At A Glance

An Unchanging Wilderness

For many centuries the unmapped Central Brooks Range had been the homeland of Athapaskan and Inupiat people. These native inhabitants lived off the land wisely, preserving the integrity of their surroundings for the future.

In all, the boundary of the national park and preserve covers about 8.2 million acres of public land. The environs include approximately 7.2 million acres of designated wilderness, six wild rivers, two national natural landmarks and the Noatak Biosphere Reserve. Alongside the Gates of the Arctic National Park lie 5.6 million acres of designated wilderness in the Noatak National Preserve to the west. This rugged landscape is one of the world's largest protected areas. Taken in a regional context, the park is a centerpiece in nearly 35 million acres of protected areas, which span the 700-mile expanse of the Brooks Range.

Ten small communities lie within the subsistence-resident zone of the park and approximately 1,500 residents make their home here. Many of these people continue to depend on natural resources to sustain a subsistence way of life and maintain cultural traditions.

It is estimated that 5,000—10,000 recreational visitors make their way into the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve each year. Typically, these adventurers float rivers, make a base camp on remote lakes or backpack through countless passes connecting drainages. Backcountry visitors stay for an average of 11 days during the long hours of light from June through September. Generally, these small, self-sufficient groups rely on bush planes with highly skilled pilots to drop them off and pick them up. In the autumn months, there is typically a seasonal surge of visitors to the two preserve units where general hunting and angling are allowed. Winter recreational trips are a rarity, due to harsh weather; most often, they tend to occur from mid-February to May with the return of the sun.