Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Overview Kobuk Valley National Park is the most remote and least visited national park in the US National Park System. Official numbers claim that the park gets about 10,000 visitors per year, but this estimate includes native people who enter the park. The number of actual visitors to the park is probably less than 200 …

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Denali National Park, Alaska

Denali National Park, Alaska

Overview Denali National Park is Alaska’s most popular and well-known national park. The showpiece of the park is the eponymous Mount Denali, the highest mountain in North America. Originally called Mount McKinley National Park, it is a popular trip addition to people going on cruises in SE Alaska. It is a great place to view …

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Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska

Overview Gates of the Arctic National Park is one of 2 national parks located above the Arctic Circle, and one of 8 national parks in Alaska. Like Kobuk Valley National Park, there are no roads leading to the park. The only way in or out is on foot, via a river, or by bush plane. …

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The Denali Road Lottery – Denali National Park

Denali National Park is hard to explain in words. It is huge, gorgeous, natural, thrilling, amazing…. I hear the words “once in a lifetime” connected to Denali pretty often. But after being there, I really hope that isn’t true. It is a place I want to visit over and over. I think that’s how a …

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Falling in Love with Kodiak, Alaska

For months I had been planning my summer trip to Kodiak, Alaska and I was excited.  I told everyone I ran into that I was headed there, and without exception, they questioned me on my choice of destinations.  I was somewhat at a loss – there was no particular reason I could point to.  Somewhere …

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Independence Mine State Historical Site and Hatcher’s Pass, Alaska

In the Mat-Su valley of Alaska near Palmer and Wasilla is a beautiful mountain pass named after miner Robert Hatcher. Hatcher’s Pass is a great skiing destination for locals during the winter, but in the summer people come for the hiking and the history. For like I said, Hatcher’s Pass was named after a miner …

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Travel to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Glacier Bay National Park is a beautiful U.S. National Park located near Juneau, Alaska. With about 547,000 visitors per year (as of 2017), it’s the second most visited national park in Alaska, slightly behind Denali. The vast majority of visitors to the park arrive on cruise ships, which sail up the Inside Passage of the …

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Byron Glacier, Alaska – A Family Friendly Hike Between Anchorage and Seward

I’ve now made three trips to Alaska – two with the kids and one alone.  I’ve seen several glaciers from afar.  They are beautiful, blue and mysterious. Until the most recent trip, I had never been very close to a glacier.  I’d never touched a glacier and had not even seen from closer than about …

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