The Northwest Arctic's authentic Iñupiaq center of Kotzebue (kotz-eh-biew) isn't my first choice for most visitors. Those interested in Iñupiaq culture should go to Barrow, while those looking for bird-watching or self-guided outdoor sightseeing should go to Nome. I used to recommend an Alaska Airlines Vacation tour to Kotzebue, but that stopped running when the NANA Native Corporation closed its museum for demolition and replacement. At this date, the tours have not resumed.
Intrepid travelers seeking real adventure can still use Kotzebue as a hub for a vast, spectacular area. The National Park Service staffs the Iññaigvik Education and Information Center at 2nd Avenue and Lake Street (P.O. Box 1029), Kotzebue, AK 99752 (tel. 907/442-3760), providing information and displays on the immense area of protected land in the region, including Kobuk Valley National Park, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak and Bering Land Bridge national preserves (find websites to each through www.nps.gov). The center, open summer only, offers classes on traditional Native crafts and medicinal plants, and employees will answer questions about the town as well as the public lands. Hours are changeable, so call prior to your visit to verify when they will be open. The local headquarters of the National Park Service, open during normal business hours in summer, is in the Eskimo Building with the post office on Shore Avenue (tel. 907/442-3890).
There are several remote rivers near Kotzebue with easy self-guided floating for experienced outdoors people. This is the best chance to get deep into the Arctic on your own. The great Noatak River originates in the Brooks Range and flows 450 miles through America's largest undisturbed wilderness in the impressive scenery of the Noatak National Preserve. The Selawik, Squirrel, and Kobuk rivers all have long sections of easy water. Equinox Wilderness Expeditions offers float trips in the area, although not necessarily every year. Expect to pay $4,500 per person. Most river running in the region is self-guided. Get details from The Alaska River Guide, by Karen Jettmar, director of Equinox (Menasha Ridge Press, $17). Obviously, you should be experienced in the outdoors and in river floating before heading out for a multiday trip in the Arctic. And plan ahead, arranging details well in advance with the park service and your pilot.
Bering Air (tel. 800/478-5422 in Alaska only, or 907/443-5464; www.beringair.com) is one good operator in Kotzebue. A popular way to do a float trip is to use scheduled service into a riverside village.
Kotzebue also offers curious travelers a chance to dig deep into the Iñupiaq way of life with Arctic Circle Educational Adventures (tel. 907/442-6013 in summer, 907/276-0976 in winter; www.fishcamp.org). The adventure takes place at a fish camp similar to those where Native people spend the summer gathering food for the winter -- and to participate in set-net fishing, fish cutting, food gathering, and other traditional subsistence activities as well as hiking, town tours, and bird-watching. You are a participant rather than an observer, and spend real, unmediated time with Native people. The camp on the beach 5 miles south of town is as simple as Bush life, but with a modern kitchen, dining room, shower, and sauna. Guests sleep in plywood cabins without plumbing. Elderhostel groups sometimes come for a week. Rates are $125 per person per day for lodging and meals, and an additional $100 per day for tour activities. The season is from late June to mid-August.
Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522; www.alaskaair.com) offers daily jet service to Kotzebue. Lodging is at the Nullagvik Hotel (tel. 907/442-3331; www.nullagvik.com), a comfortable, modern hotel on the beachfront owned by the Iñupiat's NANA corporation. High season rates are $199 double.
