Stop 14 of 17 · Bering Sea Coast
Unalakleet
A beachfront community on Norton Sound inhabited for almost 2,000 years, at the coast end of the Kaltag Portage, with daily flights from Anchorage.
What to See
- The Unalakleet National Wild and Scenic River and its king, silver, chum and pink salmon runs
Ways to Travel Here
- Hike or BackpackFish for silver salmon on the Unalakleet River along the Kaltag Portage.
- Ski or SkijorSkijor village to village along Norton Sound in winter.
- Mush a Dog TeamMush village to village along Norton Sound in winter.
- SnowmachineTravel village to village along the coast in winter, stopping at public shelter cabins.
- Fly InTake a daily commercial flight from Anchorage.
No matter what the time of year, be prepared. Check local conditions before you venture out.
History of Unalakleet
Archaeologists have dated house remnants along the beach ridge from 200 B.C. to 300 A.D. The name Unalakleet means "place where the east wind blows. Unalakleet has long been a major trade center as the terminus for the Kaltag Portage, an important winter travel route connecting to the Yukon River. Indians on the upper river were considered "professional" traders who had a monopoly on the Indian-Eskimo trade across the Kaltag Portage. The Russian-American Company built a post here in the 1830s. In 1898, reindeer herders from Lapland were brought to Unalakleet to establish sound herding practices. In 1901, the Army Signal Corps built over 605 miles of telegraph line from St. Michael to Unalakleet, over the Portage to Kaltag and Fort Gibbon.
Bering Sea Coast, Unalakleet to Nome
- UnalakleetNorton Sound village
A beachfront community on Norton Sound inhabited for almost 2,000 years, at the coast end of the Kaltag Portage, with daily flights from Anchorage.
- GolovinCoast village
The Inupiaq village of Chinik, where John Dexter’s trading post became the center for prospecting news on the Seward Peninsula and the supply point for the Council goldfields.
- SolomonGold camp
A gold camp at the mouth of the Solomon River, where the 1913 storm stranded the engines of the Council City and Solomon Railroad, the Last Train to Nowhere.
- NomeEnd of the trail
The last stop on the historic trail, a gold town since the strike of 1898, where the whole community turns out each March for the finish of the sled dog race.