Alaska.com: Alaska's Travel Website

The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes are Kobuk Valley National Park's surprise feature. Inland between Ambler and Noorvik along the Kobuk River, the crescent-shaped dunes of sand move back and forth across the ancient land.

Archaeologists have found artifacts 12,000 years old at Onion Portage in the Kobuk Valley, which escaped glaciation in the last ice age.

Kobuk Valley is a relatively small park, encompassing 2,700 square miles tucked between the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge and Noatak National Preserve east of Kotzebue.

It sits above the Arctic Circle, getting 24 hours of daylight for a while during the summer. Visitors from Anchorage and Fairbanks usually arrive by flying to Kotzebue or Nome, then taking a smaller carrier to Ambler or Noorvik.

Camping

Camping is unrestricted, except in archeologically important areas. The land is flat and boggy near the river -- the park's low point is 50 feet above sea level -- but mountains to the north rise to 4,760 feet. Fishing and firearms are permitted, but there is no hunting for sport.

The park is located at the junction of the North American and Asiatic flyways, so good birding is possible. Kobuk Valley also has black and brown bears, the Arctic caribou herd, Dall sheep, wolves and lynx.

Hiking and rafting

No trails have been established in the park, but the two national rivers offer Class I water for boaters. Upstream of the park, faster and steeper terrain provides rapids up to Class V. The park has no user fees.

Climate

The average July low-high temperature range at Kotzebue, a coastal village to the west, is 48 to 59 degrees. The record low in winter is 52 below. And though the park is bitterly cold in the winter, the summer temperature might hit 100 degrees on the dunes.