The Gates

You will need to find your way to Bettles, Alaska, to reach the main debarkation point, and central location of all charter air services, into Gates of the Artic. It is recommended that you fly into Fairbanks, Alaks, via any major airline, then fly using various regional carriers (Coyote Air, Tanana Air, Bettles Air, to name a few) to Bettles.

As the second larges national park in the United States, and the only one consisting of entirely designated wilderness, Gates of the Arctic provides unparalleled but challenging wilderness and backcountry photography opportunities in wildlife, landscape and nature subjects. Autumn is the best season for photography opportunities, as the considerable mosquito population is virtually gone, the days are shorter, and wildlife are migrating. Fall colors in the Arctic are spectacular, providing for unending landscape and nature photo opportunities. As the days are shorter, this is also provides a photographer the chance to capture the aurora borealis virtually every night. Fall runs early, with colors peaking around Labor Day weekend.

These two mountains, Mount Boreal (left) and Frigid Crags, create the formation known as "The Gates of the Arctic" after which Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve is named.