Gates of the Arctic National Park

The Brooks Range is an alpine arctic mountain range which stretches across the entire northern portion of Alaska. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve encompasses the central Brooks Range, preserving intact a variety of arctic and subarctic ecosystems.

Here in this remote, wild land, natural processes function as they have for thousands of years, ensuring the survival of arctic adapted plants and animals, and the people who depend on them. The park is a valuable natural laboratory for scientific research.

Gates of the Arctic is a world of grand scales — scales of size, distance, and time. Breathtaking mountains encircle crystalline lakes that mirror the changing sky. Rivers cascade down the southern slope through mountain-rimmed, forested valleys. The northern slope of the Brooks Range is a mosaic of broad U-shaped and narrow V-shaped valleys fading into distant tundra covered with wildflowers. These panoramas reflect long-term processes. Glaciation, erosion, permafrost soil development, and wildfire have shaped and ultimately maintain the landscape.

Against this backdrop, plants and animals utilize remarkable adaptations to survive and even thrive. Muskoxen remind us of an Ice Age that ended 10,000 years ago. Inch-high lichens shaped like leaves or tiny antlers lie underfoot. Thousands of caribou on the move to far destinations graze on these same lichens. Those who look beyond the inspiring scenery will discover the intricate web of life that is the basis of this unique and timeless place.

Explore Gates of the Arctic National Park with an America Outdoors outfitter, who provide several activities in the park, including hiking and mountain biking.