Bethel is a city located in Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, 340 miles (540 km) west of Anchorage. As of 2004, the population of the city was 6,110.

Bethel is one of the largest communities in western Alaska. It lies inside the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, the largest wildlife refuge in the United States. It is an administrative and transportation hub for the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Bethel is home to the premier mid-distance dogsled race, the Kuskokwim 300. In the spring, traditional dancers from all over Alaska and the world gather for Ca'mai (pronounced Cha-Mai) Dance Festival.

Bethel is sometimes called the “armpit” of the state by other Alaskans due to very high rates of alcoholism, unemployment, and welfare. But locals maintain that this nickname is completely undeserved. Though the region is flat and generally treeless, local residents enjoy snowmachineing, skiing, caribou hunting, salmon fishing, and access to the surrounding 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Local residents also claim that other Alaskans are unaware of the eccentric and tightly-knit community.^{[citation needed]}