Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve

Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Parks

Address: 4175 Geist Rd
Fairbanks, AK 99709
Phone: 907-457-5752;
Fax: 907-455-0601;
Phone: 866-869-6887;
Web: www.nps.gov/gaar/
Size: 7,523,898 acres (park) and 948,608 acres (preserve).
Established: Proclaimed Gates of the Arctic National Monument on December 1, 1978; established as a national park and preserve on December 2, 1980. Wilderness designated on December 2, 1980. Portion of park and preserve designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1984.
Location: In the central Brooks Mountain Range in north-central Alaska. There are no roads in the park, although the Dalton Hwy. comes within about 5 miles of the park's eastern boundary. Access into the park is by charter plane from Bettles or other locations. Commercial air service is available to Anaktuvuk Pass, just outside the park.
Facilities: Ranger stations, exhibits.
Activities: Camping, hiking, mountain climbing, dog mushing, boating, fishing, bird-watching, hunting, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing.
Special Features: Lying entirely north of the Arctic Circle, the park-preserve includes a portion of the Central Brooks Range, the northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains. Often referred to as the greatest remaining wilderness in North America, this second largest unit of the National Park System is characterized by jagged peaks, gentle arctic valleys, wild rivers, and numerous lakes. The forested southern slopes contrast to the barren northern reaches of the site at the edge of Alaska's "north slope." The park-preserve contains the Alatna, John, Kobuk, part of the Noatak, the North Fork of the Koyukuk, and the Tinayguk wild rivers. Together with adjacent Kobuk Valley National Park and Noatak National Preserve, it comprises one of the largest park areas in the world.

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See other parks in Alaska.