Entry No. 15 — the Anchorage file — filed under: cold war
Nike Site Summit
An abandoned Cold War Nike-Hercules nuclear missile battery at ~3,900 feet in the Chugach, one of the last two such sites in the country to close (1979). Volunteer-restored bunkers and launch structures sit on a mountaintop overlooking Anchorage; public access is by authorized FONSS tour only.
The story
In 1959, at the peak of Cold War paranoia, the U.S. Army locked down a 3,900-foot ridge on Mt. Gordon Lyon and installed a nuclear anti-aircraft missile battery directly over Anchorage. The premise was brutal in its simplicity: if Soviet long-range bombers swept over the Bering Strait toward the lower 48, the Nike-Hercules missiles staged up here were designed to detonate nuclear warheads directly in the sky, wiping out whole bomber formations at high altitude.
Eight of these Nike installations were constructed across Alaska—three guarding Anchorage, five guarding Fairbanks. Site Summit survived until 1979, making it one of the final two Nike-Hercules sites in the entire nation to decommission. While sister installations fell to scrap or military demolition, volunteers with the Friends of Nike Site Summit (FONSS) spent decades salvaging this peak, restoring launch bays, radar towers, and concrete bunkers high above Cook Inlet.
You're standing on what was once one of the most heavily fortified, high-altitude nuclear defense posts in North America. Walk through the heavy bunker blast doors, and you're staring at the exact structures where soldiers waited around the clock, ready to uncap atomic payloads over the Alaskan mountain range.
What it's like
Getting here isn't a simple pull-off-the-highway affair. Because Site Summit sits on active military land belonging to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), you can't drive up or hike in on your own—you have to pre-register weeks in advance so security can clear you for a FONSS summer tour bus. You'll meet the shuttle at the Arctic Valley Ski Area parking lot (bring money for the lot's day parking fee), where the bus does the brutal vertical climb for you. Up at 3,900 feet, the weather flips from sunshine to howling, sub-zero winds in minutes; wear sturdy boots and layers you'd bring on a summit ridge hike. You'll spend your time poking around restored missile bays and control bunkers while the entire grid of Anchorage spreads out thousands of feet below.
The move: Book a summer FONSS bus tour together and poke through the missile bunkers with the whole city spread out below — a strange, history-soaked alternative to a normal hike.
📍 Before you go Access is by FONSS bus only, and the site sits on military land — you must pre-register well ahead so JBER security can clear every passenger, so this is plan-in-advance, not a spur-of-the-moment trip. Tours load at the Arctic Valley Ski Area lot, reached by a gravel road climbing off the Glenn Highway northeast of town (a day parking fee applies at the lot). The bus does the climbing, so no hiking — but at ~3,900 feet the weather flips fast, so bring layers and sturdy shoes. It's strictly a summer thing. Pair it with Arctic Valley's own summer trails right at the trailhead.
- 📍 Arctic Valley / Chugach
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Atop Mt. Gordon Lyon, Arctic Valley (tours depart Arctic Valley Ski Area lot), AK
Hours: Guided tours summer only; advance booking required via FONSS
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Eklutna Historical Park & Spirit Houses Cemetery — Trade high-altitude Cold War defense structures for centuries of Athabascan and Russian Orthodox history at Eklutna's spirit house cemetery further north on the Glenn Highway.
- Little Lithuanian Museum & Library — Follow up an obscure military tour with another unexpected mid-century survival—Alaska's only Lithuanian museum tucked away in nearby Chugiak.
- ARLIS Wildlife Realia Collection (Alaska Resources Library) — Swap concrete missile bunkers for a university library in Midtown Anchorage that lets patrons check out taxidermy pelts, animal skulls, and polar bear paws.
- UAA Planetarium & Visualization Theater — Shift your high-altitude atmospheric views down to the UAA campus, where a 33-foot planetarium dome projects deep-space visualization shows.
Good to know
Can I drive or hike up to Site Summit on my own?
No. The summit sits on restricted military property inside JBER. Public access is strictly prohibited unless you are on an official, pre-cleared FONSS tour bus.
Why do I need to register so far in advance?
Because the facility is on military property, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson security requires complete passenger rosters well ahead of time to run background checks on every visitor.
Where do the tours depart from?
Tours load at the Arctic Valley Ski Area parking lot, which is reached via a steep gravel road off the Glenn Highway northeast of Anchorage.
Is the site open year-round?
No. Tours run strictly during the summer months and usually sell out completely before the season begins.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · nps.gov · jber.jb.mil
last checked: 2026-06-06