Home > Experience Alaska > Alaska’s Sanctuaries, Parks, Refuges and Communities

Alaska’s Sanctuaries, Parks, Refuges and Communities 

Explore Alaska’s incredible and unmatched beauty!

Dall Sheep in Denali National Park. Photo courtesy of Gregory Gusse.

Alaska is a land of many natural wonders and not many people. Outside of a few major cities, oil fields, mines, and military installations, humans are just a bit player in the vast natural landscape. Adventure and splendor are easy to find.

Much of Alaska – covering an area the size of California – was protected in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, one of the most far-sighted pieces of legislation ever passed in the nation.  One hundred four million acres were put in conservation areas to protect Alaska’s incredible and unmatched beauty. The act doubled the size of the national park and refuge systems and tripled the amount of federally-protected wilderness.

Learn more about Alaska’s national parks, refuges and communities.

  • Sanctuaries: You’ll find incredible wildlife viewing in the state’s 3 sanctuaries–from bears to walruses.
  • National Parks: Alaska has 15 national parks, totaling two-thirds of all land in the entire national park system. Visit them now!
  • Refuges: Only 16 of the nation’s 540 wildlife refuges are in Alaska, but they are big and wild, and most are far off the beaten path.
  • Alaska Community Database: Get the 411 on an Alaska community – where it is, what’s there, a bit of history, what the weather is like, even how to pronounce its name.