Visitors are often surprised at how big Bethel is. Its population ranges between 6,000 and 8,000, depending on the season. It also hosts the third busiest airport in Alaska, with daily jet service from Anchorage and squadrons of small planes from dozens of nearby villages; the town is the transportation and supply hub for much of western Alaska.

To learn about the history and contemporary culture of the Yupik and Dene, drop by the Ypiit Pciryarait Cultural Centre and Museum. One of its three galleries houses a permanent collection of Native art and artefacts, while the tow others offer changing exhibits. The gift shop sells local Native art and crafts.

Bethel’s big attraction is the vast Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, where glacial silt deposited over the millennia by the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers.