Kongakut River Rafting and Hiking to the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge | ANWR

Join us on our signature trip--and what we believe to be the Arctic Refuge's premier river--an 85-mile paddling journey from the headwaters of the Kongakut River in the Romanzof Mountains, down the full length of the river to the shores of the Beaufort Sea. This trip takes us to the northwestern corner of Alaska, to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Alaska's largest and wildest, its 19.6-million acres encompassing the full range of arctic ecosystems. Each year, the Porcupine caribou herd travels from wintering grounds in Canada's Yukon Territory to calving grounds on Alaska's slim coastal plain between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean. In June, thousands of animals stream down the Kongakut valley. The tundra is covered with wildflowers, the air alive with bird song, the light never-ending. We regularly see wolves, Dall sheep, grizzly bears, foxes, and the occasional muskox or wolverine. More than seventy bird species summer in Kongakut country; we commonly see golden and bald eagle, peregrine falcon, Lapland longspur, golden plover, and Pacific, Arctic and red-throated loon.

On June and early July Kongakut trips, we can just about guarantee that you'll encounter the summer migration of the Porcupine caribou herd, and you'll share the magic of 24-hour daylight and the explosion of bird, animal, and plant life in the arctic summer.

Late July or early August trips may catch the circling back of the herd, as they head across a verdant green landscape to the south side of the Brooks Range. August trips take in the glory of autumn, as the land turns gold and red, and wildlife often moves down to the river to feed. We find grizzly bears fattening on berries, moose in the willows, numerous Dall sheep, straggler caribou, and the occasional wolf pack or wolverine roaming the valleys. Arctic char move up the river from the Arctic Ocean, and this is the best time of the year to cast a line in the Kongakut's deep, clear pools. The area offers superb day hiking. River days alternate with full layover days to explore side canyons and ridges under endless daylight.

Our trip begins with a spectacular 300-mile bush flight over Alaska's Brooks Range. From headwaters to the ocean, we experience every Arctic Slope ecosystem from mountains, to foothills, coastal plain, coastal estuary, and finally, to offshore barrier reefs fronting the Beaufort Sea. The river presents twisting, shallow braids, a taste of whitewater, and tight rock canyon walls, with ice shelves to maneuver. Beyond the last foothills, the river spreads into myriad channels, and we cross the coastal plain, encountering a vastness that you can only appreciate by being here. Ice mirages challenge our perspective as we draw closer to the sea. Bird activity increases; waterfowl and shorebirds are everywhere.

The ocean's icepack melts back, allowing ringed seals, beluga whales, and bowhead whales to pass near the coast. We camp on a long, pencil-thin island embracing a normally calm estuarine lagoon. We wander on beaches in the footsteps of polar bears (and have had chance encounters with them face to face upon occasion) and paddle along the northern shore of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain. This edge of the continent is dynamic and exotic; sea lice and zooplankton teem along the shores; waterfowl fill the air, and sea ice piles up into fantastic shapes. Standing on the edge of North America, with the Brooks Range as a backdrop, is simply awe-inspiring. The Arctic Refuge coast is unique and special. For many of our participants, our time on the coast is the highlight of an amazing experience.

If you prefer a shorter expedition down the Kongakut, see our 10-day Kongakut River: Canyons and Caribou