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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[edit]

Climate[edit]

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

Nome (Alaska)
Climate chart (explanation)
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation+Snow totals in inches
See Nome's 7 day forecast    Data from NOAA (1981-2010)
Metric conversion
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation+Snow totals in mm

History[edit]

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 lying openly on the beaches is a thing of the past. It was the end point of the 1925 serum run to Nome from the port city of Seward to fight a diphtheria epidemic in town; an event which inspired the 1995 animated film Balto.

Visitor information[edit]

Get in[edit]

By plane[edit]

  • 1 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 Kotzebue with 2 Alaska Airlines, 3 Bering Air, Pathfinder Aviation, and Ryan Air operate to many smaller communities in Alaska. Bering Air operates charters to the Russian Far East. Nome Airport (Q2502241) on Wikidata Nome Airport on Wikipedia

By ship[edit]

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[edit]

Car, bus, and taxi.

See[edit]

Salmon Lake

Do[edit]

Finish line of the Iditarod
  • Bering Sea Ice Golf Classic. 3rd Saturday in March. Golf on the frozen Bering Sea.
  • Nome Discovery Tours, +1 907 443-2814, . Pan for gold, historical or tundra tours, Eskimo village visits or customize.

Buy[edit]

The Bering Sea in June

Eat[edit]

  • 1 Milano's Pizzeria, 2824 Front St, +1 907 443-2924.
  • 2 Subway, 135 East Front St, +1 907 443-8100.
  • Polar Café, 205 West Front St, +1 907-443-2661.

Drink[edit]

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

Sleep[edit]

Go next[edit]

  • 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


This city travel guide to Nome is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.