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Nome City Information

Overview

Nome is located in Northwest Alaska, on the Seward Peninsula by the Bering Sea. Musk oxen roam the hills around Nome just as they did thousands of years ago.  Nome is rich in native history and culture as well as goldrush history.  Still nowadays, many hopeful prospectors search for gold in and around Nome.  Nome is also the ending point of the world famous Iditarod Sled Dog Race. 

Attractions

Nome is the finish for the 1,049-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. This world-famous race begins in March in Anchorage and the first dog teams begin arriving in Nome approximately 9 days later. Nome's Iditarod Festival begins a week after the start and continues as the mushers keep arriving.

Nome offers splendid shopping opportunities and is one of the best places in Alaska to purchase native arts & crafts, such as Eskimo dolls, mukluks, carved ivory, gold nugget jewelry and Walrus Ivory Carvings.

The Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum offers invaluable insight into the native and goldrush history of Nome and the surrounding area.

History

In 1898, three Swedish men discovered gold in a creek near Nome Once this news had reached the gold fields in the Klondike, prospectors started pouring into the area. During the spring of 1900, as soon as steamships from the ports of Seattle and San Francisco could reach the north through the ice, thousand of hopeful gold seekers arrived in Nome.

Even though Nome is now accessible by air and thus no longer depends on ships and ferries that could only make it to Nome as long as the sea ice did not block access, life still has a very traditional feel.  Gold miners still search for gold.  Native families still gather berries, fish for salmon and hunt for sea mammals as it has been their tradition for thousand of years.  

Other Information