Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

All clear. The managing agency, the National Weather Service and wildfire reporting show no current alerts.

Overview

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.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Camping
  • Backcountry Camping
  • Canoe or Kayak Camping
  • Climbing
  • Rock Climbing
  • Mountain Climbing
  • Hiking
  • Backcountry Hiking
  • Off-Trail Permitted Hiking
  • Hunting and Gathering
  • Hunting
  • Paddling
  • Canoeing
  • Kayaking
  • Whitewater Rafting
  • Junior Ranger Program

Browse hiking, biking and paddling routes on AllTrails

Plan your visit

Hours

Park & Preserve are always open: No closed times or seasons for Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve. Visitor Center hours vary greatly by location and season. See Visitor Center Hours for more information!

Getting there

Gates of the Arctic is a wilderness park, with no roads or trails into the park lands, so visitors must fly or hike into the park. Access begins in Fairbanks, Alaska & there are several small airlines that provide daily flights into the communities of Bettles, Anaktuvuk Pass, and Coldfoot. Most visitors access the park by air taxi or hike in from the Dalton Highway or from the village of Anaktuvuk Pass. River crossings are necessary from both locations.

Visitor centers

Weather

The climate of Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve is generally classified as arctic and sub-arctic, with exceptionally cold winters, relatively mild summers, low annual precipitation, and generally high winds. The weather is influenced by many different systems, and can change rapidly.!!

Phone: 907-459-3730

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

Alpenglow on the granite cliffs of mountains
Arrigetch Peaks · NPS Photo
A hiker crosses a stream with mountains in the background
Entering Oolah Valley · Photo courtesy of Paxson Woebler
Handful of blueberries
Blueberries · Photo courtesy of Paxson Wobelber
Two hikers climb up a mountain pass
Hikers crossing a mountain pass · Photo courtesy of Paxson Woebler

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