To Do in Fairbanks 5: Go Ride A Train

I was skeptical at first. I initially had three main concerns about the leg between Fairbanks and Denali. The first, since I have made the drive a few times, I'm not really sure I'm going to see anything new by taking the train. Second, there is the obvious drawback that riding the Alaska Railroad costs an arm and a leg. Finally, it's all structured and presented with tourists in mind. My camera may be glued to my face in such a fashion that I look like a tourist, but I assure you I am not.



My first concern was crushed on the way down. The RR doesn't really follow the Park's Highway at all. I can count on one hand the number of times we actually see the road on this 4 hour train ride. Leaving Fairbanks the train goes around the 'back' (western) side of Ester Dome. I've never seen this side before. There is almost nothing out there. You are immediately immersed in the vastness of the Alaska landscape, even before you're out of the Fairbanks metro area.


Any way you look there is nothing but hills, trees and an occasional small body of water. This spot can't be much more than 10 miles from our home, just on the backside of Ester Dome.
Being away from the road means that you are almost always away from homes and businesses. You really only see them when you go through towns, and there are only a handful of them between Fairbanks and Denali. Also, on the way to the park the elevation increases subtly and you go through a variety of different worlds.


This was quite possibly the largest beaver construction I have ever seen. I do not have either end of it in the frame because it was too big. They sure know how to pick a home!

The last few miles before entering Morhdorh, I mean Denali, the world turns to rock. We just happened to have some magnificent skyscapes on our ride too.

When the world turns to rock you'll simultaneously be paralleling the Nenana River which has carved out quite a nice looking little valley for itself.

So the train arrives at the DNP train station at about 12:15ish, depending on how often you stop for other trains or wildlife. They will slow or stop for bear, moose, and (no joke) to let off a stowaway iridescent butterfly. The train is not to be taken for speed, driving down is much faster.

Once you arrive in the park you have about three hours before needing to check in for the trip back, or you can stay in one of the many hotels or campsites in the area. There are a few day packages offered where you can go rafting or flightseeing before heading back. Just walking some of the trails near to the visitor center can be a great activity while there. There is a pretty good chance to see some wildlife, even close to the park entrance. The views aren't too bad either (picture left from the junction of the Rock Creek and Meadow View trails).

I've come up with a fail-safe formula for getting over the price of tickets. The money you fork over is well worth it if you like at least two of these things: people-watching, nature, animals, big animals, forests, rivers, mountains, hiking, doing something you don't do every day, and/or relaxing. Actually the price is pretty comparable with that of a theme park; except here it's easy to pack your own lunch which can quickly make the train ride cheaper than a theme park. Some prices are shown below.

The seats on the train have lots of legroom, big windows, and an observation deck with panorama views (they ask you limit yourself to 20 minutes on the deck to give others a turn). There's a dining car that has snacks, lunches, breafasts, etc., and alcohol. You can also stand in between cars and hang out the window; just watch your head when approaching things like bridges/bears.

Getting into the Alaska Range from Fairbanks -- people pile into the outside section of the observation deck once we get into the mountains. The fancy shmancy gold star members get the fancy car with glass ceiling. Low level people like me have to hang out the window in between cars.
As far as my tourism concern goes, all I can say is, "eh, whatever". You are kept separate from those that came up from the cruise ships. They all have their own cars. I was more of a tourist than anyone else, standing in the window the whole time taking pictures. Half the people on the train were asleep on the way down. Plus, you get to hear people talk about what they think they know about Alaska, photography, or Denali, which I found to be pretty entertaining.

During peak season, which is from June 1st to August 31st a one way ticket from Fairbanks to Denali is $64 ($32 for children). Alaska residents can get a 20% discount on all fares. For a break-down of all the fares and segments visit the Alaska Railroad website here. Or, just go to the Alaska Railroad Corporation site here.

I didn't write much about Denali National Park because I'll be writing about it more extensively this summer. Some previous posts from the park can be found with these links: Springtime in Denali National Park, Beautiful, Beautiful Denali National Park, or Kate's Blog Alaska's Fall Foliage. You can also get more park information from the NPS site here.

You can read more about what there is to do in Fairbanks here. And, of course, more pictures from the day-trip here.

To Do in Fairbanks 4: World Ice Art Championships

I briefly wrote about this event earlier, but as I have uploaded nearly of all of my pictures from the 2011 championships I felt that a new post was necessary. Also, the event needs your help if it is to have a future (read on below).



If you happen to visit Fairbanks during late February or most of March, you absolutely must visit the World Ice Art Championships. For 2012 this is tentatively scheduled to be February 21st through March 25th. The multi-block sculptures usually come about 1 week after the start and they start collapsing (weather dependent) pretty quick, so early March is probably the best time.

There are currently issues with the venue, and it may close down for good. Ice Alaska has info on their website about what is going on, and who you can contact to help not let this event fade away!

The pictures speak for themselves, and if you have kids this is probably one of the coolest things they could witness and play on. The artwork is amazing, with contributing artists from all over the world. It takes a few hours at least to see all the sculptures and the multi-block works are huge!

People come together from all over the world to create these gorgeous things that only last for weeks. No one will ever see the same sculptures again in following years. You don't get more original than that.

Here are my recommendations:

(1) Dress Warm: You will stand for a while, and walk slowly. This is Alaska; it is cold here.

(2) Visit at night: You have to be here when the sky is dark to get the full effect from the lights on the ice.

(3) Bring a shabby old sled: You will want it for the slides in the kids park. If you are an adult, you will probably want it more than if you are a kid. Later you can drag your kids around on it.

(4) Bring a little cash: for hot chocolate, cotton candy, and snacks.


Big kids like slides too. Jason hits the super-fast killer ice slide.

I will soon have all my pictures from 2011 in my flickr set, or you can look through the thumbnails below.

To Do in Fairbanks 3: (Day) Go See a Dogsled Race, (Night) Watch the Aurora

I think a lot of people are put-off by the idea of visiting Fairbanks in the winter because of the cold temperatures. Ok, I won't lie, it's freaking cold here. How cold? Well, I managed to get minor frostbite twice while opening doors with metal handles. I'm a little concerned that they still have door handles made of metal, but, ok. Oh, and its dark too. Really dark. At the worst, the Sun will rise at 11am and set at 2:40pm. I bet you're ready to buy those tickets to Fairbanks in January right now, eh?



Seriously, I knew that mushing was popular here, but I had no idea the extent. If you visit Fairbanks in the winter (which includes most of fall and spring), chances are pretty good that there's a race happening. There are small races almost any weekend it's warm enough at the ADMA. Lot's of them are short sprints, you know, 12-20 miles. But, there are some big races too. Next year the Yukon Quest will be starting in Fairbanks (en route to Whithorse, YT). It's a grueling 1000 mile race across some of the craziest, coldest terrain in the world.



Every March the Open North American Championship is held here. This is a great race over three days. The first two days are twenty mile races, and the last day is a thirty mile sprint. It's awesome to see the dogs, they love to run more than anything! The cool thing about this race is that it goes over the river and through the woods and then right through downtown Fairbanks!







And if there's no race, don't worry you'll almost definitely have some kind of an experience like Kate and I had shortly after the first serious full snowfall (back in the beginning of October). We see them running alongside the roads all the time!

The fact that it's night here most of the time in winter does have one great benefit:


We see a lot of Aurora. If you haven't seen the aurora above 60° latitude, you haven't seen the aurora. It is a reason to come here in the winter all by itself.



A number of places offer 'tours' where you can go out to 'viewing' spots to see the northern lights. Chena Hot Springs does it (we didn't pay the money for it though, we see them all the time). There are a number of other outfits that will get you away from the city lights where the viewing is superb. Or, just drive north.

To Do In Fairbanks 2: Chena Hot Springs

In case you haven't heard, Kate and I spent the weekend at Chena Hot Springs Resort. Kate posted yesterday. We had a few problems, but only one would really be the 'fault' of the resort. Most of the photos have been posted in flickr here.

This place is a great winter stop. There are an incredible amount of activities to do here. You can hike, snowshoe, cross-country ski, take a dog-sledding ride, learn how to dogsled, snowmachine, and (of course) the obvious soak in the hot springs. There's a lot of historic vehicles and gold mining equipment around the parking lots. In the summer there are campsites and yurts (but no winter activities). You can always tour the Ice Museum year round. There is an aurora viewing area that they will take you to in a snowcat. You can sit inside to watch when it gets really cold. The resort is powered by geothermal energy and they offer 'geothermal tours'.

It's about a sixty mile drive from Fairbanks.  In the winter the road will be covered in snow and ice.  You can be like me and imagine you are an Ice-Road Trucker, or take a shuttle that the resort operates. The drive is beautiful along the Chena River. Angel Rocks and Granite Tors are along the way.

While it's not cheap to stay here or eat here, the rooms are comfortable and the restaurant is cozy with good food.  If you just come out for the day you can soak in the hot springs for $10, or just walk around for no charge.



If you have a forty-below night, make sure before you go to bed that your car is plugged in.  They have around eighty rooms, but only about 15 parking spaces with outlets.  The staff was not helpful in making sure we had a spot (or many of their other guests).  The result was many upset guests in the morning trying to get cars started and staff running around with extension cords (they tried to sell us one, which was pretty bad taste on their part).  Cold nights are nothing new here, I can't imagine they operate like this all the time. With packages running $200-$700 this was a little upsetting.



Don't let this stop you though, the area is beautiful, the resort is historic yet modern, and the hot springs are awesome.  It's worth it to go on a forty below night just to walk out there in a swimsuit and slowly wade into the pool. The steam from the springs freezes on everything and makes it a total 'winter wonderland'. Our room was great; everything was great they just need to work on their logistics.  You can get to the resort website here.

To Do In Fairbanks 1: The Museum of The North

If you have never been to Alaska and find yourself suddenly in Fairbanks, one of the first stops you should make is the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Or stop in if you live here and need something to do on a rainy (or better yet a 40 below) day. Of course, if the weather is good and you only have a few days then you should go outside and play, but the museum can be a great way to give perspective to the state, its vastness, and its diversity. You'll at the very least leave knowing a bit more about the state and its history for when you go trumping around. Almost everything here is focused on Alaska and the 'North' (go figure).


The panorama from the museum is among the best Fairbanks has to offer. On a clear day it's hard to drink it all in.

The architecture is top-notch. Designed by Joan Soranno, AIA, of HGA, with GDM, Inc., the building is beautiful and aesthetic and the team has received numerous awards for this structure. It's fun just to walk around the building. The inside is just as nice as the outside.


The main, lower floor hallway.

The museum isn't huge. It is two floors and contains two large exhibit halls along with a few smaller ones. The two main exhibits are the "Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery" and ""Gallery of Alaska". The former has a lot of both traditional and modern Alaskan artwork, as well as a lot of photographs, including (at least) Ansel Adams pieces. The Gallery of Alaska is divided into regions of Alaska and also has an exhibit explaining the Aurora and another small Hubble Space Telescope exhibit.


There's a lot of information in this exhibit. If you're the type that just walks around and looks of things, it will take maybe 45 minutes to 1 hour to see everything in here. If you like to read, you should maybe plan for a two-day visit.

Children may not find this the 'funnest' museum out there. There's not a lot for kids, especially smaller children (no kids section). Although there is a lot of bones and stuffed bears which are pretty cool to look at. If you ask at the front desk there is an activity sheet available for kids (recommended grades 4-6). It looks like a neat little scavenger hunt, I'm going to try it next time I'm there.

A really unique feature of this museum is the 'Place Where You Go to Listen'. It's kind of like a little meditation room, with ambient light and sound that changes based on the Sun, the Moon, aurora, earthquakes all from real-time monitoring.


Joe, Jason, and Alex sitting in the 'place you go to listen'. It might be hard to enjoy it if the museum is packed, but try to find some time to sit.

There are some shows available for an additional small fee. I was able to see all the shows playing the first day I was there for $5, I'm not sure if this is always the case. If you are here in the summer, you should see the Aurora show since you won't get to see them in person. Don't expect IMAX® quality sound and light, they're just some fun short films.

At $10/day, the museum won't kill your wallet (although the gift shop could if you find the right things). The gift shop is nice and has a great selection of Alaskan stuff from jewelry to masks and wall decorations and also has a fantastic book section. The cafe doesn't really offer a whole lot, so I wouldn't recommend going in hungry.

There's more than what I've covered here, and there are usually some temporary exhibits. Find out more by visiting the museum's website here. You can also see more pictures on my flickr set here.

Find this review helpful, or not? Leave a comment!