To get to the river you have to fly and this can be done by driving to Coldfoot, where an outfitter can take you directly to the river put in, or you can take a regularly scheduled commercial flight from Fairbanks to either Kotzebue, where you can charter a plane, or take another commercial flight to Kiana. From there you will need to charter a plane to take you to the put in at a gravel bar alongside the river. The upper section of river may be too low to float at times late in the summer. You will want to contact your flight operator about where they will advise you to go. If the river is high enough, go to the headwaters area where the West Fork joins the river and land on a suitable gravel bar near there. This area has great alpine hiking not far from the river and offers great views east up the Kobuk River Valley and south across the Kotzebue Sound, near your destination 80 miles away.
