Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley are the two least visited national parks out of the 63 US national parks. It’s easy to understand why they receive so few visitors. They’re both located in a remote region of Northern Alaska, and have no accessible roads.
These parks are incredibly special places. Gates of the Arctic is located above the Arctic Circle, and protects over 8 million acres of winding rivers, mountain peaks, and glacier carved valleys. Kobuk Valley is also about the Arctic Circle and protects over 1 million acres. It’s best known for its unexpected sand dunes. Both parks are important habitats for Western Arctic caribou, along with moose, wolverines, wolves, bears, and more wildlife.
Since these parks do not have roads (or trails, or services, or campsites, or infrastructure of any kind), most visitors arrive via a small plane. If you have a lot of experience in remote backcountry wilderness, and are proficient in your outdoor survival skills, you can look into hiring an air taxi service and planning your adventure yourself. But for the vast majority of us, you’ll want to visit some kind of guide.
Due to the remote nature of this area, and the need to travel by small plane, it’s very expensive to visit these parks. Most visitors see both parks in the same flightseeing trip. It usually lasts about a half day, and includes a short stop in each park. I would have loved to spend longer in both parks, but that isn’t super common unless you book a multi-day journey that costs many thousands of dollars.
In this guide, I’ll share about my experience visiting Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley. I’ll also list some other operators that you can inquire with for your trip. This is based on my experience visiting these parks in late August, 2025.
A Little About Gates of the Arctic National Park
Gates of the Arctic protects a huge area of wilderness. It is the second largest national park wilderness area, and is known for being a place where visitors can experience solitude, and must rely only on their wilderness skills to survive. There are no roads inside the park, but Alaska Native people have lived on this land for 1,000’s of years.
Gates of the Arctic was designated as a national park and preserve in 1980. It is home to six wild and scenic rivers, and two lakes that are designated national natural landmarks. The park continues to be managed in a way that preserves the wild and undeveloped character of the region.
A Little About Kobuk Valley National Park
Kobuk Valley is characterized by its meandering rivers, large swaths of sand dunes, migrating caribou, and subarctic wildlands. The sand dunes here are especially unique. Kobuk Valley is home to the largest active sand dunes in the Arctic, and has 30 square miles of dunes that lay above the Arctic Circle.
Kobuk Valley became a national park in 1980, at the same time as Gates of the Arctic. One of the coolest things about this park is that the Western Arctic Caribou Herd passes through the dunes twice a year, in both the spring and fall.
Tips and Things To Know Before Visiting these Remote Alaska Parks
- Most visitors arrive at these parks via small planes. Consider dramamine (or anything similar) if you’re prone to motion sickness, they can sometimes be turbulent.
- Plan at least one extra day as a weather buffer. The weather can be unpredictable, and it’s common for flights to be cancelled. During my visit, we were basically waiting around for 2 days for a good weather window to be able to fly.
- You might want to save up for this trip. These are two of the most expensive US national parks to visit, and you can expect to pay over $1,500 per person for a half day trip to both parks.
When To Visit Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley
Summer, June through August, is the prime season to visit these national parks. You could inquire about visiting in the shoulder seasons, May or September, but the weather is more unpredictable during those times.
October through April is characterized by bitter cold (often -40°F or lower) and darkness all day. However, there may be opportunities for dog sledding or other specialized activities in the winter.
June tends to still have a lot of snow at the beginning of the month, and July is the peak time to visit these parks. Late August starts to bring fall colors, and it brings fewer mosquitoes. I visited in late August.
How to Get to Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley
There are several different operators that can take you to Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley on a small plane.
There are also different cities that you can leave from. I traveled to Kotzebue and left from there. Another popular option is to visit from Bettles. To reach Bettles, you’ll likely take a small flight from Fairbanks. I’ve also seen trips that leave from Coldfoot.
Here is a quick list of day-trip operators that you might want to consider:
- Golden Eagle Outfitters: This is the outfitter I went with, and I left from Kotzebue. Read all about my experience below!
- Brooks Range Aviation: This outfitter leaves from Bettles.
- Bettles Lodge: You can stay at their hotel in Bettles, and book your flightseeing trip to the parks with them.
- Fly Coyote: This outfitter leaves from Coldfoot.
- Arctic Backcountry Flying Service: This outfitter leaves from Kotzebue.
- Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge: This adventure lodge offers a trip to the parks.
This is not the full list, check out the list of authorized concessionaires on the national park websites for more options.
Are you hoping to do a longer trip in these parks? There are some adventure operators that offer multi-treks that include backpacking, rafting, camping, and hiking.
A quick list of operators that lead multi-day treks:
My Experience Visiting Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley from Kotzebue
Now that you’ve learned a little bit about the planning and options available for visiting these two remote parks, I’ll share more details about my own adventure to Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley.
I visited these parks with Golden Eagle Outfitters, and left from Kotzebue. To reach Kotzebue, I flew from Anchorage on Alaska Airlines. Once there, I stayed two nights at the Nullaġvik Hotel. It’s the only hotel in town, but there are also several homes listed on Airbnb.
Golden Eagle Outfitters advised us to stay at least two nights in case of weather delays, and I’m glad we did. We did not have great weather during our visit, and we had to wait for them to call us and let us know there was a good weather window.
Tip: Not all phones work in Kotzebue, I had no service on Verizon. I believe that AT&T is the only nationwide carrier that had coverage in Kotzebue when I visited.
There aren't a ton of things to do in Kotzebue, but I really enjoyed visiting the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center. It serves as a visitor center for Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley, along with Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak National Preserve. They have educational displays all about life in the arctic, and the plants and animals that live there.
You can also walk along the shore in Kotzebue, and there is some interesting signage next to the waterfront. When it comes to restaurants, our favorite spot was Empress, a Chinese restaurant next door to the hotel. We also ate at the hotel, and enjoyed walking over to Kuuppiaqtugvik Coffee inside of the Alaska Technical Center.
Tip: There is no alcohol served at the Nullaġvik Hotel, and it’s not allowed at the hotel. You need a special permit to purchase alcohol in Kotzebue.
Now for the fun part - the flight to the parks! We traveled in a 9 passenger Otter plane and the views were incredible. From the plane windows, we saw a black bear foraging for berries, countless braided rivers, the Kobuk Valley sand dunes, colorful tundra landscapes, and towering mountain peaks.
Unfortunately, Gates of the Arctic had just received record rainfall, so the plane was unable to land in the park. It was no one’s fault, but definitely a bit disappointing to travel all this way and not get to land in this park. However, flying through the park was stunning. The pilot flew very close to the ground, and the valley was surrounded by tall waterfalls flowing from tall mountains. Our pilot said that during this flight, he saw new streams flowing down mountains that he had never seen before.
Luckily, we were still able to land on the sand dunes in Kobuk Valley with no issues. It was really special to walk around these huge dunes and admire the landscapes.
While Gates of the Arctic had more jagged mountain peaks, Kobuk Valley had more braided rivers and arctic tundra. We admired rivers that twisted in on themselves, saw beaver dams, and were mesmerized by the colorful tapestry of the tundra, which sits on top of permafrost.
We got to listen to an audio tour all about the two parks during our journey. It shared some information about Kotzebue and both of these beautiful national parks. We also saw some of the remote villages that are situated near these parks, including houses, a barge traveling up river, and vehicles.
Overall, it was extraordinary to see these far-out landscapes that not many people get to see. On the one hand, the short flight makes it feel like you’re spending $1,000+ just to check off a box. But on the other hand, it’s a magical and humbling experience to witness the beauty of places like this.
While one of my top motivations in going here was to visit all 63 national parks, I left with a new perspective on these remote lands. I learned that these areas are not “untouched,” as Native people have been taking care of these lands for 1,000’s of years. At the same time, I’m so glad the national park service has committed to protecting these lands, and keeping them wild and undeveloped. I’m so glad that places like this still exist in the United States.
I paid $1,750 (per person) in 2025 to do my flightseeing excursion with Golden Eagle Outfitters. While these were the most expensive national parks I’ve visited, I’m so grateful that I was able to visit.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide helps you plan your trip to Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley National Parks. Whether you’re visiting your final US national parks, or just want to see these incredible landscapes above the Arctic Circle, this is an amazing place to visit.
For more remote US national park guides, check out my other blog posts:
- How to Take a Day Trip to Katmai National Park
- The Best Things To Do in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
- How to Take a Day Trip to Lake Clark National Park
- How to Take a Day Trip to Dry Tortugas National Park
- A Guide to National Park of American Samoa
- A Guide to Backpacking in Isle Royale
Thanks for Reading!
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