9 Best Sights in Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula, and Pribilof Islands, The Bush

Undoubtedly the most dramatic human-made sight in Unalaska is the Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox church. The blue, onion-domed chapel right on the edge of Iliuluk Bay is arguably the most perfectly intact and authentic Russian church left in Alaska, and one of the most scenic churches anywhere. The extant buildings date to the 1890s, although there has been a church on the site since 1808. Now a National Historic Landmark, Holy Ascension is one of the oldest cruciform-style Russian churches in the nation, and it houses one of Alaska's richest collections of Russian artifacts, religious icons, and artwork. Next to the church is the Bishop's House. A walk in the graveyard between the two buildings captures some of the history of the area. Tours of the church can be arranged through the Unalaska/Dutch Harbor Convention and Visitors Bureau.

This remarkable museum highlights the cultural, military, and natural history of the Aleutian and Pribilof islands. You'll find an exhaustive array of objects representing the region's history, from gut parkas and repatriated religious artifacts to original drawings from Captain Cook's third voyage. The exhibits also give glimpses into the Unangax̂ way of life, as well as illustrating the impact of Russian contact and occupation, the gold rush, World War II, the fishing industry, and more. In the summer, the museum sponsors archaeological digs as well as periodic lectures by visiting scientists, historians, and researchers. It also offers a range of guided tours, indoors and out. You can take gallery or special collections tours in the museum, or venture out on a city walk, a Bunker Hill hike, a driving tour of Amaknek Island, or a morning history and photography tour.

The largest of the Pribilof Islands at 40 square miles, St. Paul Island is home to the greatest concentration of northern fur seals in the world—500,000 of them—and more than 180 varieties of birds. The island offers a guaranteed treat for folks who love birds and marine animals. The Unangax̂ people lived in the Aleutian Islands south of St. Paul and traditionally traveled to the Pribilofs seasonally for hunting. Russian fur traders claimed and named St. George, St. Paul, and St. Peter islands, and then enslaved and relocated Unangax̂ people in Atka, Siberia, and Unalaska to the islands to hunt for fur seals. Hundreds of descendants of these first nation people live in St. Paul year-round now, and the community has many elements of Unangax̂ culture as well as Russian Orthodox influences, easily seen in the Saints Peter and Paul Church, built in 1907. There's a small museum nearby.

Through old newspapers, memorabilia, video footage, and exhibits about the Aleutian Campaign, this quaint visitor center outside the Unalaska Airport preserves bits of history from Alaska's little-known role in the war. The Aleutian Islands saw heavy fighting through much of World War II; at the peak of the war, more than 60,000 servicemen were stationed here in the farthest and most brutal reaches of the United States. On June 3 and 4, 1942, the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and landed in the far reaches of the Aleutians a few days later. The Japanese military forces took entire villages and outposts captive in Kiska and Attu, with many of those captured transported to Japan as prisoners of war. The center is within easy walking distance of the ferry terminal and open June through September.

The historic area also includes Ft. Schwatka, a U.S. Army base poised on a mountain that contained over 100 structures when fully built out. You can do a group or self-guided walking tour of the fort by getting an access permit from the Ounalashka Corporation at 400 Salmon Way or at the visitor center.

This parkland of 586,000 acres contains an extraordinary living volcano that rises to the south of Katmai. Towering more than 4,400 feet above the landscape, the volcano also has one of the largest calderas in the world, with a diameter averaging 6 miles across and 2,500 feet deep. Although Aniakchak last erupted in 1931, geologists place the first eruption after the last ice age because of the lack of glaciation. The Aniakchak climate brews mist, clouds, and serious wind much of the year. The caldera is so big that it can create its own weather patterns, and it really seems to like the bad stuff. Although the Aniakchak River (which drains Surprise Lake) is floatable, it has stretches of Class III and IV white water navigable only by expert river runners, and you must travel through open ocean waters to reach the nearest community, Chignik Bay (or get picked up by plane, along the coast). In other words, this is not a place for the unprepared or untested. An alternate way to enjoy Aniakchak is to wait for a clear day and fly to it in a small plane that will land you on the caldera floor or on Surprise Lake. There are no trails, campgrounds, ranger stations, or other visitor facilities here, though there are plenty of bears and mosquitoes.

Stretching along the southern edge of the Alaska Peninsula, these two refuges encompass nearly 6 million acres of towering mountains, glacial lakes, broad tundra valleys, and coastal fjords. Volcanoes dominate the landscape—14 in all, nine of them active—and the waters are known for their salmon and grayling. The world-record grayling, nearly five pounds (most weigh a pound or less), was caught at Ugashik Narrows in 1981. Remote and rugged, with the peninsula's signature unpredictable weather, the Becharof and Alaska Peninsula Refuges draw mostly anglers and hunters. Backpackers, river runners, and mountain climbers also occasionally visit.

Some people hike the Kanatak Trail in Becharof, a route between the Pacific Ocean and Bristol Bay via Becharof Lake that was used by people residing on the Peninsula for at least 1,900 years. Early Russian and American settlers continued using the trail and developed settlements on either end, and oil exploration in the 20th century brought people who settled in the Pacific Kanatak—they built unpaved roads on top of the old walking routes. The last residents left in the 1950s. If you walk the trail now, you'll see the remnants of the the old roads and trail, along with plenty of animals and no other humans. It's not a long hike—about 5 miles—but the weather, terrain, and other elements can be challenging, so come prepared.

Tiny green islets rise out of the surging waters of the Bering Sea in the misty, fog-bound Pribilof Islands, where seabirds and northern fur seals breed and feed. Treeless, the small land masses display rippling belts of lush grass contrasting with volcanic rock. In early summer, seals return from far off Pacific waters to mate, and the larger islands, St. Paul and St. George, are overwhelmed with frenzied activity. Although St. Paul and St. George are less than 50 miles apart, the island group itself is a 1,600-mile round-trip from Anchorage, over the massive snowy peaks of the Alaska Peninsula and north of the rocky islands of the Aleutian chain.

Few visitors go to the Pribilofs except commercial fishermen and dedicated bird and animal watchers. Yet together, St. Paul and St. George Islands are seasonal homes to hundreds of thousands of fur seals (about 80 percent of them on St. Paul) and nearly 250 species of birds, some who migrate from as far away as Argentina, while others are year-round residents. Most spectacular of all is the islands' seabird population: each summer more than 2 million seabirds gather at traditional Pribilof nesting grounds and about 90 percent of them breed on St. George.

St. George Island is home to more than 100 people and sustains an array of bird and animal life, including fur seals and millions of seabirds. The volcanic landscape features steep cliffs that rise over 1,000 feet above the shoreline. Rarely visited, the island offers bird and animal watchers a remarkable experience. The weather and limited transportation mean flexibility and planning are essential. Saint George the Great Martyr Russian Orthodox Church was built in 1935 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The impact of World War II on Unalaska/Dutch Harbor is visible practically everywhere you look: remnants of war bunkers, tunnels, Quonset huts, pillboxes, and other military relics are scattered throughout town. You can explore these pieces of history hands-on when at Bunker Hill, Memorial Park, Unalaska Lake, Mt. Ballyhoo, and other sites.