Interesting Things To Do In Fairbanks Alaska
An Overview of Fairbanks
Often called “The Golden Heart of Alaska,” Fairbanks is a city deep in Alaska’s interior, found on the banks of the Chena River in Tanana Valley. The city is a major access point for long-distance treks into the Alaskan wilderness, leading to mountains, viewpoints for the Northern Lights and immense woodlands. The city itself is home to accommodations, restaurants, several historic sites and homages to Alaskan indigenous culture.
The climate in the winter is harsh and freezing while the summer is lush and often humid with riots of wildflowers. As with many areas in hemispheric extremes, there are some days which last with over 18 hours of sunlight. Fairbanks also has 70 straight days of civil twilight extending from May 17 to July 27. Note that summer in Alaska is often plagued with mosquitos and winter weather is harsh, requiring hikers to plan accordingly. Also note that Alaska is a true wilderness with dangerous wildlife, including moose and bears, even around Fairbank’s urban areas.
With vast wildernesses nearby, northern lights overhead and incredible scenery in the region, there are many interesting things to do in Fairbanks Alaska.
Interesting Things To Do In Fairbanks Alaska
Aurora Ice Museum
This bizarre museum is open year-round, maintained at a chilly 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The interior of the museum as once a hotel made entirely of ice, including the walls, ceiling, beds, barstools and drinking glasses. Somewhat ironically, the hotel was closed down by a fire marshal, as the building didn’t have smoke detectors. The museum now hosts beautifully-lit ice interiors created from over 1,000 tons of ice and snow.
Permafrost Tunnel
Officially known as the CRREL Permafrost Research Tunnel, this roomy tunnel extends 360 feet underground ranging from six to eight feet in height. The tunnel is a rich frozen-life deposit, with plant remains, fossils, frozen silt and permafrost bedrock all within. The tunnel operates as a research facility studying the effects of constant permafrost temperatures.
Blue Babe
Blue Babe is a rare natural specimen: A Pleistocene bison recovered from permafrost, named due to the blue-sheen which covered the preserved body. The bison-mummy was created from a naturally occurring mummification and remains the most-complete Ice Age specimen ever uncovered in Alaska. Blue Babe can be found at the UAF Museum in Alaska.
Poker Flat Research Range
Made up of over 5,000 acres, the Poker Flat Research Range is a scientific rocket launching site, firing “sounding rockets” into the sky to research the Aurora Borealis, the ozone layer and the magnetic fields of the region.
Fairbanks Antler Arch
This arch, found in Griffin Park near the banks of the Chena River, is a artistic gateway with over 100 antlers woven together around a keystone skull. The odd architecture is an homage to Alaska’s hunting and wilderness heritage.
‘Polaris’
This odd sculpture is created from pillars of crossed steel-spires, designed to look like ice or quartz crystals. The longest spire of the artwork points unerringly at the North Star.
Xaasaa Cheege Ts’eniin (Upward Sun River Mouth Child)
This ancient human skeleton of a young girl is the oldest ever to be uncovered in North America. Found at a burial site fire pit, the young child’s resting place was one of the oldest discovered permanent prehistoric homes in North America.
Chatanika Gold Dredge #3
Found slightly to the North of Fairbanks, the Chatanika Gold Dredge is a heaping mass of semi-intact rusted parts established in 1923 as part of a gold mining operation. During it’s career, the dredge was responsible for helping pull forth over $70 million worth of gold was from the lake.
Friends of Creamers Field at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge
This large bird sanctuary contains wetlands, fields and forests which often host flocks of migratory birds. The area has small water features, large fields, narrow boardwalks and narrow forests. The area is popular to visit in the summer, when native flowers called Fireweed grows in force. Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), otherwise called pamiuqtaq or quppiqutaq in Iñupiaq, is a unique magenta-colored flower which blooms from early to late summer. The flowers begin blooming at the center of the stalk, gradually rising towards the peak. It’s said that once flowers have grown to the top of the plant, summer is ended and seasonal changes are imminent.
Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum
This resort museum offers a remarkable collection of antique cars and historic automobiles.
Museum of the North
Otherwise known as The University of Alaska Museum of the North, this museum is home to interior Alaska’s natural, cultural and historical heritage.
Pioneer Park
This is a historical theme park commemorating early Alaskan history. The park hosts the Pioneer Museum, an outdoor display of the S.S. Nenana Sternwheeler Riverboat, a small mini-golf course and several educational displays.
Santa Claus House in North Pole
The nearby town of North Pole is, predictably, Santa-themed. Much of the town has year-round Christmas decorations including sculptures, Christmas-themed street names and candy-cane-striped street lamps. The central tourism attraction is the Santa Clause House which offers a gift shop, Alaskan-made souvenirs and a pastry counter.
Gold Dredge 8
This Gold Dredge is a ladder dredge turned into a rusty tourist attraction. The dredge has a small tourism-information-center attatched to it, which offers guided tours for gold panning in the area.
Dog Sledding
When visiting Fairbanks in the cold, one of the best methods for exploring the countryside is through traditional dog sledding glacier tours. Often, this is one of the swiftest and most unusual methods for exploring the countryside.
Running Reindeer Ranch
Running Reindeer Ranch offers a unique visitor experience, guiding guests through a stunning birch forest while walking alongside a herd of reindeer on a two-and-a-half hour tour.
Georgeson Botanical Garden
For a short time each year, the Georgeson Botanical Garden bursts into colors during Alaska’s summers. The five acre educational garden space focuses on horticulture which thrives in subarctic conditions.
Large Animal Research Station
For visitors wishing to view Alaskan wildlife, the R.G. White Large Animal Research Station (LARS) is an excellent place to visit. The station educates, researches and cares for large ungulates; hoofed, cud-chewing mammals. Visitors can spot muskoxen, moose, caribou and domestic reindeer during summer tours of the site.
World Ice Art Championships – Ice Alaska
This is a large ice-sculpting contest attended by more than 100 sculptures annually. The contest, which takes place from mid-February to mid-March, showcases unique sculptures in outdoor, snowy settings in Fairbanks.
Angel Rocks Trailhead
This is a moderately challenging 3.6-mile loop trail to the East of Fairbanks.
Chena River State Recreation Area
This is a large state park and recreation area centered around the flood-lands and mountains around the Chena River. The region contains campgrounds, hiking trails, dog-sled routes, shooting ranges, fishing ponds, public-use cabins, snowmobile routes and wildlife viewing zones.
Alyeska Pipeline / Viewing Point
With a viewing point found slightly to the north of Fairbanks, the the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is an oil transportation system is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world. The viewing point is home to a museum which focuses on the pipeline, its construction and ongoing functions.
White Mountains National Recreation Area
This large national recreation area is home to roughly a million acres of unspoilt Alaskan wilderness beauty. The area is considered excellent to visit throughout the year, with spring and summer periods for hiking, autumn for foliage colors and winter for alpine skiing.
Eagle Summit
Eagle Summit is a tall gap cutting through the White Mountains. The peak is considered one of the most difficult summits to reach in Alaska, partially due to the rugged terrain, partially due to assailing winds and partially due to deep snow-drifts which smother everything on the lee-side of the incline.
Read more about interesting things to do in Fairbanks Alaska and seeing the world by visiting Leftfade Trails Blog.
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