Alaska


Parks

  • Wild River

    Alagnak

    King Salmon, AK

    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 cultural heritage of southwest Alaska.

    Rafters on the Alganak Wild River

  • Alaska Public Lands

    Anchorage, AK

    Alaska’s parks, forests, and refuges are rich and varied. The Alaska Public Lands Information Centers help visitors and residents to have meaningful, safe, enjoyable experiences on public lands, and encourages them to sustain the natural and cultural resources of Alaska. These centers provide trip-planning, interpretation, and education for all ages.

    Photo of touchable historic three-dimensional map at the Alaska public lands information Center

  • National Historic Area

    Aleutian Islands World War II

    Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, AK

    The remote Aleutian Islands, home to the Unangax^ (Aleut) people for over 8,000 years, became a fiercely contested Pacific battleground in World War II. Some Unangax^ were taken from their homelands as Japanese prisoners of war while the others were evacuated from the islands by the government. Both groups suffered greatly during the war, and some would never return to their villages.

    Image of four aviators at leisure, playing cribbage

  • National Monument & Preserve

    Aniakchak

    King Salmon, AK

    Given its remote location and challenging weather conditions, Aniakchak is one of the most wild and least visited 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 (10 km) wide, 2,500 ft (762 m) deep caldera formed during a massive volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago.

    Aerial view of Aniakchak Caldera taken from northern rim

  • National Preserve

    Bering Land Bridge

    Nome, AK

    Bering Land Bridge National Preserve lies at the continental crossroad that greatly influenced the distribution of life in the Western Hemisphere during the Pleistocene Epoch. It is a vital landscape for Indigenous communities who depend on the land just as their ancestors did for many generations. It is a wild and ecologically healthy landscape unlike any other.

    Breathtaking autumn colors in Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

  • National Monument

    Cape Krusenstern

    Kotzebue, AK

    A bridge to the past and a land for the future, Cape Krusenstern National Monument protects approximately 560,000 acres of diverse Arctic coastal, and upland ecosystems. Inhabited by the Iñupiaq people since time-immemorial, over 5,000 years of sequential human use is documented in the 114 successive beach ridges. Rich connections to the land and waters are preserved through subsistence practices.

    Chunks of melting sea ice along a shoreline and subsistence camps on the beach in the background.

  • National Park & Preserve

    Denali

    Denali Park, AK

    Denali is six million acres of wild land, bisected by one ribbon of road. Travelers along it see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America's tallest peak, 20,310' Denali. Wild animals large and small roam un-fenced lands, living as they have for ages. Solitude, tranquility and wilderness await.

    pond surrounded by green brush, reflecting a distant range of snow-covered mountains that are dominated by one massive mountain

  • National Park & Preserve

    Gates Of The Arctic

    Bettles, AK

    This vast landscape does not contain any roads or trails. Visitors discover intact ecosystems where people have lived with the land for over ten thousand years. Wild rivers meander through glacier-carved valleys, caribou migrate along age-old trails, endless summer light fades into aurora-lit night skies of winter. Virtually unchanged, except by the forces of nature.

    Image of mountains and river

  • National Park & Preserve

    Glacier Bay

    Gustavus, AK

    Covering 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage and part of a 25-million acre World Heritage Site—one of the world’s largest international protected areas. From sea to summit, Glacier Bay offers limitless opportunities for adventure and inspiration.

    Winter light on the Fairweather Range

  • Iñupiat Heritage Center

    Barrow , AK

    On the rooftop of the world, the Iñupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska, tells the story of the Iñupiat people. They have thrived for thousands of years in one of the most extreme climates on Earth, hunting the bowhead, or "Agviq." In the 19th century, the quiet northern seas swarmed with commercial whalemen from New England, who also sought the bowhead for its valuable baleen and blubber.

    Three Iñupiat men paddling a whaling boat

  • National Park & Preserve

    Katmai

    King Salmon, AK

    A landscape is alive underneath our feet, filled with creatures that remind us what it is to be wild. Katmai was established in 1918 to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding Novarupta and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve also protects 9,000 years of human history and important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears.

    Large male brown bear at Brooks Falls

  • National Park

    Kenai Fjords

    Seward, AK

    At the edge of the Kenai Peninsula lies a land where the ice age lingers. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield, Kenai Fjords' crowning feature. Wildlife thrives in icy waters and lush forests along the fjords once carved by the vast expanse of ice. Today, shrinking glaciers bear witness to the effects of our changing climate.

    Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park

  • National Historical Park

    Klondike Gold Rush

    Skagway, AK

    Headlines screamed "Gold!" The dream of a better life catapulted thousands of people to Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Their journey shaped them, and changed the people they encountered and the north forever. Today, the park remembers the trails, boomtowns, and stories of the Klondike Gold Rush.

    historic photo of men with gear at the Alaska-British Columbia border in the snow

  • National Park

    Kobuk Valley

    Kotzebue, AK

    Caribou, sand dunes, the Kobuk River, Onion Portage - just some of the facets of Kobuk Valley National Park. Thousands of caribou migrate through, their tracks crisscrossing sculpted dunes. The Kobuk River is an ancient and current corridor for people and wildlife. For 9000 years, people came to Onion Portage to harvest caribou as they swam the river. Even today, that rich tradition continues.

    Image of sand dunes

  • National Park & Preserve

    Lake Clark

    Port Alsworth, AK

    Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a land of stunning beauty. Volcanoes steam, salmon run, bears forage, and craggy mountains reflect in shimmering turquoise lakes. Here, too, local people and culture still depend on the land and water. Venture into the park to become part of the wilderness.

    Fall colors dot a landscape with towering mountain peaks and turquoise lakes in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

  • National Preserve

    Noatak

    Kotzebue, AK

    As one of North America's largest mountain-ringed river basins with an intact ecosystem, the Noatak River environs feature some of the Arctic's finest arrays of plants and animals. The river is classified as a National Wild and Scenic River. It offers stunning wilderness float-trip opportunities - from deep in the Brooks Range to the tidewater of the Chukchi Sea.

    Ice crystals form on ground vegetation

  • National Historical Park

    Sitka

    Sitka, AK

    On an island amid towering spruce and hemlock, Sitka National Historical Park preserves the site of a battle between invading Russian traders and indigenous Kiks.ádi Tlingit. Totem poles from Tlingit and Haida areas line the park’s scenic coastal trail, and the restored Russian Bishop’s House is a rare reminder of Russia’s colonial legacy in North America.

    Two totem poles overlook spruce and hemlock forest, tidal flats and ocean.

  • National Park & Preserve

    Wrangell - St Elias

    Copper Center, AK

    Wrangell-St. Elias is a vast national park that rises from the ocean all the way up to 18,008 ft. At 13.2 million acres, the park is the same size as Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined! Within this wild landscape, people continue to live off the land as they have done for centuries. This rugged, beautiful land is filled with opportunities for adventure.

    Winter in the Wrangells

  • National Preserve

    Yukon - Charley Rivers

    Eagle, AK

    Located in Interior Alaska, Yukon-Charley Rivers offers exploration in a largely untouched landscape. Whether you float the mighty Yukon River or paddle the Charley River's whitewater, your memories will last a lifetime. Geology, cultural history, gold rush remnants, wildlife, and vast scenery will be a part of your experience. But, the strongest element will be solitude. Your adventure awaits.

    The Slaven's beach on the Yukon River

By The Numbers

These numbers are just a sample of the National Park Service's work. Figures are for the fiscal year that ended 9/30/2020.