Unalakleet

The village of Unalakleet is located about 150 miles southeast of Nome where the Unalakleet River meets the Norton Sound on the Bering Sea.

About Unalakleet (IÑUPIAQ: UŊALAQŁIQ)

With a population of just under 800 people, Unalakleet is the farthest south Iñupiaq village in Alaska, where subsistence practices of fishing and hunting are still important to locals today. This remote village in the western Arctic region of Alaska is accessible only by plane. The area served as a significant trading ground for Alaska Native Peoples and was the site of a trading post for the Russian-American Company in the 1830s. The mighty Yukon River connected the traditional homelands of the Athabascan Peoples in the Interior region to Iñupiaq and Central Yup’ik villages in the Unalakleet area via the Kalteg Portage and Unalakleet River. Today, the village serves as a checkpoint for two of Alaska’s most iconic races, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the Iron Dog Snowmobile Race.

Things to Do

Two main attractions bring visitors to this remote village: world-class salmon fishing on the Unalakleet River in summer, and the Iditarod in winter. The Unalakleet River flows from the Nulato Hills to the Bering Sea and is a designated National Wild & Scenic River. Anglers looking for world-class remote backcountry fishing will find it here, with strong runs of all five species of Pacific salmon, along with Arctic grayling and Dolly Varden. The Unalakleet River Lodge, located 8 miles upriver from the village, is an all-inclusive fishing lodge featuring private cabins, a cozy main lodge, gourmet meals, and daily fishing trips on the river.

The Iditarod National Historic Trail runs alongside the Unalakleet River and has two winter-only BLM public use cabins accessible by snowmachine. The trail comes alive in February and March with volunteers and racers in two of Alaska’s great races. First is the Iron Dog Snowmobile Race in mid- to late February, the longest snowmachine race in the world, which takes racers from Big Lake to Kotzebue to Nome and then back to Big Lake, passing through Unalakleet twice.

In early March comes the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race which travels from Willow to Nome. As the largest village along the Iditarod route, Unalakleet serves as an important logistics hub where racers can resupply, and even get some pizza delivered (more on that below). The first musher to reach Unalakleet receives the Gold Coast Award of gold nuggets and a carved sled. From there, mushers head north alongside Norton Sound, with just a handful of checkpoints to go until reaching the finish line in Nome.

Unalakleet has a handful of small grocery stores and general stores, along with a couple of restaurants. Peace on Earth is a local restaurant and pizzeria known for getting pizza orders from all over the world during the Iditarod to be delivered to mushers and volunteers as they stop in at the checkpoint. The village has limited accommodations, including one small hotel in town and the seasonal Unalakleet River Lodge upriver from town.

Getting to Unalakleet

Unalakleet can be reached by scheduled regional airline and air taxi flights from Anchorage and Nome.