers bird watching, cross country skiing, dogmushing, nature walks, snow skiing, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing.
Noatak National Preserve could be the ultimate outdoor vacation for those interested in a true wilderness adventure experience. Alaska truly is one of the last frontiers for exploring, especially in the Northwest Alaska Areas. You can chose from float-trip opportunities, whether canoeing, kayaking, or rafting; fishing and hunting expeditions; that hiking or backpacking trip into the wild; cross country skiing or dog mushing in winter; or for the tenacious photographer who just wants some great outdoor pictures, you can find it all in some of the most beautiful scenery and wildlife to be found in northwest Alaska.
The most common method of visiting the preserve is by floating the Noatak River. The larger tributaries of the Noatak-the Cutler, Kelly, Nimiuktuk and Kugururok Rivers-are also suitable for floating. Folding boats and rubber rafts are the most practical for a floating trip, as they can more easily be fit into a small plane for transport to the river. The rafting is rated Class I-II. The trip length is up to 347 miles, so allow any where from 7 days to 3 weeks to float the river. The season runs June through September.
Sitka National Historical Park, Alaska's oldest federally designated park was established in 1910 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka. All that remains of this last major conflict between Europeans and Alaska Natives is the site of the Tlingit Fort and battlefield, located within this scenic 113 acre park in a temperate rain forest.
Southeast Alaska totem poles and a temperate rain forest setting combine to provide spectacular scenery along the park's coastal trail. The trail circles back along Indian River to the visitor center. Another loop trail continues across the Indian River footbridge past the Memorial to the Russian Midshipmen who died in the Battle of Sitka. The park's story continues at the Russian Bishop's House, one of the last surviving examples of Russian colonial architecture in North America. This original 1843 log structure conveys the legacy of Russian America through exhibits, refurbished Bishop's living quarters and lavish icons in the Chapel of the Annunciation.
Much wildlife can be seen here from brown bears and the occasional Sitka black-tail deer and a multiple of birds. The park's intertidal and shoreline areas support a variety of migratory waterfowl and shore birds during spring and fall. Resident birds, including common mergansers, mallards, spotted sandpipers, and great blue herons, use the estuary, river, and tidal flats for foraging and protection. Sea birds such as common murres, scoters, harlequin ducks, scaup, buffleheads, and long-tailed ducks commonly use the park waters, particularly in winter. The endangered humpback whale and the threatened Steller sea lion are commonly sighted in marine waters around Sitka.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve includes the continent's largest assemblage of glaciers and the greatest collection of peaks above 16,000 feet, including the second highest peak in the US- Mount St. Elias. Needless to say, this is the park for those who enjoy solitude and outdoor adventures. You will find fishing, mountaineering, climbing, cross country skiing, snow skiing, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, kayaking, rafting, backpacking, hiking, mountain biking and sports hunting.
Sport hunting is only allowed within the national preserve and must be conducted in accordance with Alaska State Law. There are opportunities to hunt bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat, muskoxen, moose, waterfowl, and caribou. All 5 species of Pacific salmon are found within the Park; king (chinook) salmon, silver (coho) salmon, red (sockeye) salmon, pink (humpy) salmon and chum (dog) salmon. There are also other fish species to catch. Backcountry access by off-road vehicles on established trails is allowed with a permit obtained from the Slana Ranger Station.
Surprisingly, while winter temperatures can dip as low as minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, there is a healthy population of dragonflies that prey on the abundant mosquitoes and flies, while wood frogs bounce among deep lichen beds. Spring comes rapidly and with the breakup of the winter snow and ice, Lynceads (blue butterflies) and Colias (yellow butterflies) crowd the seeps and damp areas. Larger fritillaries (orange and black butterflies) compete with the regal Wideymeyer's admiral--a large circumpolar member of the Papiolonids (swallowtails) that over winter as adults and claim large territories in the early spring.
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve is located along the Canadian border in central Alaska. The preserve protects 115 miles of the 1,800-mile Yukon River and the entire Charley River basin. The Charley, a 100-mile long wild river, is considered by many to be the most spectacular river in Alaska. The Yukon River traverses the preserve from east to west for approximately 145 miles. There are opportunities for backpacking, snow skiing, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, dog mushing, and boating.
Rafting, kayaking and canoeing are popular on the Yukon River. Many people start in Eagle and end in Circle, either arranging to be picked up, or to be flown back to Eagle. Longer trips, from Dawson or Whitehorse to the lower Yukon or even the Bering Sea, are also popular ways of traveling the Yukon through the preserve. The Charley River is suitable for rafting only with a classification from class II to class IV in high water times. Maximum stream flow occurs in late May and early June. The boating season usually begins in June, and there are generally sufficient flows to accommodate small boats through August.
This park has a lot of mining history. Although not as large as the Klondike Gold Rush, the area still has a history of gold and silver mining. You will be able to see and hear about the history when you visit this park.
By Corie Marks, Staff Writer