Alaska Official State Vacation Planner • 2024 • Arctic

In winter, witness twinkling northern lights and lavender daytime twilight. In summer, watch herds of migrating caribou and celebrate vibrant Alaska Native culture.

Remote and vast, covered in tundra and lined by the sea, the Arctic is the place to view unique wildlife and marvel at the northern lights. The landscape offers habitat for migratory caribou, birds, Arctic foxes, polar bears, wolves, and musk ox. Watch hardy mushers compete in dog sled races or experience gold rush history. Though few roads traverse the Arctic region, rugged backcountry adventures abound that will leave you awestruck for years to come.

The Iñupiat inhabit the Arctic and were the first people to make contact with European explorers. Many still live a subsistence lifestyle–hunting sea and land mammals, fishing for salmon, and foraging berries. The St. Lawrence Island Yupik people share many subsistence patterns with the Iñupiaq people and live on St. Lawrence Island, west of Nome in the Bering Sea. Athabascan people live along rivers in the Artic region, including the Yukon and Koyukuk Rivers.

The Arctic region stretches along the north and northwest coasts of the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea and shares a border with Canada to the east. Inland, the area is covered in tundra to the north and boreal forest to the south, with the rugged Brooks Range cutting through the center.

Air is the simplest way to travel in this mostly roadless region; jets fly to the main towns and small bush planes fly everywhere else. The partially paved Dalton Highway starts north of Fairbanks and ends at Deadhorse near Prudhoe Bay. A small number of multi-day cruise itineraries also include Nome as a port of call.

Small towns and villages dot the Arctic, most of them established by Iñupiat, Yupik, and Athabascan peoples who have lived here for millennia. Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Nome, and Kotzebue are the main ones, where you can witness northern lights, dog mushing, and rich local culture.

In summer, the sun circles high above and never sets. Temperatures along the coast remain cool, with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s, with higher temperatures in the interior. In winter, night time reigns, and temperatures plunge below zero for several months. Towns above the Arctic Circle, such as Utqiaġvik, experience a phenomenon known as polar night: a period where the sun doesn’t rise for up to two months. Other Arctic communities further south see just a few hours of daylight on the shortest days of the year.

ARCTIC HIGHLIGHTS

A former Gold Rush town, Nome is now the place to catch the finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, visit the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve Visitor Center, or experience Alaska Native culture at the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum.

The nation’s northernmost city, Utqiaġvik, experiences 82 days of endless sunlight during summer and over two months of darkness in winter. It sits on the Arctic Ocean, whose bounty has nourished the Iñupiat for millennia. Several historical sites, as well as the Iñupiat Heritage Center, celebrate this rich culture.

The expansive Brooks Range stretches 700 miles across the Arctic region. There are no trails or roads–except for a brief touch by the Dalton Highway– but a wilderness raft and trek is the trip of a lifetime. Tour operators offer multi-day guided excursions to this remote mountain range.

Straddling the Arctic Divide and the nation’s second-largest national park, Gates of the Arctic National Park is vast, trailless, and roadless. The folks at the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Coldfoot can provide information about the area along with Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the east.

80% of Kotzebue’s residents are Iñupiaq, and this town in the Northwest Arctic is an important hub for area villages. Visit the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center, which provides information on several nearby parks and refuges. Kotzebue is also a jumping-off point for epic river rafting.

Alaska Official State Vacation Planner - 2024

Arctic

ALASKA’S FIVE REGIONS

ARCTIC HIGHLIGHTS

Issue List