After moving to Seattle from Buffalo in July 2020, my fiancé and I quickly decided that Alaska was at the top of our bucket list. Alaska has so many things to offer. Did you know it has the second most national parks in the United States? A whopping eight! Although I am not a fan of the cold, we decided to go in early March rather than the summer for one big reason: catching a show from the Aurora Borealis. March is actually the most ideal time for viewing and provides a few added bonuses for daytime activities! Sun light is longer compared to January or February (10 hours vs 4-6 hours) and skies are clearer since snow fall is not as frequent meaning, less cloud coverage obstructing your view. Plus, it’s slightly warmer! Not that a low of –3 is much better than –16 but you have to take those small victories where you can!
To save for this trip, my fiancé and I opened a joint savings account, that automatically deducted $50 from our checking account every Friday for just over 1 year. This paid for the trip entirely so we didn’t have to worry about breaking the bank on a trip we had been pining for, for so long.
Day 1
We started our adventure in Anchorage, AK. As soon as we landed, our first stop was for some pizza and drinks at Moose’s Tooth! They had so many varieties it was hard to choose. You can pick half topping pizza’s so we got 4 kinds. It’s not Buffalo pizza, but for the West Coast, we were pleasantly surprised! Our favorite was “Call of the wild” which is one of their most popular pies.
After dropping off our luggage at the small Airbnb (bonus, it had a hot tub) we went to “Play it Again Sports” to rent cross country skis and ice skates. We went to Kincaid Park, about 20 minutes from downtown Anchorage. The park is a popular spot for tourists and locals for anything you may want to try out- snowshoeing, sledding, cross-country skiing or even just a walk in nature! XC skiing was perfect, the trails were groomed and we even saw several moose right on the side of the trail (CAUTION: Moose can actually be very aggressive, especially during mating season. We waited for a few locals to ski by before we felt like we could comfortably pass it, given how close to the trail it was).
Next, we went to Westchester Lagoon, a local small frozen pond for ice skating. Note, it was not commercialized, nowhere to buy snacks or hot cocoa. However, the center was filled with snow and even had a makeshift fire pit and wood! A nice spot to warm your hands if the ice skating isn’t enough to keep you warm.
For dinner, we went to 49th State Brewing. The crab grilled cheese was amazing! We went back to the Airbnb and enjoyed the hot tub before bed.
Day 2
Due to the excess food we ordered the night before, we had leftover pizza and crab grilled cheese for breakfast. I am a huge pancake fan, so I was a little bummed we couldn’t try out White Spot Café which had great reviews and was close by, maybe next time!
We packed up our suitcases and made our way to the northern part of Chugach State Park. We opted for a short but challenging hike at Mount Baldy Loop (find a hike that would be best for you on AllTrails). We went counterclockwise because the initial ascent was intimidatingly steep but this was a mistake! The snow wasn’t packed in after a mile of walking and we were hip deep in snow! We had to turn around. We never made it to the top because we had to catch our flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
We wanted to spend the majority of our time in Fairbanks because you have a better chance of seeing the Aurora compared to Anchorage. There are several flights all day, every day, from Anchorage to Fairbanks that are usually less than $100 per person!
We landed, had an amazing meal at Lavelle’s Bistro inside the Marriot hotel, complete with Alaskan King Crab Legs and a steak and bleu cheese salad. The crab legs here were “market price” and substantially cheaper compared to Anchorage. Afterwards, we went to our new airbnb for a nap before our snowmobiling tour with Fairbanks Snow Sleighers from 10pm-2am to chase the Aurora. This excursion was by far our favorite! They lend you tons of gear so you stay warm in temps below zero, before the wind chill! We got very lucky and had perfect conditions. Our tour guide, who had been doing this excursion for 4 years, said our ride was the top 5% he’d seen of the Northern Lights! If you do this tour with a friend or significant other, I recommend sharing a snowmobile. We were able to switch drivers when we made stops to take pictures of the lights, so we both had an opportunity to drive. I’m grateful I didn’t have to push my thumb down and use my shoulder muscles to steer through the narrow trails for the duration of the tour. Sharing was perfect. It kept me warmer, plus, saved us a little money.
Day 3
Even though we didn’t get into bed until after 3am, we woke up at 7:30am for a dog sledding excursion with Black Spruce Dog Sledding. It was a 45-minute drive from Fairbanks. We were tired but it was well worth the sleepy eyes. This place had great reviews and was definitely the best bang for your buck that I could find. We got to chat with one of the owners who has participated in the Iditarod. A very cool guy. We had a private tour (no other groups) where we got to hang out with 38 barkin’, lovin’ doggos, ask questions and relax on a 2-4 mile sled ride while the dogs did the work. They also offer gear to keep you warm. We had our own so didn’t borrow theirs, but I would NOT recommend this. The dogs live outside and don’t get baths too often (or probably ever), so our stuff was kind of stinky so we ended up washing our winter gear at the airbnb before using it again.
After the tour, we went home and took a much needed nap! For dinner we went to, wait for it…… a bowling alley. Seoul Sushi is in the basement of this building and it was delicious and cheap!! All you can eat sushi for $26, can’t beat that. This was recommended to us by a local and I am so glad we tried it. Do not leave this place without trying the “Come on baby” sushi roll, you won’t regret it.
After dinner, went headed over to the World Ice Art Championship- Ice Alaska (50% off admission if you fly with Alaska airline). This was amazing!! Not only did they have really cool ice sculptures, duh, but they even had sledding, checkers, air hockey, mini golf, and benches surrounding an outdoor fire pit- all outdoors and made of 100% ice! They really went all out and we had a great time. Towards the back of the festival, was a small indoor space to warm up and grab snacks and drinks. Inside the building is a small table where you can grab a sled on loan so you can embrace your inner child, and participate in the ice sledding (they just ask for your license as collateral).
Before bed we decided to test our luck again, and went looking for the Aurora. This time, on our own, at the Chena Lakes Recreation Area. This is outside of Fairbanks, in North Pole, AK. It’s the perfect place to avoid light pollution, park your car, and see the lights dance! This area is also popular for several ice fishing tours near this area if you’re interested.
Day 4
This day was dedicated to Denali National Park.
There are several ways to do this trip. Only a 2-hour drive from Fairbanks, you could easily drive there and back with plenty of time to explore the park, check out the views and hike. There are also bush plane tours from Fairbanks for a unique perspective. We chose to do the “Denali in a Day” package through the Alaskan railroad.
The tour starts off with a narrated drive by the Northern Alaska Tour Company from Fairbanks to Denali. We made a few stops along the way; my favorite was in Nenana. The fun part about this small town is the annual “Ice classic”. People from around the world can place a $2.50 bet to guess the exact time and date that the ice in the river will break up. The person(s) who are closest, or spot on, wins the pot of money! They have a live feed of the Tanana River on their website, and locals are ALWAYS checking on it. We are still waiting to know who will win in 2022 (cross your fingers for us!).
After a quick pit stop at the entrance sign to snap a few pictures, we made our way to the visitors’ center where we ate lunch and watched an interesting video on how the park uses sled dogs for maintenance, patrol and transport during the winter months. Later, we actually got to meet the dogs at their kennel. Anyone can stop by, it’s a popular tourist attraction! As we drove through the park, we took pictures of the scenic views and eventually parked so we could go for a quick snowshoe hike. Finally, they took us to the train station right inside the national park. While we waited for the train to arrive our tour guide provided us with hot chocolate and candies. Once we heard the horn blare we got out of the van, took a few pictures in front of the train and made our way to our seats for the 4-hour ride back. I was awestruck by the views we had on the train and the information they shared while we traveled back to Fairbanks.
Although we enjoyed the informative tour, we were slightly disappointed. We are avid hikers and were hoping for more time outside hiking or snowshoeing. That was our main reason for visiting the national park. The tour guide was big on staying together, so we didn’t have the opportunity to do our own thing. We could have done without the extended lunch and video, and skipped the meet and greet with the dogs (since we had already done that). Our tour guide apologized and said every group she does this with is different, sometimes she doesn’t snowshoe at all, sometimes she does the full loop. Unfortunately, some people in our group were unprepared and lacked the ability to hike very far. Overall, we enjoyed the park. We were blown away by the views and it truly was informative. It was a nice perk that neither of us had to drive so we could really just take it all in and relax. I enjoyed the train ride more than I expected too (it didn’t hurt that they had a bar, snacks and even a sit-down dinner option). If you are okay with the possibility of not getting a ton of time outside, this might be an excursion you consider!
Day 5
On our last full day, we went to the Fairbanks College Museum. If you know the book or movie “Into the Wild” you may want to check this spot out! The museum was small albeit entertaining, and the engineering building has the bus that Christopher McCandless slept in during his Alaskan adventures! They are currently working on restoring it so it is functional again. On weekdays you can see students and professors working on the bus through a glass door or window.
Our final excursion was to the Chena Hot Springs Resort. About 1.5 hours outside of Fairbanks this natural hot spring is 106 degrees year-round, making the sub-zero temps bearable! For only $15 per person, you get access to the large natural hot springs, indoor heated pool, and the indoor and outdoor hot tub. There are locker rooms to change in, and lockers to rent for just 2 quarters. Don’t forget your flip flops! In addition to the hot springs, there is an ice museum on site featuring ice sculptures and rooms made out of ice, available to rent! This museum also costs $15 per person, but if you’re interested, you can “upgrade” your ticket for an additional $15 to include an appletini in a ice glass. When you’ve finished your drink, don’t forget to take your cup with you outside to smash into the ground. Supposedly it’s good luck!
Tips
- DRIVE CAUTIOUSLY. My fiancé and I are from WNY and we know snowy, icy road. However, the black ice here is something different and so real. We saw several 4WD vehicles flipped over and narrowly escaped a scary car crash ourselves, while driving home from the Chena Hot Springs (thank God for our huge Dodge Ram rental truck)
- Most people don’t have or want to pack all their arctic gear for this trip. There are so many places that will rent you snow pants, jackets, boots, gloves, etc. So you stay as toasty warm as possible and can avoid checking a bag!
- Layers is the name of the game to stay warm. This YouTube video gives a great example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL9t2XfPwII&t=2s
- Hand warmers and foot warmers are an added bonus! If you don’t have these and your hands get cold, it’s better to pull your hands into a fist. For your feet, if you can find somewhere to stand off the icy, snowy ground this actually will help warm your feet up.
- I’ve hear amazing things about the reindeer ranch in Fairbanks. The tickets sell out quick, so we didn’t have a chance to go.
- The best way to capture the Northern Lights on your phone is by using “long exposure.” If you have an iPhone, go to your camera, swipe up for options and the second icon (crescent moon with lines through it) is for long exposure. Make it as long as possible (10 seconds is the max). Keep still for the entire 10 seconds for clear pictures!
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