Noatak River

One of the world’s last remaining vast wilderness areas, the Noatak River is the largest undisturbed watershed in North America.

At its headwaters, encircled by the towering Arrigetch and Endicott mountains, the river flows 65 miles through the Gates of the Arctic National Park, and then another 265 miles through the Noatak National Preserve to the Kotzebue Sound on the coast.

We begin our journey in the coastal village of Kotzebue, Alaska and fly by small bush plane following along massive Noatak River valley. We land high up in the headwaters surrounded by the spectacular Arrigetch Peaks.

We spend our day simply enjoying this high alpine environment. We can easily take hikes in the tundra up ridgelines to enjoy the views. Alpine lakes called Pingos, are everywhere. A curious phenomenon is that these pingo lakes hold fish.

We will spend 14 days on the river, and taking days to hike and fish along the way. We will travel by individual packrafts. We will have an oar raft with us for support that will carry our bulkier kitchen, and camping gear and keeps our packrafts light, and very agile.

The raft will allow us to have a cooler with fresh foods, and can provide support as needed. We will also a screened/weatherproof dining tent where we can enjoy meals together and relax in camp even if the bugs or weather might want to challenge us.

The first section of our river will be on class I-II slow flowing river in the high alpine. We will be able to refine our skills and get into our routine of paddling days and hiking days. We will travel down to the massive Matcharak Lake about 40 miles downstream. Most of our hiking will be in this upper valley. From there the river picks up volume and speed as we leave the Gates of the Arctic National Park and enter the Noatak National Preserve. We will travel through about 10 miles of fun class II canyon, and then make some river miles until we join the Cutler River confluence whereour take out is. The river mileage total for a 14 days would be approximately 130 miles. A wheeled plane will pick us up along the gravel river bar and take us back to the village of Kotzebue.

For those looking for doing the entirety of the Noatak River out to Kotzebue, or wanting to continue down the Grand Canyon and Noatak Canyons down to the Village of Noatak, or do a packrafting trip down to Lake Matcharak, simply get in touch with us to arrange this. We also have groups that tackle different sections over several summers.

2025 Scheduled Trip:

15 Days: July 11-23: $12,900

• Packrafts with oar raft support

• Intermediate Level Adventure: Some experience wilderness camping and paddling skills

  (Workshops are available prior to the trip to gain experience in wilderness camping techniques and paddling skills.)

• Alternate Dates on Request

Price Includes:

• 2 Hour wheel plane flight from Kotzebue to Upper Noatak Valley

• Wheel plane flight from Cutler River to Kotzebue

• First night accommodations in Kotzebue

• Group equipment, meals, professional guides

• Permits and User Fees.