visiting Adak Island this past May, and I still get the same reaction whenever I bring it up. Back home in Europe, almost nobody has heard of the place. Americans usually have — but even then, “you actually went there?” is the standard reply. So if you’re reading this because you’re seriously considering the trip, welcome. You’re already part of a very small club.

Adak sits far out in the Aleutian Islands, strung between mainland Alaska and Russia. It’s the westernmost settlement in the United States, and home to the country’s westernmost commercial airport. That’s not a throwaway fact — it shapes everything about how you get there and what you do once you arrive.

How to get to Adak Island

There is essentially one way in: two weekly flights from Anchorage, roughly 2.5 hours in the air. Alaska Airlines runs them on a Boeing 737, and the route is heavily subsidized — without that support, it almost certainly wouldn’t exist.

Our outbound flight had maybe 35 passengers, most of them clearly headed for the fishing boats, which are the backbone of the local economy. The return leg carried around 20 people, and a flight attendant told us that’s closer to normal. What surprised me was the cargo. Even with a near-empty cabin, the plane was packed with freight, because shipping anything to the island by other means is slow and difficult. That detail tells you a lot about daily life out here.

I flew all the way from Germany — Frankfurt to Seattle to Anchorage to Adak — and managed to land a genuinely reasonable fare, which was part of why I finally committed. I like remote places, and it’s hard to get more remote than this.

Where to stay and what to bring

Plan your food before you plan almost anything else. There is no grocery store on Adak. There’s one tavern, open only a handful of days a week — during our stay it opened exactly once, on the day we arrived. So we brought our own supplies, and you should too.

For lodging, you have basically two options on the island. Both are basic but comfortable enough for a few nights. Here’s the honest catch: the island’s power plant was down for about half our stay, so we ran the generator that came with our accommodation. If you’re the kind of traveler who needs everything to work smoothly, Adak will test you. If you can roll with it, it becomes part of the story.

We stayed four nights, which felt about right.

Adak’s war history and abandoned town

Most people who know Adak know it for its military past. A base went up here during World War II, then grew even more strategically important through the Cold War. It closed in the 1990s — though there’s now talk of reopening it — and when it did, the population collapsed from thousands to a few dozen. Today fewer than 30 people live here permanently, with more seasonal arrivals for fishing and maintenance.

The result is eerie in the best way. Most of the buildings stand abandoned, and some are slowly caving in on themselves. One of the first things you see after leaving the airport is a derelict McDonald’s. Walking through the empty structures gives certain corners of the island a genuinely creepy, end-of-the-world atmosphere.

Things to do in Adak

Activities are limited, and it’s better to know that going in. We rented a car for two days — around 360 USD per day, which is not a typo — and drove every road on the island. That still only covers a small slice of Adak. The rest is pure wilderness, reachable only by boat or on foot. We did some light hiking wherever the terrain allowed.

Wildlife is a real highlight. Caribou roam the island, though they aren’t native — they were introduced as a food source during the base years and now thrive with almost no people and no predators around. You’ll also spot sea otters, seals, and bald eagles. Birdwatching, fishing, and hunting draw a steady trickle of visitors.

Then there’s the weather, which deserves its own warning. It’s terrible, unpredictable, and constantly shifting. After two days we gave up on the forecast entirely — conditions flip within minutes, and the island is full of microclimates. When rain rolled in over one spot, we’d sometimes just drive 15 minutes and find sunshine.

Is visiting Adak Island worth It?

When the weather cleared, the landscapes were genuinely spectacular, and those moments made the whole trip. Adak is remote, wild, and unlike anywhere else I’ve been. I doubt I’ll return — but I’m very glad I went once. If that mix of isolation, history, and raw scenery appeals to you, put it on the list.