Nome (Alaska)

Nome is a city in the Arctic region of Alaska. It is a town of about 4,000 people, about half of whom are Alaska natives. It is the transportation and commerce center for Northwest Alaska. It also is the western terminus of the Iditarod Trail.

Nome and the Bering Sea

Understand

Climate

The Nome region has a tundra climate, with cool summers and very cold winters.

Nome (Alaska)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D       0.9     13 −3       0.9     15 0       0.7     19 2       0.8     28 14       0.9     43 31       1     55 41       2.1     58 46       3.2     56 44       2.5     49 37       1.6     35 23       1.2     23 11       1.1     17 2 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation+Snow totals in inches    Data from NOAA (1981-2010)
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D       23     −11 −19       23     −9 −18       18     −7 −17       20     −2 −10       23     6 −1       25     13 5       53     14 8       81     13 7       64     9 3       41     2 −5       30     −5 −12       28     −8 −17 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation+Snow totals in mm

History

Nome's main claim to fame is a gold rush that happened at the turn to the twentieth century and caused the population to grow to over 20,000. There is still gold and mining but the gold literally lying openly on the beaches is a thing of the past.

Visitor information

• 🌍 Nome Visitor's Center, 301 Front St., ☎ [phone]. (updated Dec 2017)

Get in

By plane

• 🌍 Nome Airport (OME  ^IATA). This is the only way to get into Nome other than the Iditarod Trail, as the rest of the roads in Nome do not connect to other parts of Alaska. Nome Airport offers flights to Anchorage and many smaller places in Alaska. (updated Jun 2018)

By ship

Cruise Ship: There are a couple cruise ships a year that stop in Nome as part of a trip through the Northwest Passage.

Get around

Car, bus, and taxi.

See

Salmon Lake

• 🌍 Bering Land Bridge Visitor Center, 1st floor of the Sitnusak Building on Front St., toll-free: [phone]. Daily, 10AM-6PM. Free. (updated Sep 2016)
• 🌍 Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum, 100 W. 7th St., ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. M-Th Noon-7 PM, F-Sa Noon- 6P M. $7 Adults, $6 Youth and Elders, Free First Fridays of the Month. 
• The Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Finishes in mid-March in Nome. Iditarod events take place during the whole month.  
• The Iron Dog Snomobile Race. Runs from Wasilla to Nome and back in February. Snowmobile races are also held most weekends in winter.  
• 🌍 The world's largest gold pan. (18 ft) in Anvil City Park. 
• 🌍 Katirvik Cultural Center, 504 Seppala Dri, ☎ [phone]. (updated Jan 2018)

Do

Finish line of the Iditarod

• Bering Sea Ice Golf Classic. 3rd Saturday in March. Golf on the frozen Bering Sea. 
• Alaska Wilderness Expeditions, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. River kayak touring. 7, 10, and 14-day trips for groups of 4-6 people, from flat water floats up to class III rivers. 
• Steve's Guide Service, ☎ [phone] (day), [phone] (evenings). Full or half day fishing trips for 1-5 persons, short evening trips, all tackle and bait provided. 
• Jade's Arctic Grizzlies, ☎ [phone]. The area has one of the largest bear populations in Alaska, depending on the season, hunt for moose, ptarmigan or caribou. Fishing trips and bird hunting also arranged. Photographer excursions are welcome. 
• Nome Discovery Tours, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Pan for gold, historical or tundra tours, Eskimo village visits or customize. 

Buy

The Bering Sea in June

• Maruskiyas of Nome, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 

Eat

• 🌍 Milano's Pizzeria, 2824 Front St, ☎ [phone]. (updated Jan 2018)
• 🌍 Subway, 135 East Front St, ☎ [phone]. (updated Jan 2018)
• Polar Café, 205 West Front St, ☎ [phone]. 

Drink

A reindeer in the bed of a pickup truck outside the Nome Liquor Store and Grocery in 2009

• Breakers Bar, 243 West Front St, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 Gold Dust Saloon, 315 West Front St, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. (updated Jan 2018)

Sleep

• 🌍 Aurora Inn, 302 E. Front St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 68 units. 
• 🌍 Nome Nugget Inn, 315 West Front St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 42 rooms. 
• Trails End - Apartments by the Day, 308 West First St, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. 2 units. 
• Bed For A Night, 707 E 4th Ave, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. $90 and up. 
• Bering Sea Bed & Breakfast, 1103 E. 5th Ave, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. 
• Mai's Guest House, ☎ [phone]. 
• Sweet Dreams B and B, ☎ [phone]. 

Go next

• Council — No-one has lived in Council since 1990. However, the population can pass 100 in summer, when inhabitants of Nome drive to Council to stay in one of the abandoned homes as a vacation home. It is accessible via the Nome-Council Highway, a 72-mile dirt road, in a pretty wooded valley.
• Solomon — a tiny town that is next on the Iditarod Trail
• Teller — at 200, a sizable town for this part of Alaska, near the Bering Strait and accessible via the beautiful 70-mile dirt Nome-Teller Highway