Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Kobuk Valley National Park is a very remote national park in northwestern Alaska. It lies 25 miles (40 km) into the Arctic Circle. The park covers 1,669,813 acres (6,757 sq km), roughly the size of Delaware. It was established on 2 December, 1980.

Kobuk Valley is between the Waring Mountains in the south and the Baird Mountains in the north. It is a vast expanse of unspoilt landscape that protects the traditional migration routes of the caribou. There are some 400,000 caribou living in the wild within the park area. They migrate each year between their winter breeding grounds, located south of the Waring Mountains, and their summer calving grounds, north of the Baird Mountains.

Agie River, Kobuk Valley National Park
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MONGO


Kobuk Valley National Park borders other protected forestlands, including the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge and the Noatak National Preserve. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes is another feature of the park. Located 32 miles (51 km) to the east of the park is the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Visiting Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Kobuk Valley National Park has thus far been the least visited of all the parks in the US National Park system, receiving less than two thousand visitors per year. This is due in part to its remoteness. There are no roads going in. Getting in means taking a flight from Anchorage to Kotzebue or from Fairbanks to Bettles, followed by chartered plane to the park. Needless to say, the high cost of getting there results in its low traffic.

While the park itself is open all year round, the park headquarters and visitor center, located in Kotzebue, are open from May till October only. Opening hours are 8:00 am to 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Mondays to Fridays (closed during weekend) in May and October, 8:30 am to 6:30 pm on Mondays to Fridays, 10:30 am to 6:30 pm Saturdays in June through September. Presently admittance into the national park is free.

List of National Parks in the United States

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