Alaska has 17 National Park Service sites and several of the Alaska sites have a park and a preserve component. Although they are technically two different park service units, they are managed and operated as a single unit. Here is a list of sites that have a park and preserve component.
| Name | Description | Year Established | Visited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alagnak Wild and Scenic River | The Alagnak River, originating in Katmai National Preserve's Kukaklek Lake, has abundant wildlife, including brown bear, moose, beaver, river otter, bald eagle and osprey. Visitors enjoy the fishing along this clear, braided river, as well as the striking changes in landscape, large undeveloped lakes, boreal forest, wet sedge tundra, shrubby islands and Class I-III rapids. | 1980 | |
| Aleutian World War II National Historic Area | The Aleutian World War II National Historic Area is a U.S. National Historic Site on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Island Chain of Alaska. It offers visitors a glimpse of both natural and cultural history, and traces the historic footprints of the U.S. Army Base, Fort Schwatka, located at the Ulakta Head on Mount Ballyhoo. | 1996 | |
| Aniakchak National Monument | Mount Aniakchak, which erupted 3,500 years ago, and the surrounding region make up one of the least visited NPS sites. Surprise Lake, within the volcano's 6-mile (9.7 km) wide, 2,500-foot (760 m) deep caldera, is the source of the Aniakchak River. | 1978 | |
| Cape Krusenstern National Monument | Co-located with the NHLD Cape Krusenstern Archeological District, this coastal plain contains large lagoons and rolling hills of limestone. The bluffs record thousands of years of change in the shorelines of the Chukchi Sea, as well as evidence of some 9,000 years of human habitation. | 1978 | |
| Denali National Park | The first national park in Alaska is also home to the highest peak in North America; Denali measures 20,310 feet in height. Unusual for Alaskan parks, a 92-mile road into the center of the park gives exceptional access for day visits, wildlife viewing, backpacking and car camping. Look for moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolves and grizzly bears. For something different, try bicycling part or all of the road; you can camp along the way. | 1917 | |
| Gates of the Arctic National Park | Wild does not begin to describe this park, all of which lies above the Arctic Circle. There are no trails or visitor services there, so visitors must be self-sufficient and plan extra time for hiking that can truly be called “bushwacking”. The reward is completely undeveloped vistas and possible sightings of animals like caribou, wolf, muskox and wolverine. Though not developed, people have lived there for over 13,000 years. | 1980 | |
| Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve | The park is a place where visitors can safely get up close and personal with Glaciers. Park Rangers board cruise ships in the bay in order to give presentations about the park, and information on the area. Passengers may see humpback whales, sea otters and on shore, brown bears and mountain goats. And for those who feel more adventurous, there is plenty of rugged backcountry for hiking, camping fishing, and in the preserve part of the park, hunting. | 1980 | 2017 |
| Katmai National Park | Katmai is a unique park, which was created to protect a landscape created by the world’s largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century, in 1912. It created so much heat that steam shot from the ground for almost 20 years after; check out the story of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Good views of Alaskan brown bears too. | 1980 | |
| Kenai Fjords National Park | Your trip the park will most likely begin just outside the boundary in Seward. There you can take the only road into the park to Exit Glacier Nature center. From there you can hike to the glacier or Harding Ice Field. All other access to the park is by water; your kayak, a water taxi to backcountry camping on a beach, or a tour boat on a ranger narrated tour. | 1980 | |
| Kobuk Valley National Park | Sand Dunes in Alaska? Yes, 16,000 acres of the park were formed by glaciation that happened 28,000 years ago.Skill in orienteering is necessary to find your way around, since there are no roads or trails. Kayaking the Salmon or Kobuk River is another way to see the park. Check out the wood frog, the only frog in the park; it passes the winter frozen, resuming activity when it thaws in the Spring. | 1980 | |
| Lake Clark National Park | Like much of Alaska, you must take a boat or airplane to reach this wilderness park. Your reward is great fishing, canoeing, backpacking/hiking and wildlife viewing. The park also has two active volcanoes. When you visit you will be in bear country, and must take proper precautions. Take the time to learn about Dick Proenneke when you are there. | 1980 | |
| Sitka National Historical Park | Sitka National Historical Park (earlier known as Indian River Park and Totem Park) commemorate the Tlingit and Russian experiences in Alaska. | 1972 | |
| Wrangell–St. Elias National Park | At over 13 million acres, Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest national park. The park has everything from coastal marine to tundra habitats, and an accompanying diversity of wildlife, including one of the largest concentrations of Dall sheep in North America. There are glaciers and volcanoes too. The Alaska gold rush and the Kennecott copper mine are important pieces of the park’s history. You might also look into the Native Americans who live and work in and around the park, and their culture and heritage. | 1980 | |
| Noatak National Preserve | The pristine Noatak River basin lies between the Baird and De Long Mountains of the Brooks Range, connecting tundra to taiga. It is a migration route for hundreds of thousands of caribou, Alaska moose, and brown bears. | 1980 | |
| Bering Land Bridge National Preserve | The pristine Seward Peninsula is what remains of the ice age Bering land bridge. The Chukchi Sea coast, Imuruk Lake volcanic field, maar lakes, and tundra support Arctic animals including migrating caribou, polar bears, walrus, muskox, and ribbon seals. Visitors snowmobile, watch for 170 species of birds, soak in hot springs, and hike on tundra and lava fields | 1980 | |
| Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve | Including the entirety of the Charley River watershed and 130 mi of the Yukon River, this preserve protects the surrounding mountains and bluffs that are habitats for diverse Arctic wildlife like peregrine falcons, caribou, and salmon. Summer visitors float down the rivers and see remnants of gold mining, and in the winter dog sledders race in the Yukon Quest. | 1980 | |
| Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park | Though the goldfields that were the ultimate goal of the stampeders lay in the Yukon Territory, the park comprises staging areas for the trek there and the routes leading in its direction. | 1976 |