Kobuk Valley National Park
Kobuk Valley National Park sits in a broad valley where the middle section of the Kobuk River is surrounded by the Baird and Waring Mountain ranges.
How to Visit Kobuk Valley National Park
It is located 75 miles east of Kotzebue, AK, however it’s not accessible by roads.
There is no road access to Kobuk Valley NP. Most visitors access the park by air taxi from either the small towns of Kotzebue or Bettles. However, both of these towns are also not accessible via the road system either. In the summer, air service is available from Anchorage to Kotzebue and Fairbanks to Bettles. In the winter, access to the park is by plane, snowmobile, or dogsled.
VISIT Kobuk Valley National Park:
Park Details
Kobuk Valley National Park was established on December 1, 1978, and has a total area of 1,750,716 acres (2,735 square miles, or 7,088 square kilometers).
| Address | 171 3rd Ave, Kotzebue, AK, 99752 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 907-442-3890 |
| Hours | Open 24 hours a day |
| Entrance Fee | Free |
| Learn More | Official Website |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
Kobuk Valley National Park is the 336th most visited park in the country.
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit Kobuk Valley National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit Kobuk Valley National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit Kobuk Valley National Park are June, July, August & February.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 1,100 | 695 | 764 | 282 | 272 | 490 | 612 | 620 | 1,538 | 1,987 | 1,569 | 1,611 |
| Precipitation | 42 | 36 | 25 | 40 | 39 | 30 | 69 | 102 | 79 | 62 | 37 | 37 |
| Avg Temp | -2 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 44 | 65 | 67 | 60 | 47 | 27 | 8 | 1 |
| Max Temp | 26 | 28 | 31 | 37 | 65 | 78 | 80 | 73 | 60 | 40 | 27 | 26 |
| Avg Temp | -14 | -11 | -8 | 10 | 31 | 49 | 51 | 44 | 34 | 17 | -2 | -11 |
| Min Temp | -36 | -36 | -32 | -19 | 9 | 35 | 36 | 29 | 21 | -2 | -21 | -30 |
Kobuk Valley National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where Kobuk Valley National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| None Found. | ||
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to Kobuk Valley National Park.
| Name | Distance |
|---|---|
| Noatak National Preserve | 32 mi |
| Cape Krusenstern National Monument | 115 mi |
| Gates of the Arctic National Park | 158 mi |
| Bering Land Bridge National Preserve | 178 mi |
Nearby Campsites & RV Parks
If you are looking to pitch a tent or park an RV at a campsite near Kobuk Valley National Park, here is a list of the closest campsites in the surrounding area. They all have slightly different amenitites, so its best to check them all out instead of just chosing the first on the list.
None found.
Nearest Ski Resorts
For those of you who are the diehard outdoors type, visiting a national park on a ski trip can be quite the adventure. Here are the ski resorts within 100 miles of Kobuk Valley National Park:
None Found.
Nearest Airports
When visiting a National park, many people are faced with either a very long drive across country, or a much shorter flight. For those of you looking to fly into Kobuk Valley National Park, we've listed the closest airports in the area.
Large Airports
A large airport has scheduled major airline service with millions of passengers per year. This type of airport always accepts international flights. Here are the closest large airports to Kobuk Valley National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks International Airport | FAI | Fairbanks, AK | 370 mi |
Medium Airports
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airports to Kobuk Valley National Park.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Wien Memorial Airport | OTZ | Kotzebue, AK | 100 mi |
| Wiley Post Will Rogers Memorial Airport | BRW | Utqiaġvik, AK | 265 mi |
| Nome Airport | OME | Nome, AK | 272 mi |
| Deadhorse Airport | SCC | Deadhorse, AK | 325 mi |
| McGrath Airport | MCG | McGrath, AK | 335 mi |
| Anvik Airport | ANV | Anvik, AK | 340 mi |
| Emmonak Airport | EMK | Emmonak, AK | 362 mi |
Credits: Campground data provided by USCampgrounds.info. Map shapes from CartographyVectors. Weather data from NOAA. Airport data from OurAirports.com. Images from Unsplash, Flickr and Parks&Trips. All data has also been updated and augmented by Parks&Trips.