If you are planning a trip to Nome as part of your Alaska visit, make sure to allow plenty of time for some of the following activities.

Visitor Information Center, Front Street
This is a great place to get started for your visit. They have a number of handouts that cover everything from local history to fishing to recreational gold panning on the beaches. Pick up a street map and check out what events may be occurring while you are in town.

Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum, Front Street
A small museum packed full of artifacts and photos. You could easily spend a couple of hours here looking at the exhibits on Native culture and gold rush history. Also on display is Leonhard Seppala’s treasured lead dog, Fritz. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.

National Park Service Visitor Center, Front Street
A small office and display area with videos, books and displays on natural history and Native culture. This is the headquarters for the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, which is on the northern part of the Seward Peninsula.

Shop on Front Street
In addition to the visitor facilities listed above, numerous bars, gift shops, and restaurants line both sides of Front Street. For Native arts and crafts, I would recommend Maruskiya’s. They have an excellent selection of local artwork, including ivory carvings, baleen baskets, whalebone carvings, slippers and masks. Maruskiya’s also carries a nice selection of Russian porcelain and a large variety of Nome T-shirts. If you’re a book lover, stop in at Arctic Trading Post. While it is primarily a gift shop, they also carry an impressive selection of Alaskan books, both children’s titles and adult fiction and non-fiction. You’ll find many Alaskan “classics” on the shelves here, as well as more unusual titles related to local history and culture.

Rent a car and explore Nome’s road system
Nome is unique amongst Bush Alaska towns because of its origins as a mining town (as opposed to a fish camp or regional trading center). As such, it has an extensive road system, making much of the surrounding countryside accessible. Remnants of the gold rush era are visible along the roads (old bridges, abandoned dredges and the like). You may see local wildlife such as moose, bear, musk ox, or fox. If you are a birder, opportunities abound – you may even spot a lifer such as the Bristle-thighed Curlew.

Take a tour
Several companies in Nome offer a variety of organized tours which may include historical tours, gold panning, birding, fishing or something customized to your interests. Stop at the Visitor Center on Front Street for a handout providing contact information.

Pan for gold
Nome got started as a gold rush town and continues to have working gold mines, so a visit wouldn’t be complete without participating in this activity. You can take an organized tour that includes gold panning; or you can pan for gold on your own on the beach. As much of the area is privately owned, make sure you check with the visitor center for areas open to visitors. Inexpensive gold pans are sold in the local stores – and yes, you can keep anything you find (but don’t expect to strike it rich!).

Take a walk
Walking in and around Nome is a great way to get a flavor of Nome’s character. You’ll find old houses alongside new and old mining equipment lining yards and public areas. If you’re up for a longer walk and weather is nice, take a walk around the outskirts of Nome on the By-Pass road. You’ll get a good view of the surrounding hills and the delicate tundra. On the east end of town you’ll find Swanberg’s gold dredge and other abandoned mining equipment. The entire loop around town is just over three easy miles on a well maintained road.