Arctic Circle Adventures in Bettles, Alaska
Watch Northern Lights, Fly Over Gates of the Arctic, Go Dogsledding
Mar 5, 2009
Bettles is a main gateway to Gates of the Arctic National Park, one of America's biggest but least visited national parks. In winter, the population shrinks - but the adventure opportunities expand for those rugged enough to find their way to this tiny outpost.
Watching Northern Lights in Bettles, Alaska
Bettles is located 30 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in one of the most active areas of the Aurora Borealis. While the weather is too variable to guarantee a sighting, visitors have an excellent chance of seeing the Aurora here, especially if they stay for two or three nights. The best viewings are on clear moonless nights, usually at about 3 a.m. when the temperatures drop far below zero and the air is so cold it crackles. At the six-room Bettles Lodge (a national historic site built in 1948), staff awaken visitors when the Aurora is sighted, and the response is like a fire-drill, as visitors swarm outside, still donning warm clothes, to see the Aurora before it vanishes. Sometimes the green (and, occasionally pink, yellow, and blue) lights stay for only minutes; sometimes, they go on for an hour or more. Bring the warmest clothes possible, and take advantage of the "bunny boots" loaned out at the lodge.
Another Aurora-viewing option is to stay at the Lodge's Aurora Viewing Cabin on the lake, a basic shelter that looks out on hundreds of acres of absolutely nothing - which makes it ideal as a spot from which to watch the Northern Lights.
Bush Plane Tours of the Brooks Range
The Brooks Range is a precipitous, remote range of sheer pinnacles, located inside the Gates of the Arctic National Park, Winter bush plane tours in small planes seating 6 - 8 guests take visitors over the frozen Arctic landscape, sliced by the twisting, winding Yukon River, where moose might be sighted., and then into the mountains, seemingly close enough to touch.
Learning to Dogsled in Bettles, Alaska
Dog-sledding is the iconic Alaskan winter sport, with local mushers training to do the famed Iditarod Race. Guests can sign on to try a 1/2 hour dog-sled ride, or can actually learn to mush, taking an introductory class, then riding behind a team of huskies from one to four hours a day, covering as many as 15 miles of Arctic wilderness. (Trips can be customized to the guest's preferences). The lodge has Arctic equipment for use by guests, including big down over-jackets and Bunny Boots.
Cross country skiing, and snowshoeing are also available, as are presentations about the local culture, and fascinating chance meetings with local people with all manner of stories about their lives in the Alaskan Arctic.
Summer Adventures in Bettles and Gates of the Arctic National Park
Winter visitors often find themselves returning to see what summer is like here. Bush pilot drop tourists in the park. From the drop point, visitors fan out to explore the Brooks Range, hunt, fish, or climb, then raft or hike out of the wilderness. Even though visitation is small compared with other, more accessible national parks, tiny Bettles booms with more summer adventurers than its few facilities can accommodate, and the area around the air strip is festooned with scores of backpacking tents of travelers going to or from the park.. Best time to come is August, when there are fewer mosquitoes.
And, in either summer or winter, those with more of a bent to civilization can enjoy the Lodge's fine home-cooked meals (which might include a taste of moose steak, if one of the local hunters has been successful), the Jacuzzi, and high-speed Internet.
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