How Many Days in Nome?

Minimum Stay

1 -3 full days in Nome.

One full day in Nome is like taking a small bite out of an intriguing and complex meal. In order to truly experience and savor Nome, you need to stay longer. Three days will give you time to delve into Nome’s history, explore at least one of the three roads out of town, meet locals, and take in some outdoor activities – birding, hiking, or spotting wildlife. Nome is also the jumping off point to smaller villages, so if you have even a little more time, you can fly out to experience a truly remote, authentic Alaskan lifestyle.

Guided Tours

• Nome’s Discovery Tours offers half-day and full-day excursions in and outside of Nome with the charming Richard Beneville, who is passionate and knowledgeable about Nome’s history, ecology and Native culture. Richard’s tours are often the highlight for visitors.
• There are also local opportunities to tour a working reindeer farm, or go gold mining, fishing, or birding. In winter you can go crabbing under the Bering Sea ice, take dogsled rides, and go on guided snowcat excursions.

Self-Guided Recommendations

For the Culture & History Lover:

• Walk along Front Street or Nome Beach, where the boomtown city of Nome first started sprouting up in 1900.
• Spend an afternoon or morning in the Richard Foster Building, where you’ll find the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum and the Katirvik Cultural Center (both opening in late 2016).
• Visit Anvil City Square and take your photo with the “Three Lucky Swedes,” the world’s largest gold pan and Old St. Joe’s Hall.
• Search for old mining dredges (#5, #6 and the Swanberg Dredge are easy to see in town; others are in various states of deterioration around the area.)
• Visit the old Satellite T-Hangar. Thousands of aircraft came through here on the way to Russia during the World War II Lend-Lease program.
• Fly to an outlying village or island to experience Native culture (ex: Little Diomede or St. Lawrence Island)

For the Outdoor Enthusiast:

• Hike up Anvil Mountain.
• Walk along Nome Beach to enjoy the Bering Sea and look for sea glass or driftwood. (Borrow a gold pan from the Visitors Center and see if you can find any gold flakes!)
• Explore along the tundra, spotting flowers in summer and searching for berries in fall.
• Check out birding hot spots around town.
• Visit the National Park Service Visitors Center to learn more about the geology, ecology and wildlife of the Seward Peninsula.
• Rent a car and explore the three roads out of Nome.
• Skate, ski or snowshoe in winter.
• Drive to Pilgrim Hot Springs (or plan a larger adventure to Serpentine Hot Springs) and enjoy a super hot soak.

If you want to meet the people who live here:

• Have a homey lunch and share stories with elders at the XYZ Senior Center on 1st and Division.
• Enjoy a drink at a local bar or saloon (there are plenty to choose from on Front Street).
• Stop in at the Nome Nugget, Alaska’s oldest newspaper (published daily except for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) to catch up on the latest news.
• Participate in a local race or celebration, depending on the time of year. Check at the Nome Visitors Center for the scoop on upcoming events.
• Join a pick-up basketball game or other class at the Nome Rec Center.
• Talk with artists and crafters at local fairs.
• Attend a Nome Arts Council event and join in playing music or participating in one of two open mike evenings.
• Hang out on Nome Beach, talking with beachcombers and miners.