Sledge Island Day Trip & Shore Expedition

Rising dramatically out of the Bering Sea roughly 22 miles down the coast from Nome, Sledge Island (known in Inupiaq as Ayak) is a place few people ever get to experience. Named by Captain James Cook in 1778 after finding an abandoned Indigenous wooden sledge on its shores, this volcanic island is steeped in maritime history, mystery, and raw natural beauty.

For adventurous travelers looking to step off the beaten path, Sledge Island offers a rare opportunity to explore an uninhabited Arctic wilderness on foot. Here is what makes stepping ashore here so extraordinary:

• No resident bear population: Unlike mainland hiking around the Seward Peninsula, Sledge Island has no resident brown bear population—offering a lower-stress environment to hike, explore, and take photos.

• Bustling sea cliff rookeries: The island’s towering, sheer basalt cliffs are home to thousands of nesting seabirds, including horned and tufted puffins, murres, kittiwakes, and pelagic cormorants filling the skies and waters around you.

• Panoramic Views of the Seward Peninsula: Reaching the island’s elevated tundra ridges rewards you with sweeping, unobstructed 360-degree views back toward the mainland mountain ranges and across the open expanse of Norton Sound.

• True Untamed Isolation: With no roads, buildings, or permanent residents, stepping off the boat onto Sledge Island’s gravel shores feels like stepping onto another planet—a quiet, windswept wilderness reserved for true explorers.

Want to hear more stories about Sledge Island? Read Alaska Magazine’s feature titled “A Treasure Island in the Bering Strait”