Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a tough place to get to, a tough place to get around in, and a tough place to get along with. But the payoff is as big as the place. The refuge boasts the greatest diversity of flora and fauna of any park or refuge in the circumpolar Arctic – wolves, moose, musk oxen, Dall sheep, grizzly bear, black bear and polar bear. And the famous Porcupine caribou, all 123,000 of them, or the millions of birds representing 177 species.

The best hiking is in the Brooks Range, which reaches its widest point as it arcs through the refuge. River running is increasingly popular, particularly on the Kongakut, the Canning, the Hulahula, and the Sheenjek. The Sheenjek flows south to the Porcupine River form the region’s highest peaks, which top 2,740 metres.