Contributed by Doris Thomas
Friends of Nike Site Summit is hosting morning and afternoon bus tours of Arctic Valley’s historic Site Summit on Saturday, June 25; Saturday, July 9; Sunday, July 24; and Sunday, Aug. 21. A hiking tour of the former missile site is set for Saturday, Aug. 6.
The online registration link for all nine tours is reg.planetreg.com/FONSS-2022. Those without Internet access can reserve by calling (907) 929-9870 and making payment and reservation arrangements.
The tour price includes round trip bus transportation to Site Summit from the Arctic Valley Lodge parking lot. Bus tours are $82 for students 12-17, veterans and senior citizens 65+, and $87 for adults. The hiking tour is open to fit, experienced hikers 13 and older and the fee is $45 for adults and $40 for youth, veterans and seniors.
FONSS is also hosting a hiking tour of the Nike facilities remaining at Kincaid Park, once known as Site Point, on Saturday, June 11; information on that tour is also available at the reservation link. That tour is open to anyone 10 or older and costs $25.
Reservations are required no less than three days in advance for the Site Summit tours. Kincaid Park tour reservations can be made as late as the day of the event if it isn’t sold out. However, late potential participants need to follow the guidelines on the reservation link in order to make last-minute reservations.
Site Summit is culturally significant as the only one of eight Cold War-era Nike-Hercules missile sites in Alaska still standing. Tour participants will talk to veterans who were stationed at Site Summit, find out how the missiles were launched and learn about Alaska’s role in the Cold War.
Friends of Nike Site Summit was formed by local volunteers in 2007 to advocate for the preservation of Site Summit. In 2009, it partnered with the U.S. Army (now JBER), the National Park Service, and State Historic Preservation Officer to preserve the historic mountaintop fortress overlooking Arctic Valley. FONSS' mission is to preserve and interpret the site for the education of current and future generations about the Cold War, and, by doing this, memorialize the millions of veterans who served during the Cold War. FONSS is a committee of the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, and works in cooperation with JBER.