Kobuk Valley
Arctic sand dunes, a wide wild river and one of the great caribou migrations on Earth
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, all year
- Entry
- Free entry
- Reservations
- Not required
- Size
- 1,750,716 acres
Kobuk Valley Weather Now
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Kobuk Valley sits about 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle in northwest Alaska, in a broad valley ringed by the Baird and Waring Mountains. Its most surprising feature is the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, formed from rock ground down by ice-age glaciers and blown into dunes by wind. The Western Arctic caribou herd crosses the valley twice a year, and people have hunted them at Onion Portage for about 9,000 years. It became a national park in 1980.
It is one of the least-visited national parks in the country, with no roads, trails, campgrounds or ranger stations. Most visitors fly in by small plane from Kotzebue or nearby villages, then camp near the dunes or float the Kobuk River. Inupiaq people from nearby villages still use the valley for subsistence hunting, fishing and gathering. Summer temperatures can reach the 80s on the dunes, while winter lows drop far below zero.
The park and surrounding area
- Park boundary
- Other parks
- Major highway
- Road
- Rivers and lakes
- Town
Plan your trip
- Best time to go
- July through early September is best for floating the river and seeing the dunes, with late August and September for caribou and fewer mosquitoes.
- How long to stay
- Plan 3 to 7 days for a camping or float trip, or a few hours for a flightseeing trip.
- Getting there
- Fly to Kotzebue (OTZ) from Anchorage (ANC), then take an air taxi or scheduled flight to Kiana or Ambler, or charter directly into the park; there is no road access.
- Wildlife
- Look for caribou, grizzly and black bears, moose, wolves, foxes, wolverines and sheefish in the Kobuk River.
Plan and book
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Where to stay
- Hotels in Kotzebue (opens in a new tab)Alaska
- Hotels in Kiana (opens in a new tab)Alaska
- Hotels in Ambler (opens in a new tab)Alaska
- No lodging inside the park. The towns above are the closest bases.
Tours and activities
- Guided tours on Viator (opens in a new tab)Day trips, wildlife, photography
- Tours on GetYourGuide (opens in a new tab)Compare options and reviews
- Campsites on Recreation.gov (opens in a new tab)Official federal booking site
What to pack for Kobuk Valley
- Bear sprayGrizzly and black bears live throughout the valley and help is far away.
- Mosquito head netBugs along the river are fierce in June and July.
- Packable rain gearArctic weather changes quickly, even in midsummer.
- Sun protectionSand reflects sunlight and the summer sun barely sets.
- Satellite messengerThere is no cell service in the park.
A first day, start to finish
- Northwest Arctic Heritage Center in Kotzebue
- Air taxi flight over the Kobuk River
- Landing near the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes
- Hike across the dunes
- Camp on a Kobuk River gravel bar
Don't miss
- Great Kobuk Sand DunesAbout 25 square miles of active sand dunes south of the Kobuk River, among the largest in the Arctic, with summer sand that can feel surprisingly hot.
- Fall caribou migrationIn late summer and fall, much of the Western Arctic herd, one of the largest caribou herds in North America, crosses the Kobuk River on its way south.
- Onion PortageA caribou river crossing that people have used for about 9,000 years and one of the most important archaeological sites in the Arctic.
- Kobuk River floatA slow, wide river that crosses the park for about 60 miles, popular for multi-day canoe, kayak and raft trips from Ambler to Kiana.
- Little Kobuk and Hunt River DunesSmaller dune fields nearby, part of a larger region of ice-age dunes along the valley.
Know before you go
Do
- Call or visit the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center in Kotzebue for weather, safety and wildlife updates.
- Bring everything you need and extra food, since weather often delays flights.
- Consider a guided float or flightseeing trip if you are new to Arctic travel.
Don't
- Camp on or cross Native allotments and village lands without permission.
- Disturb subsistence camps, fish nets or hunters along the river.
- Disturb artifacts at Onion Portage or anywhere else in the park.
The park is open 24 hours a day, year-round, with no entrance gate, roads or facilities. The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center in Kotzebue serves as the visitor center and is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April 1 to September 30 and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from October 1 to March 31, closed weekends and federal holidays. The Kobuk River is usually ice-free only from about June to late September.
Time a fall trip for late August or early September to have the best chance of seeing caribou crossing the river before freeze-up.Trekker's tip