Alaska in Winter

Santa Claus House

Attraction | "Santa Claus House, Chena Hot Springs, Ice Bridge, Denali"

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Santa Claus House could be the biggest tourist trap in AK, but it was fun. If you like Department 56, Christmas ornaments and letters from Santa, it's for you. There are some fun opportunities for photos and real life reindeer. It'd be a great place for kids.I found Chena Hot Springs overpriced and not worth the drive. The roads were really bad, for one thing (March) and when you get there, it's just a hot spring and lots of cheesy tourist things. I guess maybe I'm not impressed because we have hot springs where I'm from too. It was kind of neat to see ducks swimming near 15 inches of snow. We had lunch there, and it was just ok.The Chena River is solid ice in March and ...Read More

Santa Claus House
101 Saint Nicholas Drive
Fairbanks, Alaska 99705
(907) 488-2200

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Northern Lights - Dancing in the Sky

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Aurora Borealis Photo - Alaska, United States

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One of the things I wanted to do while in Fairbanks was see the Northern Lights. I thought it wasn't going to happen, because I read more trip reports of people not seeing them at all or just barely seeing green bands than I do of people seeing them. Apparently, the last few years the solar activity has been low.It's not something you can really plan around. Weather on the sun is like weather on earth, unpredictable that far in advance, so I planned my trip and hoped for the best. A few weeks before my trip, I saw reports of a possible storm that would reach earth around the time I was going. Yes!The storm happened. It was early according to the reports, so it wouldn't be ...Read More

One of the things I wanted to do while in Fairbanks was see the Northern Lights. I thought it wasn't going to happen, because I read more trip reports of people not seeing them at all or just barely seeing green bands than I do of people seeing them. Apparently, the last few years the solar activity has been low.

It's not something you can really plan around. Weather on the sun is like weather on earth, unpredictable that far in advance, so I planned my trip and hoped for the best. A few weeks before my trip, I saw reports of a possible storm that would reach earth around the time I was going. Yes!

The storm happened. It was early according to the reports, so it wouldn't be affecting the skies when I was there. Maybe some residuals 2 kp lights would be all that was left. I guess a 2 is better than nothing, right? I was a little disappointed, but what can you do?

The morning we left for Anchorage, I got another update. Apparently another storm on the sun was happening and the activity of it (which was supposed to be "storm level") would reach the earth on 3 of the days we'd be there. Pay dirt! Now, just to find a place to view them.

We were staying at Pike's Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks (just outside of town), and the hotel assured me that you could see the lights from the decks in the rooms and they would give us an aurora wake-up call. I didn't buy it. I made plans to drive out to the Ester bowl which is about 30-40 minutes away. The aurora can come and go in 20 minutes, so that takes planning ahead. The second night we were there was supposed to be kp 2 and the hotel did give us a wake up call. I couldn't see anything from the parking lot or deck, but I headed to the Ester bowl anyway.

We saw some faint bands of green, but it was on the wrong side of the road (opposite our vantage point). Disappointed and tired (it was 2 a.m.) we headed home and decided to ignore the hotel from now on.

The next night we had dinner some friends who are Fairbanks residents and they told us that the Ester bowl, contrary to what I read, wasn't the best place to go. They took us out toward Fox and showed us a place that was flat on both sides. The amazing part was it was 9 p.m. and the lights were already brighter than the night before. We decided to go get some gas, cocoa and treats and watch the light show.

Photos can't express how amazing the Northern Lights are. You hear about them dancing and moving, but seeing it in person is really neat. They undulate and move across the sky, changing color, intensity and width and feathering out. Then, as suddenly as they've came, they're gone. It's really neat.

We stayed a long time, but ended up leaving when someone started taking 100 flash photos a minute, ruining ours in the process. Someone asked her not to use it, but she said her photos were great. We all rolled our eyes and just watched for a little bit and then took off. We came back the next night for a similar scene.

Some advice: even when the lights were "storm level 5" according to predictions, you could barely see them from the hotel. We could see them even from the Ice Championships, but they were very faint bands, similar to what was at the hotel. You really need to get away from city light pollution. I guess hotel staff is right. You can see them, but you're not going to get a good show.

Fox is also the best place in Fairbanks to see the pipeline. There's a pipeline visitor's center there.

More photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandagal/sets/72157626261865724/ Read Less

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Northern Sky Lodge Mushing Adventure

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Northern Sky Lodge Photo - Alaska, United States

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I had planned to go mushing with Paws for Adventure, but I read about Northern Sky Lodge on Trip Advisor. The price was about the same and Pascale seemed really nice in the emails so, I decided to book the tour. We had four people in our group and she accommodated us all. We went out two teams at a time.First, she geared us up with anything we might need. I suggest you dress as warm as you think you'll need to be. She'll let you know if you need anything else. I was pretty much set, but she suggested I switch my parka out for a short coat and wear a balaclava. I probably really didn't need it because it was pretty warm. She gave shoes and coats to some other people in my group....Read More

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World Ice Art Championship

Attraction | "Alaska World Ice Championship"

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The entire reason I decided to go to Alaska this year is the Alaska World Ice Championship. I've heard about this competition most of my life and always wanted to go. Around the end of last year, I read 2011 may be the last year for the competition because of issues with sponsorship and issues of use with the ice park land. I decided I had to go, or I might miss my chance forever.The ice park was more awesome in person than photos or videos can ever show. The sculptures are so detailed and intricate and some of the single block sculptures really made me scratch my head. How did they make that with one block? There really were artists from everywhere represented. The kid's...Read More

World Ice Art Championship
1925 Chena Landing Loop, Ice Park
Fairbanks, Alaska
(907) 451-8250

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Seward Highway, Sea Life Center and Kenai Fjords Tours

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Seward Highway Photo - Alaska, United States

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We drove up to Seward the day after the Iditarod Ceremonial start to go on a Resurrection Bay tour. The drive was not that bad. I had been warned about Turnagin Pass, but it wasn't that bad either. It was very scenic and we pulled over a few times to take photos.The drive was worth it, but I'm not sure if the winter tour was. We saw some stellar sea lions, bald eagles and Dall's Porpoise and had a great lunch, but it was kind of a slow tour overall. Glaciers look like mountains this time of year and you can't really see them calve. Plus there's not a whole lot going on in the bay.I've heard reviews of this tour in the summer (the tour is longer in the summer) that rate it...Read More

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Fur Rondy Festival (Iditarod Week)

Attraction | "Running of the Reindeer at Fur Rondy"

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After the Iditarod was Fur Rondy's Running of the Reindeer. I'd read a bit about this event before and it sounded like fun. The idea was the brainchild of a local radio station and has actually taken Rondy out of the red and made it more popular with the locals. It's the Alaskan version of the running of the bulls. They let about 6 reindeer (I didn't get a good count) loose down 4th avenue while people run from them. Three groups: gals, girls and groups. Most people wear goofy costumes (reindeer costumes, someone dressed up as a carrot, several men wore next to nothing . . . brave guys in 0 degree weather), and it's just a fun, goofy thing to do. Reindeer are a little more ...Read More

Fur Rondy Festival (Iditarod Week)

Anchorage, Alaska

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Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Attraction | "The Iditarod Ceremonial Start"

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What can I say about the ceremonial start? It was awesome. So much going on. We arrived early, even though we probably didn't have to, to get a good spot. We got there at about 7 a.m. and had 4th street to ourselves. The only ones there, more or less, were the mushers getting ready on the back streets. I got in a good position and let my toes freeze for a good while before the start.About 4th street: It's completely covered in snow the night before the Iditarod (and they start around 10ish probably). We found that out the hard way on the way home from the Melodrama. Fourth is a major thoroughfare and there's not a whole lot of places you can get without traversing it. They were plo...Read More

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
400 D St (start)
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
+1 907 346 5155

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Alaska Zoo

Attraction | "Alaska Zoo: Cool Animals, Sub Zero Temps"

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My crew comes from the Little Rock Zoo, so we had to check out the Alaska Zoo. It's a very small zoo, and we were thankful. It was below 0 when we started, but warmed up to around 10. The Alaska Zoo is a nice way to spend a few hours. We were surprised that all of the animals seem to be bigger than animals in the lower 48. For example, the wolves were huge compared to those we'd seen at other zoos. Even the red fox was large. They were also very active, so they must love the sub zero temperatures. Snow leopards are one of my faves and normally when you see one, he's just laying in the exhibit. This snow leopard was actively climbing and even chuffing. The wolves were ...Read More

Alaska Zoo
4731 O'Malley Road
Anchorage, Alaska 99516
+1 907 346 3242

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Rondy Melodrama

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We came to Anchorage for the Iditarod, but I learned about Fur Rondy while researching. I was really excited about the Running of the Reindeer, but locals say the Melodrama is a can't miss. I'm all for cheesy theater, so I got tickets in advance for Friday night.I expected something like Rocky Horror or the Room from the descriptions. Lots of people in costume, lots of interaction, throwing stuff at the characters, etc. It was a lot like that, but on a smaller scale. If you've ever seen a Rocky Horror showing, everyone gets into it, everyone dresses up, etc. This was a little smaller, but still a blast.Audience participation was encouraged. You were even encouraged to th...Read More

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Ramada Anchorage Downtown

Hotel | "Ramada Downtown Anchorage"

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We arrived late into Anchorage because of flight delays. It was a little past midnight and our plane was supposed to arrive at 2 p.m. the previous day. The plus side is that we got to ride on Alaska air. We weren't going to, but because of delays, Alaska Air was the only one leaving out of Seattle for Anchorage.When we arrived, we were tired, the roads were icy and I didn't much feel like driving. We made it to the hotel after a brief detour from the parking lot to the freeway. There's parking behind the Ramada, but the main lot was full. Somehow I missed the back lot parking.We were greeted by friendly hotel staff and a moose. A pregnant female moose was across the stre...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 14, 2025

Ramada Anchorage Downtown
115 East 3rd Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
907-272-7561

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