noatak national preserve

Flightseeing trip Kotzebue to middle Noatak and back, with a stop for lunch at Tulugak Lake. Fantastic subarctic scenery, and the Noatak River is stunningly blue (not the glacial silt or tannic brown of Interior Alaska rivers. Definitely would like to spend more time of the ground.

Worth the travel to experience the solitude.Getting there is not easy or cheap, but memories to last a lifetime.

Viewed the preserve by air with Arctic Backcountry Flying Service. Scenery was breathtaking and the wildlife viewing rewarding. We saw moose, caribou, musk ox, dall sheep, and a grizzly bear from the air. The river was just breaking up and the variety of colors amazing.

The Noatak River is a world class river, half a mile wide even in the low flow months. This is truely remote wilderness accessable only by boat or bush plane. The little village of Noatak is quaint and worth a visit if you are floating the river.