6 Best Sights in The Bush, Alaska

At Katmai's biggest draw, Brooks Falls, viewing platforms overlook the 6-foot cascade. Here, salmon leap upriver to their spawning grounds while brown bears stand on the edge of the falls to catch them, particularly in July and September. An access trail and boardwalk are separated from the river to avoid confrontations with bears. Note, too, that the daily tour to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes starts from nearby Brooks Lodge, and there's camping at Brooks Camp ($18 nightly per person per night in peak season, June–mid-September; $10 at other times). It's a good idea to reserve a spot for high season.

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.

At the northern end of the Alaska Peninsula, this sanctuary protects the world's largest gathering of brown bears. During the July to mid-August chum season, when salmon return to spawn, 50, 60, or even 70 brown bears congregate daily at the McNeil River falls to fish, eat, play, nap, and nurse cubs. The action happens within 15 to 20 feet of a viewing pad, so close that you can hear these magnificent creatures breathe and catch a whiff of their wet fur. Only 10 people a day can visit the viewing sites, and staffers (armed) are on hand to ensure that everyone behaves in nonthreatening, nonintrusive ways.

Because demand is so high, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game issues permits via a mid-March lottery. Applications and a nonrefundable $30 fee must be received by March 1, and Alaska residents get preferential treatment. Those who win pay an additional fee of just over $112 to $525, depending on the type of permit and the holder's residency. Air taxis to the sanctuary fly out of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. Once in the sanctuary, all travel is by foot and guided by state biologists. Permit holders camp on gravel pads, in a protected area near a communal cook house, and must bring all their food.

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 Porcupine caribou herd, with nearly 200,000 animals, migrates through Alaska's Arctic and Canada's adjacent Vuntut and Ivvavik National Parks, flowing like a river of animals across the expansive coastal plain, through U-shape valleys and alpine meadows, and over high mountain passes. Their range includes the Northwest Territories and Yukon of Canada, and Arctic Alaska, where many give on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. The herd's numbers appear strong, though the threat of oil and gas drilling and climate change on their birthing and nursing grounds worries many Arctic communities in Alaska and Canada.

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.