I been think abut moving to alaska. Is it still possible to homestead in Alaska? What areas are open are their any within a 1-2 hour flight to a Major Town with a hospital.
Dr B

Occasionly the state will offer land auctions. Some of the land is very remote and if memory serves me correct it was reasonable to purchase but sometimes it came with stipulations on how it had to be "improved" within a certain time period or it would be returned to the state. I do not think you could ever purchase land here and homestead it on todays market and end up with the price being cheap in the long run.
"Improving" can cost a fortune and your air time will add another fortune. But, ya never know what the state will do next.

A friend of mine bought 640 acres near Fairbanks in 2000 for $30K.

Never know in Alaska.

As far as free land you develop, to my knowledge that is no longer available. Also the cost of developing the land to meet those stipulations when off the road system is very expensive. There are old homesteads that are for sale, so getting remote land isn't that big of a deal.

If you have your own plane, there are lots of areas within 1-2 hours or Anchorage, Palmer or Fairbanks. As far as areas with regular flight service, you're basically looking at the many villages around the state.

A friend of mine is a surveyor for the BLM, and has done surveys on land that was being deedeed to homesteaders. Very occasionally land has been opened for homesteading. My friend's stories about surveying these kind of claims were years old when I first went hunting with him in '93 and he hasn't developed any new ones. So I don't think it's been done for at least twenty years.

It isn't easy either. If I recall correctly you had to improve the land and live on it for 5 years to claim it.

I'm editing my post to add that no federal land has been available for homesteading since 1986 due to a change in federal law 10 years earlier.

State land is still available for purchase at auctions. Info is available here:

http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/

The Alaska Constitution, State laws, and the Alaska Legislature all direct the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to sell state land for settlement and private ownership. Article VIII of the Alaska Constitution states "It is the policy of the State to encourage the settlement of its land and development of its resources by making them available for maximum use consistent with the public interest."

In keeping with our mission to make land available to the public, DNR has several types of land sale programs. DNR will be making land available through two types of programs. The first is a sealed-bid auction program for the sale of subdivision and other surveyed parcels. Auction schedules are announced periodically on this page throughout the year. Land sold at auction must receive a bid equal to or higher than the appraised value. Parcels are awarded to the highest bidder. Land not sold at auction is available "over-the-counter" at the appraised value, through the DNR Public Information offices. Most of the parcels being offered are within existing state subdivisions. New area are being considered by DNR.

The second program is the Remote Recreational Cabin Sites. This program is similar to the previous remote parcel and homestead offerings. An applicant is allowed to stake a parcel of land in a designated remote staking area for recreational use. The parcels will be leased for a limited length of time and purchased at fair market value after the completion of a survey and appraisal. There are no building or "prove-up" requirements required with this program.

http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/

Land is still available from the state. However, the land must me surveyed and normally the state has the land surveyed and adds the price and sells the land to residents. I purchased 5 acres off the Stampede Trail/Road back in 1985. Here is a link that shows the land that is available.
http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/landsale/otc/count_parcels.cfm