Located 370 road miles north of Anchorage near the convergence of the Tanana and Chena Rivers, Fairbanks is Alaska’s second largest city, founded in 1902 when gold was discovered. Land of the “midnight sun”, summer days are long and temperatures sometimes pass 70 degrees. The hub of Alaska’s interior, it’s close to the Arctic region and North Slope oil fields with easy access to the White Mountains National Recreation Area (just north of town), the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Six-million-acre Denali National Park and Preserve with its beautiful wilderness and 20,320-foot Mt. McKinley is a 4-hour leisurely train ride or short 2-hour drive.
Comfortable accommodations in Fairbanks include the River’s Edge Resort, Sophie Station Hotel, Fairbanks Aspen Hotel, Princess Lodge, Best Western Inn, the Denali Bluffs Hotel, and the Grand Denali Lodge. For “healing waters”, try the 100-year-old Chena Hot Springs Resort (60 miles from Fairbanks) and one of the best places to view the “dancing” Northern Lights.
Restaurants include Alaska Salmon Bake, Pump House Restaurant & Saloon, Senor Flannigan's Steak Pit, Geraldo's Restaurant, and the Felix Cookhouse Restaurant.
Historic landmarks and museums include the Alaska Native Village Museum /Fairbanks Native Association, Fairbanks Community Museum, Pioneer Air Museum, Pioneer Museum in Pioneer Park, University of Alaska Museum of the North, Wickersham House Museum, and the Tanana-Yukon Historical Society. Worth visiting are Pioneer Park, the Alaska Railroad depot and bus station, and the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center. Be sure to get a free copy of the Fairbanks Self-Guided Downtown Walking Tour.
Annual events include World Ice Art Championships, Fairbanks Quest, Yukon Title Curling Classic, Annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, Feast or Salmon, Summer Sun Festival, Midnight Sun Baseball Game (semi-professional baseball game featuring the Alaska Goldpanners), and the Marathon Boat Race.
There are many things to do--a sternwheeler Riverboat Discovery cruise on the Chena and Tanana Rivers, an Arctic Circle floatplane ride, the El Dorado gold mine tour by train, Georgeson Botanical Gardens, the Tanana Valley Farmers Market, or the Fairbanks historical city tour, along with guided eco-tours, fishing and boat charters, wildlife tours, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking, snowmobiling, dog mushing, skiing, camping, fishing, hunting and backpacking. Bird watchers will enjoy geese, ducks, cranes and swans at Creamer’s Field (once a prosperous dairy farm) a migratory bird refuge five minutes from downtown.
Written by: Natasha Lawrence
