Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve

Even by Alaska standards, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve is out there. One of the least visited units in the park system, this ultra-remote volcanic world recorded only 26 visits in 2007.

Quick Links: Park Highlights -- Tips for the Visitor -- Access -- National Park Service Links -- Other Resources

Park Highlights

• Extreme Remoteness. The centerpiece of Aniakchak National Monument is the six-mile-wide collapsed caldera of an active volcano that can only be reached by a two-hour charter flight.
• Furious Elements. Weather is ferocious and routinely rips the barren landscape with gale-force winds, thick clouds, and pounding precipitation.
• Active Volcanism. Aniakchak is an active volcano that has erupted explosively at least 40 times in the past 10,000 years, most recently in 1931.
  

Tips for the Visitor

• Camping, hiking, and backpacking are possible within the caldera and surrounding caldera rim. Experienced adventurers only need apply!
• The Aniakchak River rushes out through a gash in the caldera rim known as The Gates, offering an exhilarating and challenging rafting trip.
• Most people visit in July, the most popular time to raft the Aniakchak River. Whenever you come, expect inhospitable weather--bring your best gear.

Access

Aniakchak National Monument is accessed via air taxi flights from King Salmon and other nearby small towns and villages. Air charters can land you at Meshik Lake, Surprise Lake in the caldera, or Aniakchak, Amber, or Kujulik bays on the Pacific Ocean. Regularly scheduled commercial flights to King Salmon (AKN), which serves as NPS administrative headquarters and the starting point for many Aniakchak adventures, are available from Anchorage via PenAir and Alaska Airlines. There is no weather station at Aniakchak, making it difficult to predict local conditions before you take off; leave an extra day or two on either end of your trip to accommodate weather-related delays.

Current Air Taxi Operators

National Park Service Links

Park Home Page
Park Newsletter (Part of Katmai NP Newsletter)
360-degree view of the caldera (requires QuickTime)

Other Resources

Browse Aniakchak books, maps, and logo products
Alaska Volcano Observatory Aniakchak home page
Ouzel Expeditions Aniakchak trips
Alyeska Guides Aniakchak trip
Account of Aniakchak River pack raft trip

Back to List of Parks