Aniakchak Caldera

About this spectacle

Aniakchak Caldera is one of the great forgotten wilderness calderas of North America, a vast volcanic depression on the Alaska Peninsula that sees fewer visitors per year than almost any other US national monument. Inside the six-mile-wide caldera, Surprise Lake sits at the base of towering lava walls, feeding the Aniakchak River that punches dramatically through the crater rim. Winds are fierce and unpredictable, the skies often grey and low, and the silence is profound between gusts. Volcanic features — cinder cones, lava flows, fumaroles — fill the interior, giving the landscape an otherworldly, post-apocalyptic texture. Brown bears roam freely here. Access is by small bush plane only, and the weather is notoriously brutal, making every successful visit feel hard-won. The reward is one of the most remote, raw, and visually staggering geological landscapes in the United States.

When to go

Jun — Sep, peak Jun — Aug

Getting there

Nearest airport: AKN. Nearest city: King Salmon.

Booking options

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