Kobuk Valley National Park - Alaska

Address:Kotzebue, Alaska
Tel: (907) 442-3890

This extremely remote northern Alaskan park, located entirely above the Arctic Circle, dwarfs most of its National Park cousins in size with its 1.7 million acres (bigger than the state of Delaware). This caribou country park protects part of the shimmering Kobuk River and huge sand dunes laced throughout the rugged landscape. Hiking, dog mushing, fishing, and winter sports are a few of the main activities in the park.
It's useful to know that Kobuk Valley cannot be accessed by car - only by foot, dogsled, snowmobile, or air taxi, which should tell you a little about the climate (your probably won't be practicing your backstroke in the river).

Kobuk Valley National Park is encircled by the Baird and Waring mountain ranges. The park provides protection for several important geographic features, including the central portion of the Kobuk River, the 25-sqaure-mile Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, and the Little Kobuk and Hunt River dunes.