Winter camp in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. NPS photo.
When I first saw the wintry slide show from Gates of Arctic National Park and Preserve, I immediately added the unit to my bucket list of national park adventures. Dogsledding through the park's snow-blanketed wilderness seemed to fit perfectly with my desire to see parts of Alaska that I could only imagine while reading Jack London tales while growing up.
Sadly, getting from here to there is not the easiest thing to accomplish. As the park staff note, "Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a remote wilderness area located above the Arctic Circle and far from any roads. Most visitors access the Park and Preserve by bush plane, starting from local villages. Others hike in from the Dalton Highway or the village of Anaktuvuk Pass."
Whether I ever reach Gates of Arctic remains to be seen. For now, it's just an entry on my bucket list. What about you? Which unit of the National Park System would you most like to see...but fear you won't for one reason or another (most likely distance and/or cost)?
Comments
I don't know where you live, Perpetual Seasonal, but the Dry Tortugas is easy to visit. Ferries run every day from Key West. The park is amazing. Go for it. Good Luck!
Danny
As for my list, I put the answer to this question in two categories: those parks that just require enough money and time and those parks that require organization, skills and smarts - in other words, that are difficult, no matter how much money to throw at it.
Money and time - Will I ever get to American Samoa? Sounds like paradise.
Difficult - Gates of the Artic, of course
But there's another category. Why, oh why, didn't I visit Paterson Falls National Historical Park, while I lived in New Jersey for over 30 years? Just never got to it.
Danny