Alaska’s public lands are rich in untamed beauty and majestic wilderness. Fortunately, several national parks let visitors experience this rugged, natural paradise. Read our Alaska’s National Park Travel Guide for an introduction to some of the most treasured places in Alaska.
A Travel Guide for Alaska National Parks
With 663,000 square miles of land within its boundaries, Alaska is a vast and wild place, with eight national parks open to visitors. Some are accessible via the road system, but a few are so remote you’ll need a boat or plane to reach them.
This guide focuses on those national parks on or near the main road systems of Alaska, where accessibility and activities meet to enable visitors to take advantage of a wealth of outdoor-themed activities.
Denali National Park & Preserve
Denali
Six million acres of wilderness. Roaming moose, wolves, bears, Dall sheep, and caribou. Magnificent mountains abound, with North America’s tallest peak, Denali, a prime park feature. Denali is one of the most popular national parks in Alaska, offering year-round adventure but plenty of space for solitude. The 90-mile Denali Park Road is only open to private vehicles for its first initial 17 miles, but visitors may take advantage of one of the many free shuttle buses to explore the park facilities, or find a tour service for a more in-depth experience. ProTip: Plan to spend three nights in Denali National Park to take advantage of myriad activities, like a half-day guided hike in the park’s front country, where visitors receive a tour of the greater entrance area and surrounding trails, then still have another full day to go back to explore other areas of the park at their leisure. Also available near the park entrance are rafting tours on the Nenana River, an ATV trip through the backcountry near the community of Healy, or a flightseeing excursion deep within the park.
Kenai Fjords National Park
Seward
With nearly 40 glaciers flowing from the vast Harding Icefield above, Kenai Fjords National Park, located near the Kenai Peninsula town of Seward, is a uniquely-accessible national park. The Exit Glacier site, located to the northwest ,is the only section of Kenai Fjords National Park on the road system, and from the well-appointed visitor center it’s easy to hike trails with excellent viewpoints, either independently or with a guide. For those looking to test their mettle on a more rugged trail, the Harding Icefield Trail is an eight-mile climb into stunning alpine scenery, with the enormous icefield as the goal.
Many people choose to explore the fjords’ towering tidewater glaciers by boat, either aboard a day tour vessel or paddling a kayak. ProTip: Salmon Berry Tours offers a Glaciers, Parks & Wildlife package tour that highlights this National Park during the summer months.
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Gustavus
A highlight of Alaska’s panhandle, or Inside Passage, Glacier Bay National Park is made up of three million acres of temperate rainforest, sheltered fjords, and towering mountains. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is protected as an international natural treasure, and as a result, is visited by millions each year. From the park headquarters near the remote town of Gustavus, guests can paddle a kayak in the icy glacial waters, watch for wildlife along the coastline, or simply relax on board a tour vessel and take in this wild and wondrous place. ProTip: Make plans to take a ranger-let hike along the rocky beach and secluded forest trails, or a day tour deeper within the park to view tidewater glaciers and roaring waterfalls.
Wrangell – St Elias National Park & Preserve
Copper Center
The largest of all United States national parks, Wrangell-St. Elias is the perfect place for adventure-seeking visitors. At 13.2 million acres, the park is full of rich history and wild landscapes, from backpacking to river rafting and learning about the area’s past as a mining hub. Most visitors approach the park via a short flight from the town of Chitina, but others make the 65-mile drive along the bumpy Edgerton Highway to the tiny hamlet of McCarthy and access to the old Kennecott National Historic Landmark townsite, a copper mine boomtown between 1901 and 1938.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Port Alsworth
Located a mere 100 miles southwest of Anchorage but off the road system, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is best known for its access to one of the most prolific sockeye salmon runs in the world. Part of the Alaska Peninsula in the state’s southwest region, Lake Clark National Park is best-reached by fixed wing aircraft to the small community of Port Alsworth, home to the park’s headquarters and visitor center. Visitors are able to access the park year-round, but the majority arrive in the summer to fish and watch coastal brown bears feed along the sandy shorelines. It is critical that park guests are prepared for such a remote location and have a set plan for fishing or recreating in this wild, scenic section of Alaska.
Katmai National Park
King Salmon
Made famous for its influx of hungry brown bears feeding on salmon each summer, Katmai National Park is actually far more than its wildlife. This subarctic region is also home to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a geologic hotspot known for barren terrain after the Novarupta volcanic event in 1912 that dropped ash as far away as Kodiak Island. There are only a few places to stay in Katmai National Park proper, and these remote lodges fill up fast, so visitors should reserve early.
Although the park’s headquarters are located in the small town of King Salmon, Katmai visitors may also access the park from the communities of Homer and Kodiak. And, on Kodiak Island, Salmon Berry Tours partners at the Kodiak Brown Bear Center can make sure guests have the opportunity to search for these massive coastal brown bears as they prowl the shorelines for salmon.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Fairbanks, Bettles, Coldfoot, and Anaktuvuk Pass
While the park itself has only been a designated public land since 1980, the land has been occupied by the Koyukon, Inupiat and Nunamiut People for centuries. At 8.4 million acres, Gates of the Arctic is one of the most remote areas in Alaska, but worth the effort and time to visit if one has a vivid sense of adventure and the ability to manage rugged conditions and often-wild weather.
Salmon Berry Tours partners with a trusted flight company that operates day tours from Fairbanks to Coldfoot and Gates of the Arctic National Park, offering visitors the chance to cross into the Arctic Circle.
Kobuk Valley National Park
Kotzebue
Situated among some of the most unique landscapes in Alaska, Kobuk Valley is a 1.75-million acre boreal forest with a swath of windswept sandy terrain known as the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, the largest active, high-latitude dune field on Earth.
Difficult to reach but stunning to view, visitors can reach Kobuk Valley and the sand dunes via private air charter from the community of Coldfoot for a day tour. Salmon Berry Tours can assist travelers in arranging flights to and from Coldfoot via a partner operator.
Tour Alaska’s Treasures with Salmon Berry Travel & Tours
A travel guide for Alaska’s National Parks can only offer you a mere glimpse into the unique gem that is Alaska. To truly get the most out of your visit to Alaska, Salmon Berry Travel & Tours can help you choose tours and trips led by knowledgeable and experienced local guides. We will help you plan a tour that aligns with your interests, whether that means a guided glacier hike, a panoramic flightseeing tour over some of Alaska’s most glorious land, or helping you safely view our diverse wildlife up close. Contact us today to begin planning an exciting, memorable Alaskan adventure of a lifetime.
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