Cape Krusenstern National Monument
A bridge to the past and a land for the future, Cape Krusenstern National Monument protects approximately 560,000 acres of diverse Arctic coastal, and upland ecosystems. Inhabited by the Iñupiaq people since time-immemorial, over 5,000 years of sequential human use is documented in the 114 successive beach ridges. Rich connections to the land and waters are preserved through subsistence practices.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
No fee.
Hours
| Cape Krusenstern National Monument | Daily · All Day |
When to go
November draws the most visits here and April the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Northwest Arctic Heritage Center ↗Passport stamp
Large, half-dome shaped, blue and grey building with just over 11,000 square feet of space. The museum space is just over 1,800 square feet and contains animal displays, soundscapes, tactile exhibits and more. The Heritage Center also contains a bookstore, restroom, art gallery, and sitting area.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Visit the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center30-120 Minutes
Trying to figure out where to go and what to do in Northwest Alaska? The Northwest Arctic Heritage Center is a great place to meet rangers and acquire information on Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, and Noatak National…
Opens on the Park Service site - Birdwatching at Krusenstern Lagoon1-7 Days
Amazing birding opportunities await the adventurers that visit Cape Krusenstern.
Opens on the Park Service site - Flying to Radio Hill3-7 Days
Landscape view of vast tundra and rolling Igichuk Hills.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Alaska guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 142 birds, 35 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsBald eagle · Golden eagle · Great horned owl · Hawk owl · Merlin · Northern harrier · Osprey · Peregrin falcon · Rough-legged hawk · Short-eared owl · Snowy owl
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican wigeon · Bufflehead · Canada goose · Common goldeneye · Common loon · Eurasian wigeon · Greater scaup · Green-winged teal · Harlequin duck · Horned grebe · King eider duck · Northern pintail · Oldsquaw duck · Pacific loon · Pelagic cormorant · Red-breasted merganser · Red-necked grebe · Red-throated loon · Sandhill crane · Snow goose · Tundra swan · White-fronted goose · Yellow-billed loon
Shorebirds & seabirdsAleutian tern · American golden-plover · Arctic tern · Baird's sandpiper · Bar-tailed godwit · Black turnstone · Black-bellied plover · Bonaparte's gull · Bristle-thighed curlew · Common murre · Common snipe · Dunlin · Glaucous gull · Herring gull · Horned puffin · Hudsonian godwit · Ivory gull · Least sandpiper · Lesser yellowlegs · Long-billed dowitcher · Long-tailed jaeger · Mew gull · Parasitic jaeger · Pectoral sandpiper · Pomarine jaeger · Red phalarope · Red-necked phalarope · Ruddy turnstone · Sabine's gull · Sanderling · Semipalmated plover · Semipalmated sandpiper · Sharp-tailed sandpiper · Short-tailed shearwater · Solitary sandpiper · Spotted sandpiper · Thick-billed murre · Tufted puffin · Western sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesPigeon guillemot · Rock ptarmigan · Spruce grouse · Willow ptarmigan
Also on the checklistAmerican pipit · American robin · American tree sparrow · Arctic warbler · Bank swallow · Barn swallow · Black guillemot · Black scoter · Black-backed wagtail · Black-capped chickadee · Black-legged kittiwake · Blackpoll warbler · Bluethroat · Bohemian wagwing · Boreal chickadee · Brant · Canvasback · Cliff swallow · Common eider · Common raven · Common redpoll · Dark-eyed junco · Fox sparrow · Golden-crowned sparrow · Gray jay · Gray-cheeked thrush · Gray-headed chickadee · Gyrfalcon · Hermit thrush · Hoary redpoll · Horned lark · Kittlitz's murrelet · Lapland longspur · Mallard · Northern fulmar · Northern goshawk · Northern shoveler · Northern shrike · Northern waterthrush · Northern wheatear · Orange-crowned warbler · Red knot · Red-throated pipit · Rosy finch · Ruby-crowned kinglet · Rusty blackbird · Savannah sparrow · Say's phoebe · Snow bunting · Spectacled eider · Steller's eider · Surf scoter · Surfbird · Tree swallow · Varied thrush · Violet-green swallow · Wandering tattler · Whimbrel · White wagtail · White-crowned sparrow · White-winged scoter · Wilson's warbler · Yellow wagtail · Yellow warbler · Yellow-rumped warbler
Small mammalsAlaska hare · American beaver · Arctic ground squirrel · Barren ground shrew · Brown lemming · Cinereus shrew · Collared lemming · Dusky shrew · Muskrat · Northern red-backed vole · Porcupine · Pygmy shrew · Red squirrel · Singing vole · Snowshoe hare · Tiny shrew · Tundra shrew · Tundra vole
Marine mammalsBowhead whale
PredatorsArctic fox · Brown bear · Ermine · Gray wolf · Least weasel · Lynx · Mink · Polar bear · Red fox · River otter · Wolverine
Hoofed mammalsCaribou · Dall's sheep · Moose
Also on the checklistMuskox · Walrus
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Snow, rain, and freezing temperatures can occur any time of the year. Always travel with good quality rain gear and warm layers. Be especially careful to stay dry. Hypothermia can set in on a windy, wet day, even when it doesn't feel that cold.
Questions people ask
Does Cape Krusenstern charge an entrance fee?
No. Cape Krusenstern is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Cape Krusenstern open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is Cape Krusenstern?
3,357 recreation visits in 2025, number 377 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was Cape Krusenstern established?
1978.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Cape Krusenstern?
Snow, rain, and freezing temperatures can occur any time of the year. Always travel with good quality rain gear and warm layers.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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