If you are looking for a wild – truly wild – national park landscape, where the are no roads, trails, signs, or permanent visitor facilities and you won’t see another person for days or even weeks, then Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska may be the park for you. Situated in the central Brooks Range, the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains, is a rugged landscape of mountains 4,000 – 7,000 feet (1,219 – 2,134 meters) in elevation, with glaciated valleys and wild, winding rivers in between. Here roam a portion of the Western Arctic caribou herd as well as moose, Dall sheep, wolverines, wolves, and grizzly and black bears. With adjacent Kobuk Valley National Park and Noatak National Preserve, these lands form one of the largest protected parkland areas in the world, with Gates of the Arctic National Park the nation’s second-largest National Park Service wilderness area.

Summers are short here, with long days, and winter temperatures can reach down to -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-45.6 degrees Celsius). Sparse black spruce forests (called taiga), boreal forest, and arctic tundra carpet this 200-mile-long (321.9-kilometer-long), 130-mile-wide (209.2-kilometer-wide) national park and preserve. Alternately rushing and meandering through Gates of the Arctic are six designated wild and scenic rivers:

• Alatna River − drains the central Brooks Range.
• John River − flows south from Anaktuvuk Pass through Alaska’s Brooks Range to the Koyukuk River just below Bettles/Evansville.
• Kobuk River − flows from its headwaters in the Endicott Mountains and Walker Lake, through a broad valley on the southernmost reaches of the Brooks Range, passing through one of the largest continuous forested areas in the park.
• Noatak River − drains the largest mountain-ringed river basin in the United States, which is still virtually unaffected by human activities (the entire Noatak River drainage of the headwaters, which are in Gates of the Arctic, is internationally recognized as a biosphere reserve in the United Nation’s “Man in the Biosphere” program).
• North Fork of the Koyukuk River – flows from the south flank on the Arctic Divide through broad, glacially carved valleys in the rugged Endicott Mountains of the central Brooks Range.
• Tinayguk River − is the largest tributary of the North Fork of the Koyukuk.

Two national natural landmarks - the Arrigetch Peaks and Walker Lake - so designated for their outstanding condition, illustrative value, rarity, diversity, or value to science and education, are encompassed within this park and preserve’s 8,472,505 total acres.

According to park staff:

Beginning in 1929, the forester and wilderness advocate Robert Marshall began trekking in the central Brooks Range and named Frigid Crags and Boreal Mountain flanking the north fork of the Koyukuk River. Marshall dubbed these twin peaks “the Gates of the Arctic.” Marshall’s experiences in northern Alaska shaped his wilderness philosophy, and his writings inspired generations of wilderness activists. His ideas were later codified in the 1964 Wilderness Act, and his descriptions of the Brooks Range inspired studies that resulted in establishment of the area as Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

One would think this remote, wild landscape has always remained untouched by humans, but that is not the case. People have lived here for at least 12,000 – 13,000 years and the park is blanketed with numerous archeological and historic sites. Descendents of the Iñupiat and Athabascans practice a subsistence lifestyle, harvesting fish, wildlife, and vegetation in the park. One Nunamiut (Iñupiat) village, Anaktuvuk Pass, lies within the park.

According to park staff:

People of European descent first began to visit the Central Brooks Range in the 1880s. Military explorers assigned to map this previously uncharted territory struggled up rivers and over mountain passes. Prospectors followed, searching for signs of placer gold and struggling through long winters in rough mining camps. Government scientists came to examine and record the intricacies of the natural and cultural history of this previously undocumented place. More recently the introduction of recreational adventurers seeking untamed places has added a new page to the history of the region.

The park and preserve are open year-round; however visitor access can be limited due to harsh winter weather, and some visitor centers and ranger stations are seasonally operated. If you’d like to visit this wilderness wonderland yourself, you can’t get there from here – at least, not by car. There are no roads or established trails into this park and preserve, so you’ll be flying or hiking off trail to get there, then camping. You can hire an outfitter for a guided backpacking or rafting trip, or rely on your own wilderness knowledge, skills, and equipment brought with you.

While backpacking and camping in the backcountry are primary reasons to visit this national park and preserve, What else can you do in this national park and preserve? If you are a hunter, you may sport hunt and trap within the national preserve portion of this park.

Climbers will find plenty of opportunities for scaling the lofty heights, with the most popular climbing areas in the park and preserve located in the Arrigetch Peaks, Mount Doonerak, and Mount Igikpak areas. 

The cold, clear waters of the Northern Slope and mountain lakes that support fish populations are prime locations for testing your angling skills. The park does encourage catch-and-release fishing or keeping only what you can immediately consume.

Pack your binoculars or camera and telephoto lens to view and photograph the wildlife, including the 145 species of birds observed in the park and preserve over the past 30 years.

If you are looking for someplace to overnight while visiting Gates of the Arctic, you might want to bring your tent. Brick-and-mortar lodging options are few, mainly in the form of wilderness lodges or in communities outside park boundaries, such as Bettles, Coldfoot, and Wiseman.

Logistics and planning will take a little more effort when choosing to visit Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, but the rewards of experiencing this remote landscape for yourself more than make up for the extra preparations required to visit.

Traveler’s Choice For: Backpacking, photography, wildlife, rivers