If you've been around for awhile, you know that we've already written about take a roadtrip from Fairbanks to Seward and back. But last Spring, we visited Seward again and this time, we did it a little more....epic.
The back story to this trip was that we told my parents we were planning to go to Seward to see the orcas and they decided they wanted to meet us there! In between us leaving Fairbanks and meeting up with that side of the family, Jon's sister and her family also wanted to visit but they wanted to see the most of Alaska they could in one trip. They knew we were planning a drive down south and decided they would join us for that part of our trip. And, if you know us, you know we're more than happy to be tour guides...and after a year of dealing with a pandemic, we were ready to pull out all the stops! Activity #1 - Reindeer Yoga
The day after Jon's sister's family arrived, I had booked an activity for just her and I - reindeer yoga! It's no secret that reindeer are one of my favorite animals. I mean, if you live in North Pole and don't love reindeer you're probably put on the naughty list for life, right? And when in North Pole, reindeer yoga is a must! I'm not entirely sure if there's any other place in the world that offers reindeer yoga, but if there is, I'm sure it doesn't beat this location!
Running Reindeer Ranch offers a few different activities at their reindeer ranch just outside of Fairbanks but our favorite is their summer Reindeer Yoga classes! Bring a mat and find a spot right in the middle of the pen of reindeer and be instructed by a certified yoga teacher while reindeer walk in between and sometimes paw at mats. My sister-in-law even had a reindeer lay inches from her face as we did our last pose! Going in May meant we were there just after calving season. The little baby reindeer were so cute and fun to watch! **disclaimer, more reindeer watching than yoga may have taken place (wink face) Activity #2 - Alaska Raw Fur Co
Activity #3 - Gold Panning
Fairbanks was put on the map in the early 1900s gold rush. There are still active gold mines in the area as well as a few areas you can pan without a claim. While we highly recommend a visit to the Gold Daughters for a lesson on panning before setting out on your own, we took our visitors to Pedro's Creek and found some small flakes!
Activity #4 - UAF Museum of the North
Activity #5 - Santa Clause House
We told you our first visitors wanted the whole Alaska experience and no visit to Fairbanks is complete without a visit to North Pole, where you can put in a good word with the big guy himself! At his own house, no less! You can visit Santa (and sometimes Mrs. Claus) throughout the year Wednesdays-Sundays, tell him your Christmas wish, get a picture and a candy cane, and wander his shop for a great Alaskan souvenir.
Activity #6 - Midnight Fishing
Can you fish at midnight where you live? Let me rephrase that. Can you fish at midnight where you live and have it still be light outside? We obviously had to give our nephew the complete "midnight sun" experience and Jon took him fishing at midnight in the light of the sun. Even though we live here, we never get used to so much daylight at all hours of the "night".
Activity #7 - Denali National Park
After spending a few days in Fairbanks, we took off for our trip to Seward. With our visitors in tow, our first stop was Denali National Park. Denali National Park is home to the highest peak in North America, Denali herself, and at a little more than a 2 hour drive from Fairbanks, we recommend taking the trip!
Because of the weather system in the area, the peaks are clouded most of the time which means only 30% of visitors actually get to see Denali! We lucked out on our time spent here this trip with the clearest skies! One bush pilot we talked to said it was in the top 5 viewing days he'd seen in the last 10 years! Normally, visitors can only drive their personal vehicles to Mile 15 but we were able to snag a few passes to drive to Mile 30 and, as always, it was a beautiful drive. We recommend binoculars for spotting wildlife that isn't near the road. Activity #8 - Ziplining
After a quick drive through the park, a few of us broke off from the group and drove back out to catch a zipline tour! Denali Park Zipline Tours was such a great experience! We met up with our group at their offices right outside the park. They shuttled us out to the course, first in a van and then we climbed into some ATVs, which was an adventure of it's own. Once at the course, we received a quick safety brief and we were on our way.
The course features 7 ziplines, 6 sky bridges, a short tundra hike, and ladder climb, and a dual racer finale! No matter what my nephew says, I beat him and have video proof ;) Highly recommend this tour if you have a little adventure junkie in you and some time to spend around the park!
While we were checking into our tour, the rest of our party was checking into our lodging accommodations. Whenever we stay at Denali, we stay at Mckinley Creekside Cabins. The prettiest property in the most gorgeous setting right outside the park, and their Cafe is amazing! They have a variety of rooms fit for any sized party and they are all very nice. We are also obsessed with their build-your-own breakfast skillets and their specialty Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake. And make sure to grab yourself an "Alaska-sized" cinnamon roll for good measure, perfectly placed next to their puny counterparts, the "Texas-sized" rolls.
If you're looking for dinner, located next door is Panorama Pizza Pub. Great pizza, fun atmosphere, and some amazing beer cheese macaroni and cheese (chef's kiss). Activity #9 - Beluga Point
It has a gorgeous lookout of the bay where we have spotted large pods of Beluga Whales before! We weren't so lucky with this visit but the views are still worth the stop. We recommend binoculars here too, especially when you start to see those white humps swimming down the bay.
After a little exploring, we drove to our lodging for the night which was in Girdwood. Our adventures were only getting started! You can find part 2 here! Let us know if you find this helpful or if we can answer any questions! If you're interested in a one-on-one chat to help to plan a trip to Alaska, we'd love to help! Make sure to pin this post so you can come back to it later and join us on Instagram or tik tok to come with us on our day-to-day adventures! Until next time, make sure to get out and enjoy where YOU live!
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Summer is the major tourist season in Alaska, and rightfully so. The midnight sun is a mind-blowing experience for people who aren't from here and there are so many outdoor activities to partake in while the temperatures are enjoyable and everything is green and lush. The seasonal salmon runs and wildlife viewing are also a huge draw.
Tourist season in Alaska starts winding down in August and ends around Labor Day so a lot of things are really shut down by then as locals being preparing for the winter season. It's this reason that not many people realize that Fall in Fairbanks offers it's own seasonal activities. We don't exaggerate when we say Fall really only lasts a few weeks in this part of the world, but we truly believe that it is one of Fairbanks' best kept secrets. So if you find yourself seeking an Alaskan adventure in the Fall, here are our top 8 activities we recommend checking out in Fairbanks this time of year: 8. Visit Denali National Park
Only about a 2 hour drive outside of Fairbanks, Denali National Park is home to the highest peak in North America. During the summer season, the road into the park is only open to Mile 15 to private vehicles. Unless you're lucky enough to snag one of the limited number of passes they release, visitors have to book a bus tour to go past that mile marker. But once the crowds leave and the visitor's center closes for the season in mid-September, the road is open (while road conditions allow) to mile 30. We love visiting the park in the off-season. Hiking trails are still open and obviously, wildlife is still roaming. But there's just something about being surrounded by the beauty of this national park while it's seemingly deserted.
7. Walk with Reindeer
We are all about unique experiences and Alaska in full of them. What's more unique and Alaskan than playing some good, old fashioned reindeer games with the reindeer themselves? Running Reindeer Ranch is open year round, offering tours in the winter-season by appointment. Learn all about these fascinating arctic creatures as you take a guided walk with them through the forest in an intimate and interactive experience.
6. Visit Santa Claus
We can't talk about reindeer without mentioning the Big Guy, himself! The city of North Pole is about 20 minutes outside of Fairbanks and yes, Santa does indeed live here! You can visit the Santa Claus House year round and even chat with Santa himself Wednesday-Sunday. After putting in a good word with Mr. Claus, get yourself a unique souvenir (and some delicious fudge) and then go visit with his reindeer, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen...(Cupid is our favorite).
5. Visit a distillery
Also in North Pole, you can visit a true farm-to-bottle distillery located on Arctic Harvest Farm. The distillery is a pretty cool place to get a drink if the tasting room is open, but it's the setting that keeps us coming back. In September, there's a fun corn maze with food trucks and sometimes a little petting zoo on the weekends, but as the weather turns snowy, they keep trails groomed for walking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and even kick-sledding! They also host local artist shows every once in awhile so we recommend checking out their social media for upcoming events.
4. Dip into some Hot Springs
Chena Hot Springs Resort is about an hour outside of Fairbanks and is a beautiful drive on an equally beautiful property, especially in the Fall! In all honesty, having spent some time here, we can't recommend the resort's accommodations or their restaurant, but the grounds, hot springs and extra activities are definitely worth the visit. Chena Hot Springs Resort hosts a great sled dog kennel where you can take a tour - or a ride! - and learn all about sled dog training. The resort is also home to the world's largest year-round ice environment, the Aurora Ice Museum. This museum stays a cool 25 degrees Fahrenheit while you roam around different ice carved rooms and even enjoy an appletini served in their famous ice glass.
3. Learn about the history of Fairbanks
Exploring Pioneer Park, located in Fairbanks, is always an activity we recommend to visitors. Part of the park, known as Gold Rush Town, has been built into a living museum, bringing visitors back in time to the early days that put Fairbanks on the map. This little street includes original cabins and homes from the first settlers, as well as larger buildings that served the community as a variety of businesses. The park and some of the museums are open year round. All of the buildings have outdoor plaques that give a little history but we've found the businesses hit-or-miss whether they're open or not. We do know, however, that the train usually does it's last run of the year around Halloween, during the community's trick-or-treat event.
2. Explore the Museum of the North
Speaking of museums, the University of Alaska - Fairbanks' Museum of the North is a great museum if you're interested in learning even more of the history of Alaska. Beyond learning about the gold rush days, they also have a variety of exhibits showing Native history and local animals, including The Blue Babe, a 36,000 year old mummified Steppe Bison found in the area. If that doesn't entice you enough, the University also sits on one of the few hills in town, offering stunning views of Fairbanks.
1. View the Northern Lights
Saving the best for last, we often get asked when's the best time to visit for Northern Lights viewing. While the lights can be seen anytime the sky is dark enough, in our experience the end of September through October is a great time to view them. Clear skies are a little more common during this time of year and it's finally getting dark enough that sometimes there are great shows as early as 11:00pm! While there are a variety of tour companies you can book, we simply like watching them at Chena Lakes Recreation Area because it's close to our home. There are also a lot of places to see them outside of Fairbanks away from light pollution - we've even heard the Hot Springs Resort is a great viewing place as well!
Honorable Mentions
If you make it to Fairbanks in late-August or September, it's wild blueberry season! Wild Alaskan blueberries are actually a super food, that have extremely high antioxidant levels even compared to other blueberries. Also in September, right after the first frost, low-bush cranberries are at their prime. It's a great time for nature hikes even if just to seek out nature's candy.
Another place we like to take visitors to experience is the Alaska Raw Fur Co. This is actually the show room/store front of a company that acts as a trading post for Alaska's fur trappers. It's pretty fascinating to compare the different furs of arctic animals as you wander the show room and you can even get your own as a souvenir. This is a cool place to visit any time of year. Fall also brings hockey season! The Ice Dogs are Fairbanks junior ice hockey team and their games are so fun! If you're looking for something to do, we highly recommend a hockey game while you're here! One of our favorite activities we did our first fall here was attend an event at the Fairbanks curling club. They had a free clinic with local curlers teach groups how to play this olympic sport! It sure gave us an appreciation for this winter olympic event and it was fun learning how to play! Due to Covid, a lot of their events were cut back last year but they did mention they were happy to schedule private lessons. We truly love Fall in interior Alaska. Keep in mind, this season encompasses a wide variety of weather here from the cool temps of September to snow and below freezing in October. But there's always something to do depending on how you let the outside temperature affect your activities. Have you visited Fairbanks in the fall? Is there anything you would add to the list? Let us know in the comments! If you haven't already been, we hope this list inspires you to visit! If you're interested in a one-on-one chat to help to plan a trip to Alaska check out our options! Comments or questions? We'd love to hear them! Make sure to pin so you can come back to this post! We'd love to have you join us on Instagram to come with us on our day-to-day adventures! And until next time, get out and explore where YOU live! |
AuthorWe're just a military family enjoying where we live, one PCS at a time. Follow us as we explore our current home, South Carolina, and beyond. The world is our backyard. Archives
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