An off-grid getaway in Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands: abandoned Cold War bunkers, ghost towns, and wildlife everywhere on Adak

Adak, population under 100, in the Aleutian Islands that stretch from Alaska towards Japan, teems with wildlife and has that end-of-the-world feeling

Explore its remote US military facilities, abandoned after the Cold War ended, and you’ll feel as if you’ve wandered onto the set of a zombie apocalypse film

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A Cold War-era bunker, one of many that dot hillsides across Adak Island, Alaska. Visitors to the remote island can explore the decaying relics, the dozens of military facilities left behind in 1997, and the island’s stunning countryside. Photo: AP

Published: 9:15pm, 14 Aug 2021Updated: 9:20pm, 14 Aug 2021

The roar of our rusty pickup truck rumbling down a dirt road on Alaska’s Adak Island is the only sound for miles besides the constant howling wind.

Classic rock plays on the only radio station in this remote destination in the Aleutian chain, about halfway between Seattle and Tokyo. Purple lupin line the road through grassy tundra, with snowcapped mountains and the smoking Great Sitkin volcano in the distance.

On this rare sunny day, Adak’s lush landscape looks like a sweeping movie scene. But our destination, a Cold War-era navigation facility on the northeast tip of the island, feels more like something out of a zombie apocalypse film.

Like many other historical sites on Adak, the old Loran (long range navigation) station is graffitied and rotting, its doors broken and ajar for easy access. Inside, it’s spooky. We timidly wander through dark, damp rooms with peeling paint and rusting generators.

A row of abandoned buildings, once used as officers’ quarters, on Adak Island, Alaska. Adventurous visitors can tour dozens of Cold War-era facilities that have fallen into disrepair since the US Navy left the remote island in 1997. Photo: AP

Through broken windows, there are glimpses of the blue-black Bering Sea crashing into nearby Horseshoe Bay. This is the Adak experience: equal parts haunting historical relics and breathtaking natural beauty.