Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve

How to Get There

From Fairbanks, AK (~250 mi to eastern park boundary): Drive north on AK-2 and AK-11 (Dalton Highway) approximately 175 miles to Coldfoot, where the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center is located, then arrange a bush plane charter into the park as no roads exist within the park itself.

Overview

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a national park that protects portions of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. The park is the northernmost national park in the United States, situated entirely north of the Arctic Circle. The park is the second largest in the US at 8,472,506 acres (13,238 sq mi; 34,287 km2), slightly larger in area than Belgium.

Gates of the Arctic was initially designated as a national monument on December 1, 1978, before being redesignated as a national park and preserve upon passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act in 1980. A large part of the park has additional protection as the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness which covers 7,167,192 acres (2,900,460 ha). The wilderness area adjoins the Noatak Wilderness. They form the largest contiguous wilderness in the United States together.

Activities

There are no roads in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Owing to its remoteness and lack of supportive infrastructure, the park is the least visited national park in the U.S., and one of the least visited areas in the entire U.S. National Park System, which also includes national monuments, recreation areas, preserves, and historic sites

The park headquarters is in Fairbanks. Park Service operations in the park are managed from the Bettles Ranger Station, to the south of the park.

Geography

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve lies to the west of the Dalton Highway, centered on the Brooks Range and covering the north and south slopes of the mountains. The park includes the Endicott Mountains and part of the Schwatka Mountains. The majority of Gates of the Arctic is designated as national park, in which only subsistence hunting by local rural residents is permitted. Sport hunting is only permitted in the national preserve.

The eastern boundary of the park generally follows the Dalton Highway at a distance of a few miles, with the westernmost part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 10 miles (16 km) farther east. Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge is near the park's southeast boundary. Noatak National Preserve adjoins the western boundary, and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska adjoins the northwest corner of the park. Almost all of the park is designated as wilderness, with the exception of areas around Anaktuvuk Pass. A detached portion of the park surrounds the outlying Fortress Mountain and Castle Mountain to the north of the park.

There are no established roads, trails, visitor facilities, or campgrounds in the park. The Dalton Highway (Alaska State Highway 11) comes within five miles (8 km) of the park's eastern boundary, but requires a river crossing to reach the park from the road. The Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in nearby Coldfoot is open from late May to early September, providing information on the parks, preserves and refuges of the Brooks Range, Yukon Valley and the North Slope.

The park features six Wild and Scenic Rivers:

• Alatna River 83 miles (134 km)
• John River 52 miles (84 km)
• Kobuk River 110 miles (177 km)
• North Fork of the Koyukuk River 102 miles (164 km)
• Part of the Noatak River
• Tinayguk River 44 miles (71 km)

Geology

The park includes much of the central and eastern Brooks Range. It extends to the east as far as the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River, which is paralleled by the Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The park straddles the continental divide, separating the drainages of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The northernmost section of the park includes small portions of the Arctic foothills tundra. The Brooks Range occupies the central section of the park, running on an east-west line. To the south of the Brooks Range the Ambler-Chandalar Ridge, with associated valleys and lakes, runs east-west. The southernmost portion of the park includes the Kobuk-Selawik Lowlands, with the headwaters of the Kobuk River.

Ecology

The boreal forest extends to about 68 degrees north latitude, characterized by black and white spruce mixed with poplar. To the north of that line, which coincides with the spine of the Brooks Range, lies cold-arid land that has been described as "Arctic desert." During the long winters temperatures can reach -75 °F (-59 °C), but can reach 90 °F (32 °C) for a short time in summer.

Fauna include brown bears, black bears, muskoxen, moose, Dall sheep, timber wolves, wolverines, coyotes, lynxes, Arctic ground squirrels, lemmings, voles, marmots, porcupines, river otters, red and Arctic fox species, beavers, wood frogs, snowshoe hares, collared pikas, muskrats, Arctic terns, bald eagles, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys, great horned and northern hawk-owls. More than half a million caribou, including the Central Arctic, Western Arctic, Teshekpuk, and Porcupine herds, migrate through the central Brooks Range twice yearly, traveling north in summer, and south in winter. The park is the northernmost range limit for the Dall sheep. About 132 brown bears reside in the park and preserve, based on a density of about one bear per 100 square miles (260 km2).

Getting to the park

Reaching Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is unlike visiting almost any other U.S. national park — there are no roads, trails, or visitor facilities within its boundaries, making it one of the most remote and least-visited parks in the country. Getting there requires careful planning and typically involves a combination of flights and backcountry travel.

• By Air (Bush Plane) — The most common way into the park is via small chartered aircraft, or "bush planes," that fly from gateway communities like Bettles, Coldfoot, or Fairbanks. These air taxis can land on gravel bars, lakes, or open tundra, dropping visitors near their planned route since there are no maintained landing strips inside the park itself.
• Flying to Fairbanks First — Most visitors begin by flying into Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), which serves as the main hub for onward travel north. From Fairbanks, smaller commuter flights connect to Bettles or Coldfoot, the two primary jumping-off points for the park.
• By Road to Coldfoot — Adventurous travelers can drive the Dalton Highway north from Fairbanks to Coldfoot, a rugged, largely unpaved road built originally to service the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. From Coldfoot, hikers can access the eastern edge of the park on foot, though this still requires crossing rough, trail-less terrain.
• On Foot — Because the park has no marked trails, all hiking is cross-country and requires backcountry navigation skills. Visitors typically hike in from a bush plane drop-off point or from the Dalton Highway corridor near the park's eastern boundary.

Given the complete lack of infrastructure, most visitors arrange trips through local air taxi services or licensed guiding companies based in Bettles or Coldfoot, which can handle logistics like flights, permits, and bear-safety planning. Because weather in the Brooks Range can change rapidly, it's wise to build extra time into any itinerary in case flights are delayed.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0