Southwest Alaska

Kodiak Archipelago
Kodiak is the principal town on Kodiak Island, and the home of Alaska's largest fishing fleet. The original inhabitants of the island were the Alutiiq, and 7,000 years later their descendents still live there. Six villages scattered throughout the archipelago, offer glimpses of the traditional Alutiiq lifestyle. The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository documents local Native history and culture. From 1792 to 1799, the town of Kodiak was the capital of Russian America, and reminders of their residency can be found at the Russian Orthodox Church and the Baranov Museum, formerly a fur storehouse and one of Alaska's oldest wooden structures.

The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge covers two-thirds of the island, offering protected habitat for world-famous Kodiak brown bears. These bears are the world's largest carnivorous land mammals, and should be treated with caution and respect. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game offers pamphlets explaining the safest methods for responsible wildlife viewing.

Fort Abercrombie State Park provides a forest setting for picnics and camping. Originally a World War II coastal fortification, and one of the first secret radar installation in Alaska, the fort is a national historical landmark.

On nearby Afognak Island you can watch or participate in archaeological digs of Native sites, view wildlife, or enjoy excellent hunting and fishing.


Alaska Peninsula
The Alaska Peninsula extends 550 miles into the Pacific Ocean, leading to the Aleutian Islands. In the west, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve offers a wilderness of seacoast, mountains, and glaciers, and lakes filled with trophy-sized rainbow trout.

Use scheduled air service from Anchorage to Dillingham, Iliamna, or King Salmon for access to the region's fly-in fishing lodges.

King Salmon is the gateway to beautiful Katmai National Park and Preserve, an excellent place to view brown bear. Katmai's many fumaroles (volcanic openings) were caused by a 1912 eruption of Novarupta volcano. The eruption covered 40 square miles with ash and pumice up to 700 feet deep. Streams have cut dramatic gorges through the settled debris, creating one of Alaska's most striking landscapes. You can hike the fantastic Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes independently, or take a bus tour. You can photograph brown bears from the riverside trails, relax at a lodge or tent site, or fly to other locations within the preserve to take advantage of some of the finest sockeye fishing in Alaska.

Iliamna provides access to the Kvichak River drainage, an important habitat for red salmon, and possibly the largest contributor to the Bristol Bay fishery.


Aleutian Islands
Past the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands begin their 1,000-mile sweep toward Asia. These beautiful windswept isles, now the location of numerous national wildlife refuges, were the theater for a 19-day battle between Japanese and American troops in May 1943.

You can reach Unalaska/Port of Dutch Harbor via scheduled jet from Anchorage, or you can take a summer ferry from Kodiak Island. Unalaska was the early headquarters of the Russian-American Company and center of the sea otter fur trade in the 1700s. A bridge links Unalaska and Dutch Harbor, where the local fishing fleet leads the nation in the quantity and value of landed catch. There are two excellent examples of early Russian churches. You can also explore a vast network of bunkers, pillboxes and other World War II military sites. Accommodations and other visitor services are available.


Bristol Bay
The world's largest source of red salmon. Rich, freshwater spawning streams flow into inviting rivers and bays.

Visitors find delights in all seasons: fishing, skiing, cultural events. Lodges, outfitters, and local airlines offer guided/unguided adventures. Park lands and remote sites are accessed by float plane or boat; roads reach many areas. Fly from Anchorage, or hub communities where lodging, amenities, and services are also available. Many cultures meet in this land: Eskimos, Aleuts, Athabascans, and others.

Bethel, a large commercial center and medium-draft port on the Kuskokwim River, is the largest bush community in Alaska. Scheduled air service provides access from Anchorage. An Eskimo trading center in the 1870's, Bethel is still a marketplace for Eskimo ivory carvings, baskets, and other craft items. The Yupik Cultural Center features Native exhibits and demonstrations of dancing and carving. The town's Visitor Center and Museum Annex is called Yugtarvik, meaning "a place for people's things." The center offers exhibits of traditional Native tools and clothing, a collection of vintage photos, Native art classes, and a gift shop.


Pribilof Islands
Visitors can fly out of Anchorage to visit world-famous wildlife colonies on St. George and St. Paul islands in the Bering Sea. Over 230 bird species, including colorful puffins, have been seen on rocky cliffs and grassy tundra. A nesting population of 2.5 million birds makes St. George the largest known sea bird colony in the Western Hemisphere; St. Paul's beaches host the majority of fur seals. The islands were settled by Aleut Natives, transported by Russian fur traders to harvest seal pelts. The islands' many Russian churches are on the National Register of Historic Places. Accommodations are available on both islands.


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Source: State of Alaska