Bethel is a small rural city located along the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska. With a population of just over 6,000, Bethel serves as the economic and transportation hub for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.
While it may not have huge tourist attractions like some of Alaska’s larger cities, Bethel still offers visitors plenty of sights and activities to enjoy during their stay. From cultural centers that celebrate the region’s native heritage to outdoor adventures in the nearby tundra wilderness, there is something for every type of traveler in Bethel.
In this article, we will highlight 12 of the top attractions and things to do in and around Bethel that provide a glimpse into life in rural Alaska. From museums and cultural sites where you can learn about the customs and lifestyles of the Yup’ik and other native groups to prime fishing spots along the river and guided tours into the vast roadless terrain, Bethel has an experience for all interests. Read on to learn more about 12 can’t miss attractions in Bethel, Alaska’s remote delta hub city.
Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center
The Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center is a museum and cultural center dedicated to preserving the language, traditions, arts, and lifestyles of the native Yup’ik and Cup’ik peoples of southwestern Alaska. Located right in Bethel, the cultural center offers rotating exhibits showcasing traditional arts and crafts like fur parka sewing, basket weaving, kayak building, drum making, and more.
Guests can also view collections of artifacts and historical photos documenting the culture. The cultural center also hosts classes where visitors can learn native dances, play traditional Yup’ik games, or listen to elders recount ancient stories. With both indoor and outdoor exhibits and activities, the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center is one of bethel’s top attractions for learning about Alaska native heritage.
Kuskokwim River
The lifeblood of Bethel and the entire Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is the mighty Kuskokwim River. Stretching over 700 miles long, the expansive river provided the native Yup’ik people with reliable transportation routes and access to abundant salmon fishing for centuries.
In the Bethel area, the Kuskokwim River is a hub of activity with fishing boats and barges transporting people, goods, supplies across southwest Alaska. Visitors can tour sections of the river on small cruise boats, watch fishermen haul in the day’s catch at fish camps along the banks, or try their hand at fishing for some of the Kuskokwim’s prized salmon and trout. Scenic overlooks in town also provide great views of the majestic river rolling through the tundra wilderness.
Kuigna Fish Rack and Smokehouse
A short drive from Bethel is the Kuinga Fish Rack and Smokehouse, a family-owned business specializing in smoking and rack drying fresh caught salmon from the Kuskokwim River. Open to visitors in summer months, the fish camp allows you to see firsthand how native Alaskans preserve their salmon harvests using racks to air dry fish or smokehouses to cure salmon into a chewy texture.
You can purchase bags of their delicious smoked salmon to enjoy yourself or take home as an edible souvenir. Trying traditional native foods is an integral part of understanding Alaska heritage, making Kuinga Fish Rack and Smokehouse a top Bethel attraction.
Grant Aviation Scenic Flight Tours
One of the best ways to appreciate the vast scale and remote wilderness around Bethel is from the air on a scenic flight tour. Grant Aviation, located just next to Bethel’s airport, offers unforgettable aerial tours of the region on small planes.
Visitors can see sprawling wetlands and meandering rivers that make up the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge as well as glimpse native fish camps and tiny rural villages scattered across the roadless terrain. On clear days, the flight tours also provide views of the imposing Ahklun Mountains that contain Alaska’s largest glacier. Soaring high above Bethel’s slice of tundra gives perspective on the challenges and natural beauty of life in the Alaskan bush.
Crow Hill Muskox Farm
A surprising find near Bethel is Crow Hill Muskox Farm located just 20 miles outside of town along the Kuskokwim River. The farm breeds and raises muskox, large wooly mammals whose ancestors roamed Alaska during the Ice Age.
Visitors can take educational tours of the farm where they can feed, pet, and take photos with the gentle muskoxen as well as learn about their unique biology and sustainable harvesting of their signature long hair qiviut coats. Crow Hill Muskox Farm provides a memorable Alaska wildlife experience meeting these relic Ice Age mammals.
Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway
Visitors looking to venture into Bethel’s remote wilderness need to drive along the Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, the only road connecting Bethel to neighboring villages. Named after the longtime leader of Bethel’s native community, the gravel road stretches over 100 miles as it winds along the tundra countryside, crosses wooden plank bridges over rivers, and passes small fishing lodges and tiny rural communities along the way.
The highway provides access to prime fishing areas, secluded camping spots, and guided outdoor adventures. Renting a car and hitting this wild Alaskan road offers a true taste of freedom and adventure in a landscape untamed by extensive roads.
Quintero Sled Dog Tours
The sled dog has long been intrinsic to Alaska native transportation and subsistence living as well as modern day racing glory. In Bethel, visitors can experience mushing firsthand on a sled dog ride with Quintero Sled Dog Tours.
Their knowledgeable guides will outfit you with cold weather gear before teaching you how to handle your own sled pulled by a team of energetic huskies. The dogs will then whisk you along snow-covered trails with panoramic views of the endless tundra and perhaps some wild moose or caribou sightings. Quintero’s sled dog tours offer an authentic winter highlight.
Bear’s Gift Shop
After exploring Bethel’s various cultural attractions and outdoor wilderness adventures, make sure to stop by Bear’s Gift Shop near the center of town. The little store is packed from floor to ceiling with Native Alaskan arts, crafts, jewelry, knick-knacks and souvenirs.
You can find hand carved ulus and masks made by Yup’ik artists, fur mittens and mukluks crafted using ancient techniques, woven baskets decorated with tribal designs, ulu knives featuring walrus tusk handles, and Russian trade beads transformed into necklaces. Bear’s Gift Shop lets you take a piece of native Alaskan artistry back home.
Three Step Trail
Just a fifteen minute walk from downtown, Bethel’s Three Step Trail treats hikers to a relatively easy and scenic route along the edge of the tundra. Marked with blue posts, this two-mile loop passes through marshes, meadows blanketed in wildflowers during summer, and pops with fall foliage in autumn.
The trail gets its name from a short section requiring a three-step maneuver over some roots, adding a touch of harmless adventure. As a mostly flat walk accessible right in town, Three Step Trail is idea for any visitor to stretch their legs surrounded by the unique landscape.
Sam Fox Museum
This small museum contains an intriguing hodgepodge collection from the Sam Fox School illustrating what a rural one-room school was life for Alaska native communities in the mid-20th century. Visitors can view vintage books, lessons, photos and projects created by students who attended the school as well as get a sense of what rural education involved through insightful captions.
Located at the former school site, the Sam Fox Museum documents an important chapter in Bethel’s history and the challenges of teaching in remote native villages.
Bethel Winter House
When the warm summer months end and winter settles over Bethel’s tundra in subzero temperatures, the local community gathers at the cozy Bethel Winter House. Also called a kazgi or communal men’s house in Yup’ik language, the large log building has served as the gathering spot for storytelling, dance festivals, and potlatches for generations.
Visitors can stop into the winter house year-round to see woven grass mats, bunk bed frames, boats, dog sleds and other items stored there during the offseason. During winter months, experiencing the winter house’s warmth and hospitality provides the perfect refuge from the icy weather.
Conclusion
As the transportation, economic, and cultural center of Southwest Alaska’s Yukon Delta region, the city of Bethel punches far above its small size in sights and activities for visitors. From Yup’ik dances at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center and tundra hikes along Three Step Trail to scenic flight tours over the mighty Kuskowkim River and smoked salmon tastings at remote fish camps, Bethel delivers authentic rural Alaskan experiences.
While amenities might be limited, the remote subarctic landscape, resilient native communities, and endless wilderness adventure opportunities speak volumes about the resilient spirit required living in the Alaska bush. With a rich cultural heritage and stories etched into the land itself, Bethel’s attractions offer immersive perspective into perseverance, ingenuity, and connection to nature that defines so much of the state’s identity.