Floating Arctic Rivers: Rapids, Sweepers, Logjams

The park holds the headwaters of six designated Wild Rivers, which run from high country down through glacial valleys. Some valleys were scoured by ice into a wide U shape, while elsewhere the rivers themselves have sliced narrow, steep-walled canyons in a V shape. No roads or official trails exist anywhere in the park, so the river becomes your route through the wilderness.

Your boat has to fit inside a small plane. That is why most river parties bring rafts, packrafts, inflatable canoes, or another type of boat that folds down. Charter pilots usually turn away hard-shelled canoes. Local vendors do rent watercraft, but their stock is small, so reserve a boat well ahead of your trip.

Gravel bars are a good choice for camp. Mosquitoes tend to be fewer there, and when the river comes up it wipes away any trace of your stay. That same rise can happen without warning, so set your tent high above where the water sits now. Tundra plants are easily damaged and heal slowly, so look for durable ground and shift camp every two or three days.

Most visitors get into the park on an air taxi, a small plane fitted with floats or tundra tires. Flights usually start from Fairbanks, Bettles, or Coldfoot. Chartering a bush plane to a remote lake gives you more freedom over where you start, though it costs more. Weather often keeps planes on the ground, so carry several extra days of food and build weather days into your plan.

Bettles, Anaktuvuk Pass, and Coldfoot serve as the gateway communities. Bettles has a park visitor center, along with air taxis, outfitters, and lodges. Anaktuvuk Pass, the largest village in the park, has the busiest airstrip and a National Park Service office.