Sometimes it pays to take the path least taken. Other times you have to pay to take that path. One traveler forked out $1,750 to visit one of the most remote national parks in the United States.
Fortunately for the traveler, it ended up being worth it. She visited the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska. It's an 8.4 million-acre national park. But it's so remote that you can't just drive there. You have to either fly or hike for miles. Once you get there, there's plenty more hiking to do. We're not talking about a nice stroll through some trails either.
Typically, the trails are unmarked and make for either an exciting adventure or a grueling hike, depending on who you ask. However, as she wrote about in Travel + Leisure, travel writer Emily Hart wasn't letting anything stop her. She became one of just 11,045 visitors to visit the very remote and little-seen park.
Remote National Park
As she explained, getting there is almost half the battle. You have to let your determination guide you out there. "This park is not a place travelers stumble upon; it's a place they must seek out," Hart explained. First, you have to get to Alaska, which is already a hassle for many Americans. Hart ended up flying to Anchorage then capturing another flight to Kotzebue.
That town is only 26 miles from the Artic Circle. Then you, have to book another flight to the park itself. But be prepared to end up waiting for days if a bit of bad weather comes your way. Hart ended up spending $1,750 to make her way to the remote park. However, she said that it ultimately ended up being worth it.
"The silence was almost overwhelming: just the faint sound of water beside me and the crunch of rocks under my hiking boots," Hart said. "I walked along the river. The water was so clear and blue that I could see every pebble on the riverbed, and I couldn't help but cry. Thinking of the journey that brought me here — the 63rd national park I'd visited solo — I felt at peace."
With national parks becoming increasingly crowded, remote parks like Gates of the Arctic are becoming attractive to those wanting to get away and lost in nature.
