NPS Photo/KATM Stretching over 1,000 miles into the Pacific Ocean, the southwest region offers volcanic islands, mountains, countless lakes, and is a birder's paradise. Off the road system, part of the thrill of the adventure is getting to your destination, whether it be by air or sea. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Afognak Island State ParkCities Nearby: Kodiak
Identified in 1892 as one of the nation's first conservation areas, Afognak Island was originally designated as the Afognak Forest and Fish Culture Reserve because of its outstanding wildlife and salmon habitat value. Today the park is known for its rugged topography, dense old-growth Sitka spruce forests, and salmon spawning habitat. Kodiak brown bear, Sitka black-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, and the endangered marbled murrelet inhabit the park. Visitors can fish, hunt, hike, or just enjoy the pristine, natural environment. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Alagnak Wild and Scenic RiverCities Nearby: King Salmon
The headwaters of Alagnak Wild River lie within the rugged Aleutian Range of neighboring Katmai National Park and 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 the cultural heritage of southwest Alaska. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Alaska Maritime National Wildlife RefugeOther Region(s): Southcentral Region
Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge was established to conserve marine mammals, seabirds and other migratory birds, and the marine resources upon which they rely. The Refuge's 3.4 million acres include the spectacular volcanic islands of the Aleutian chain, the seabird cliffs of the remote Pribilofs, and icebound lands washed by the Chukchi Sea, providing essential habitat for some 40 million seabirds, of more than 30 species. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife RefugeCities Nearby: King Salmon
Sandwiched between Becharof National Wildlife Refuge to the north and Izembek NWR to the south, Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge presents a breathtakingly dramatic landscape made up of active volcanoes, towering mountain peaks, rolling tundra and rugged, wave-battered coastlines. As is the case with most of Alaska's coastal refuges, salmon provide the principal "nutrient engine" for Alaska Peninsula, supporting the species that prey upon them and enriching the rivers and surrounding lands after they spawn and die. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Aleutian WWII National Historic AreaCities Nearby: Unalaska
During World War II the remote Aleutian Islands became a fiercely contested battleground in the Pacific Theater. This thousand-mile-long archipelago saw the mass relocation of Alaska Native civilians, the bombing of U.S. bases, invasion and occupation of two islands by Japanese forces, and one of the deadliest battles in the Pacific. Some sites still remain, standing the test of time in this harsh, exposed environment. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Aniakchak National Monument and PreserveCities Nearby: King Salmon
Given its remote location and challenging weather conditions, Aniakchak is one of the most wild and least visited in places in the National Park System. This landscape is a vibrant reminder of Alaska's location in the volcanically active "Ring of Fire" as it is home to an impressive six mile wide, 2,500 ft deep caldera formed during a massive volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Becharof National Wildlife RefugeCities Nearby: King Salmon
Becharof National Wildlife Refuge embraces the largest lake in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Becharof Lake nurtures one of Bristol Bay’s largest sockeye salmon runs, part of the foundation for the regional economy. The Refuge, protecting 1,157,000 acres, also includes an active volcano, unusual geological features, historically significant landmarks, and a federally designated Wilderness. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Cape Newenham State Game RefugeCities Nearby: Bethel
Each spring and fall, hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese, and shorebirds stop at Chagvan Bay to rest and feed on their way to and from nesting grounds located further north. The bay is especially critical to black brant that stop in the spring to feed on eelgrass. Large numbers of emperor geese, Taverner's Canada geese, and northern pintails also stop over during migration. Sea lions, harbor seals, and walrus frequent the waters of Chagvan Bay, as well as gray and beluga whales. Brown bears scavenge the beaches and, occasionally, caribou seek wind-cleared grazing along the breezy coast in winter. Smaller mammals, including river otters, mink, red fox, and wolverine can often be spotted hunting along the coast. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Cinder River Critical Habitat AreaCities Nearby: King Salmon
The Cinder River Critical Habitat Area is an important area for cackling Canada geese, tundra swans, marbled godwits, and other abundant species such as rock sandpipers, dunlin, bartailed godwits, and western sandpipers. No public access to the areas has been developed, and public use facilities do not exist in these critical habitat areas. Access is by small plane or boat. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Egegik Critical Habitat AreaCities Nearby: King Salmon
The Egegik Critical Habitat Area is one of five critical habitats in the Bristol Bay area. These critical habitat areas protect habitat for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, as well as sea and land mammal habitat. No public access to the areas has been developed, and public use facilities do not exist in these critical habitat areas. Access is by small plane or boat. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Fort Abercrombie State Historic ParkCities Nearby: Kodiak
Few other units of the Alaska State Park System, that are comparable in size, possess the cultural and natural resources found in Fort Abercrombie. The historic ruins of a World War II coastal defense installation coupled with the steep surf-pounded cliffs, deep spruce forests, wildflower-laden meadows, and a lake containing trout, offer visitors a unique opportunity to learn of the events of World War II while enjoying the natural beauty of the park. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Izembek National Wildlife RefugeCities Nearby: Cold Bay
The Izembek National Wildlife Refuge is the smallest and one of the most ecologically unique of Alaska's refuges. This diverse wilderness protects a wide variety of fish and wildlife species and their habitats. These include five species of salmon; furbearers such as wolf, fox and wolverine; large mammals such as caribou, moose and brown bears; shorebirds; seabirds; and an incredible array of waterfowl, to name just a few. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Izembek State Game RefugeCities Nearby: Cold Bay
Izembek State Game Refuge serves as a major migratory staging area for most of the world's population of black brant, emperor geese and Steller's eiders, and plays host to thousands of northern pintails, mallards, long-tailed ducks, and multiple species of scoters. The area has received worldwide recognition as a "Wetland of International Importance." After the geese and dabbling ducks depart for southern wintering grounds, Steller's, king, and common eiders, black and white-winged scoters, and red-breasted mergansers remain to winter in the ice-free waters of the lagoon. Shorebirds are most numerous in the fall when they probe vast intertidal expanses of mud and sand for food at low tide. Rock sandpipers are among the most common and can be seen year-round. Bald eagles are also regularly viewed along the shore. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Katmai National Park and PreserveCities Nearby: King Salmon
Katmai National Monument was established in 1918 to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding Mount Katmai and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve remains an active volcanic landscape, but it also protects important habitat for salmon, thousands of brown bears, and 9,000 years of human history. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Kodiak National Wildlife RefugeCities Nearby: Kodiak
Kodiak: the “Island of the Great Bear.” In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in order to protect the genetically distinct Kodiak bears and their habitat. Today, the refuge has a global conservation role - to instill regard for bears, salmon, and other wildlife; to protect interdependent species of fish, wildlife and plants within the largest intact, pristine island ecosystem in North America; and to ensure compatible management of wildlife, subsistence, recreation, and economic uses of refuge resources. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and RefugeCities Nearby: King Salmon
The Alaska State Legislature designated the McNeil River area as a wildlife sanctuary in 1967 (and enlarged it in 1993) to protect the world's largest concentration of wild brown bears. As many as 144 individual bears have been observed at McNeil River through the summer with as many as 74 bears observed at one time! The sanctuary protects about 200 square miles of wildlife habitat and is located approximately 250 air miles (400 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage and 100 air miles (160 kilometers) west of Homer. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Pilot Point Critical Habitat AreaCities Nearby: Chignik & King Salmon
In the fall, Pilot Point Critical Habitat Area is a particularly important feeding and staging area for the world's population of cackling Canada geese. No public access to the areas has been developed, and public use facilities do not exist in these critical habitat areas. Access is by small plane or boat. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Port Heiden Critical Habitat AreaCities Nearby: Chignik
Port Heiden Critical Habitat Area supports an abundant population of seabirds, sea otters, and other land mammals. No public access to the areas has been developed, and public use facilities do not exist in these critical habitat areas. Access is by small plane or boat. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Port Moller Critical Habitat AreaCities Nearby: Sand Point
Port Moller Critical Habitat Area protects critical habitat for pacific herring, five species of Pacific salmon, Arctic and Aleutian terns, glaucous-winged gulls, common eider, as well as mammals like sea otters and brown bears. No public access to the areas has been developed, and public use facilities do not exist in these critical habitat areas. Access is by small plane or boat. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Shuyak Island State ParkCities Nearby: Kodiak
Shuyak Island State Park comprises most of Shuyak Island's 47,000 acres. The park encompasses part of a coastal forest system, unique to the Kodiak Archipelago, which contains only one tree species: Sitka spruce. Besides a virgin Sitka spruce forest, the park includes miles of rugged coastline, beaches and protected waterways. Visitors should be as self sufficient as possible; assistance could be hours or days away. The Shuyak experience is one of the wilderness: those who have planned their trip carefully find the greatest rewards. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Togiak National Wildlife RefugeCities Nearby: Dillingham
Dominated by the Ahklun Mountains in the north and the cold waters of Bristol Bay to the south, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge confronts the traveler with a kaleidoscope of landscapes. The natural forces that have shaped this land range from the violent and powerful, to the quiet and geologically patient. Earthquakes and volcanoes filled the former role, but it was the gradual advance and retreat of glacial ice that carved many of the physical features of this refuge. These carved and crumpled lands support a wealth of biological diversity. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Tugidak Island Critical Habitat AreaCities Nearby: Kodiak
Wild, remote, and remarkably productive, Tugidak Island, located south of Kodiak Island in the Trinity Island Group, features a large shallow lagoon and barrier spit complex, low lying tundra relief, and abundant fish and wildlife. Tugidak Island is perhaps most renowned as historically one of the largest harbor seal pupping and haul out areas in the world with an estimated peak population of 20,500 seals and estimated peak annual pup production of 4,500. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Walrus Islands State Game SanctuaryCities Nearby: Dillingham
The Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary (WISGS), protects a group of seven small craggy islands and their adjacent waters in northern Bristol Bay, approximately 65 miles southwest of Dillingham. The WISGS includes Round Island, Summit Island, Crooked Island, High Island, Black Rock and The Twins. The WISGS was established in 1960 to protect one of the largest terrestrial haulout sites in North America for Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). The sanctuary also protects important habitats for several species of seabirds, Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and other marine and terrestrial birds and mammals. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Wood-Tikchik and Lake Aleknagik State ParkCities Nearby: Dillingham
At nearly 1.6 million acres, Wood-Tikchik and Lake Aleknagik State Park is the largest and most remote state park in the nation. This one park encompasses nearly half of the state park land in Alaska and 15 percent of all state park land in the United States. The primary purposes of creating Wood-Tikchik and Lake Aleknagik State Park are to protect the area's fish and wildlife habitat and to preserve the continued use of the area for subsistence and recreational activities. The land and water in this region are traditional grounds for subsistence fishing, hunting, and gathering. These activities are an integral part of the culture in this region and provide not only food, but a cultural tie to the land and between generations. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH WWII Valor in the Pacific National MonumentCities Nearby: Honolulu, HI
At World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, home of the USS Arizona Memorial, learn about one of the most pivotal moments in US history: the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent entry of the United States into World War II. The monument preserves and interprets the stories of the Pacific War, from the internment of Japanese Americans to the battles in the Aleutians. 
NPS Graphic/ANCH Yukon Delta National Wildlife RefugeCities Nearby: Bethel
Most of Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is a vast, flat wetland/tundra complex interspersed by countless ponds, lakes, and meandering rivers, where there is more water than land. Refuge vegetation is primarily subarctic tundra, underlain by permafrost, and includes a variety of scrub, peatland, heath meadow, marsh, and bog habitats. Tall scrub and forest habitats are found in the eastern interior areas, while alpine tundra occurs in the mountainous areas at higher elevations. These habitats are home to a wide diversity of wildlife and remain essentially untouched by man. |
Last updated: December 26, 2023