Located on the edge of the Bering Sea on the southwest side of the Seward Peninsula Nome is a vital hub for Northwest Alaska. The Three Lucky Swedes discovered placer gold in Anvil Creek in 1898...the rush was on! In 1899 the population of Nome swelled from a handful to 28,000.  Today our population is 3,500 and there is still some gold mining happening.

Nome’s colorful Gold Rush history is set within the framework of 10,000 years of Inupiaq Eskimo history. A history of survival living a subsistence lifestyle that many live to this day underscores the vibrancy of the Eskimo culture. The culture that today manifests itself in the world’s finest ivory carving, vibrant drum/vocal music and some of the best Eskimo dancing in Alaska. The Inupiaq values of yesterday live in the people today.

Our region has 350 miles of roads that are open from mid May until the end of October (when the snows begin to fly). Birding in Nome is excellent during the summer months with the greatest number (200 migratory species) from May 15th – June 15th and again in the fall as the cranes and swans exit. Villages on the Seward Peninsula are all accessible by local airlines and Teller accessible by our road system out of Nome. The roads also allow the traveler to get out into the spectacular tundra which beginning in June blooms with wonderful wild flowers and ends with magnificent fall colors in September and October.

Use this website to navigate around and learn more about Nome and Western Alaska.
We hope you find our clip from our award winning DVD “There’s No Place Like Nome”
enjoyable. It will give you a good feel for life in Nome, and the beauty of the region where musk ox, moose, grizzly bears, and birds abound in the summer and fall. Or don’t forget the winter and the finish of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in March, northern lights and much more winter fun.