Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a wild land overflowing with adventures/NPS file
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve has always intrigued me. Not quite 8.5 million acres, this sprawling park north of the Arctic Circle lies in the Brooks Range and counts six wild and scenic rivers and is home to moose, caribou, wolverines, black and grizzly bears, and Dall sheep.
The landscape is largely untouched by humans. As the National Park Service notes, the park "protects a functioning arctic, mountain ecosystem in its entirety and provides habitat of world importance for naturally occurring plant and animal populations."
A river trip there is my dream adventure. Deciding which river to float, and in what season, would be the first challenge to planning such a trip. Then figuring out how much time would be enough. Seven days? Ten? Two weeks? Then coming up with a gear list and tracking down a bush pilot to get us there. Paying for it? This is a dream trip, we're not going to let dollars stand in the way.
What's your dream adventure in the park system, regardless of the price?
Comments
Well, NPT has got me thinking about visits to Organ Pipe and Segauro NPs in AZ sometime soon. It might be tough to accomplish if summer is unbearable.
I've done the Grand Canyon NP several times, but it's much higher in altitude. The southern AZ parks are next on the list. March 2025?
Perfect trip: Coronado State Park, NM, Petroglyph Ntl Monument, Bandalier, Chaco Canyon, Ghost Ranch-float the Chama River, warm up at Ojo Hot Springs, Rio Grande National Monument, float Rio Grande, Great Sand Dunes, hot springs at Hooper, Co