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Learn About the INHT

The Iditarod National Historic Trail was designated by Congress as a National Historic Trail in 1978 to commemorate the last great American gold rush. It is a part of the National Trails System, which includes National Historic and National Scenic Trails across America.

U.S. Mail leaving Seward, Alaska

Explore the History
The Alaska Gold Rush was an extension of the Western mining frontier that dates from the California gold discovery of 1848.
Records and Stories
Arne Erickson’s 1920 diary, the trail’s founding documents and its management plan.
Project Jukebox
Oral histories of how the trail was designated and how it is managed together.
INHT Books
The Frozen Trail, the Goodwin reports and the film, from the Alliance’s store.
Junior Trailblazers
The Junior Trailblazer booklet, for kids and adults alike.
For Educators
iTREC!, Take It Outside and Teacher on the Trail.

First Street in Iditarod lined with false-front buildings and tents, July 1910. — 1st Street, Iditarod, Alaska, July 20th, 1910

Historic Overview

The Iditarod Trail, a symbol of frontier travel and once main artery of Alaska's winter commerce, served a string of mining camps, trading posts, and other settlements founded between 1880 and 1920, during Alaska's Gold Rush Era. The Alaska Gold Rush was an extension of the Western mining frontier that dates from the California gold discovery of 1848. The Iditarod Trail was developed as a response to gold rush era needs. Its antecedents were the Native trails.

Explore the history