Nome sits on the Bering Sea at the edge of northwest Alaska, far beyond the connected road system. You fly in, then find a small city with a big frontier past: gold on the beaches, the 1925 serum run, the finish of the Iditarod, and a strong Alaska Native presence.
The town is remote but not empty. The Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum and Katirvik Cultural Center give useful context, while the Bering Land Bridge Heritage Center explains the vast preserve north of town. In March, the Iditarod finish turns Front Street into the end point of Alaska's most famous race.
Nome is also a base for independent drives on gravel roads that simply run out into tundra, coast, and old mining country. It is expensive and weather-dependent, but it has a stronger sense of place than many larger Alaska towns.