Nikolai, AK

Nikolai is a small Athabascan village set along the South Fork of the Kuskokwim River, about 46 miles east of McGrath. Because it sits entirely off the road system, getting in and out means taking a small plane to the local airstrip, boating downriver in summer, or riding a snowmachine across winter trails. Daily life is quiet and deeply tied to traditional subsistence hunting and fishing, with families served by the Top of the Kuskokwim School and the town coming together every March as a checkpoint for the Iditarod.