United States
Rising from the frigid waters of the Bering Sea, 300 miles north of the Aleutian chain and closer to Russia than to mainland Alaska, Saint Paul Island is one of the most remote inhabited places in the United States and one of the most extraordinary wildlife destinations in the Northern Hemisphere. This volcanic island, the largest of the Pribilof group, supports a year-round community of approximately 450 people — predominantly Aleut (Unangan) — and hosts the largest northern fur seal rookery in the world, along with seabird colonies of staggering magnitude.
The island's history is intertwined with exploitation and survival. Russian fur traders discovered the Pribilofs in 1786 and immediately began the systematic harvest of fur seals, enslaving Aleut hunters and their families to conduct the slaughter. The United States inherited this grim enterprise with the purchase of Alaska in 1867, and commercial sealing continued until 1984. Today, the fur seals have recovered spectacularly — approximately one million animals return each summer to breed on the rocky beaches, creating a wildlife spectacle that ranks with East Africa's great migrations in scale and intensity.
There are no restaurants on Saint Paul in the conventional sense, but the community's connection to the sea provides sustenance of extraordinary quality. Halibut, cod, and salmon are harvested from the surrounding waters, and king crab — among the finest in Alaska — is pulled from the deep Bering Sea trenches nearby. Seal and sea lion, while no longer commercially harvested, remain part of the traditional Unangan diet. Visitors typically eat at the small King Eider Hotel, the island's only accommodation, where meals feature local seafood prepared with straightforward excellence.
Beyond the fur seals, Saint Paul is one of North America's premier birding destinations. Over 240 species have been recorded, including numerous Asian vagrants blown across the Bering Sea — species rarely or never seen elsewhere in North America. The towering cliffs of Ridge Wall and Reef Point host hundreds of thousands of nesting seabirds: thick-billed and common murres, red-faced cormorants, horned and tufted puffins, and the endemic Pribilof race of the winter wren. The island's position on the Asian-American flyway makes it a magnet for rare migrants, and serious birders consider a visit here a pilgrimage.
Saint Paul is reached by PenAir flights from Anchorage (approximately four hours, with a stop in Dutch Harbor) or by occasional expedition cruise ship. The visiting season runs from mid-May through mid-September, with July and August offering peak fur seal activity and the best birding. Weather is consistently challenging — fog, wind, and cold rain are the norm rather than the exception, and flights are frequently delayed or cancelled. Visitors must book accommodation well in advance and arrive prepared for conditions that test both patience and wardrobe. The rewards, however, are commensurate with the effort: an encounter with wildlife on a scale that defies the imagination.