Fairbanks Day Tours & Excursions

Gold Daughters provides a fun, hands-on way to learn about Fairbanks’ gold rush history, and get a glimpse of the same thrill that brought so many people to Alaska in the first place. Your entrance fee provides you with a poke of paydirt with guaranteed gold and lets you pan all day.

Hop aboard a narrow-gauge train and get ready to stake your claim to gold on this two-hour tour of Gold Dredge 8. Learn all about how 100,000 gold rushers fought the permafrost in their quest to get rich. Then grab some gold of your own!

Climb on board an authentic Alaskan sternwheeler, the Riverboat Discovery, and take a journey back in time along the Chena and Tanana rivers. Sternwheeler boats transport you out into the Alaskan wilderness, and also back to a time when Gold Rush fever was sweeping across the state. The Discovery II and Discovery III offer fully narrated three-and-a-half-hour tour. But all your time isn't spent on the boat. You'll make an unforgettable one-hour stop at Chena Indian Village.

You’ll spend three hours, round-trip, in the air with a one-hour walking tour of the community, led by a local Alaskan guide. Learn of the local Nunamiut Eskimo culture and get a firsthand glimpse at village lifestyle as it exists today in rural Alaska.

Fly from Fairbanks and travel 80 miles above the across the Arctic Circle on a scenic and historic adventure. Departing in the evening, you’ll pass over the stark terrain of northern Alaska and land at the Athabascan village of Fort Yukon. Then, with your guide, you’ll spend an hour learning all about this fascinating area—the history, how people take care of themselves in a punishing environment, and some of the characters who have called this area home. Then, as the midnight sun sets, you’ll board your plane and fly back to Fairbanks.

Northern Alaska Tour Company offers several tours that transport visitors to the Arctic Circle. You can fly, drive, or do a combination of the two, depending on your travel preference and how much time you have. The most popular tour is the fly-and-drive excursion, which gives you incredible views from the air and a tour of the town of Coldfoot, followed by a drive back to Fairbanks.

The folks at Arctic Outfitters are travel specialists, and they’ll work hard to help you plan a trip to fit your needs.  Arctic Outfitters rents reliable, stable vehicles that are specially equipped for remote travel.

Take a guided van tour from Fairbanks to the beautiful Chena Hot Springs Resort. Tour the Ice Museum, soak in the hot springs, and look for the northern lights. The drive back to Fairbanks provides another opportunity to view the lights.

A guided day trip out of Fairbanks reveals the quiet winter landscape of the Tanana Valley and Denali National Park. Walk or snowshoe on picturesque trails through the boreal forest, deep in the heart of the Alaska range.

Winter in Alaska is a magical time, with fewer visitors and a serene, snow-covered landscape. If you’re here from mid-September to mid-May, you can take it in from the comfort of the Aurora Winter Train, which runs between Anchorage and Fairbanks. It’s an easy and memorable way to travel north and experience the aurora borealis, or even do a weekend getaway to Talkeetna.

Plenty of people come to Fairbanks to look at the sky—for northern lights, or to bask in the midnight sun. But this dog-mushing experience outside of Fairbanks is proof that there’s plenty more of Fairbanks to be seen at eye—or even paw—level. May through October, take a a trail ride with 16 dogs hitched up to an ATV. November through April, take a mushing tour through the snow!

Glide over the snow on a sled that’s being pulled by a team of dogs—many of whom have run the Iditarod, Yukon Quest, or other races. Go with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service and experience the thrill of dog sledding with dogs that love to run and passionate mushers who will offer a deeper understanding of this unique sport.

Experience Alaska fishing off the grid—whether you want to fish for world-class-trophy pike during the peak summer season or experience the fabulously unique sport of ice fishing in winter. This operator based in North Pole will coach you, based on whatever your skill level, and take you to spots so special that owner, Rod Pangborn, takes his own family there.

Come visit and you might see up to 15 different kinds of mammals—from beavers to red foxes, flying squirrels, snowshoe hares, and even moose—and several species of birds. Throughout the Sanctuary’s trail system there are 14 interpretive signs, so you can learn how the birds, fish, frogs, and mammals survive in interior Alaska’s tough climate. 

You may think of reindeer as flying creatures of the imagination, but here in Alaska they’re very real. And this unique tour gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with these magnificent animals. Walk among them and pet them—it’s truly a moment made for Instagram.

Explore one of the last frontiers – the Arctic – by land, sea and air in a one-day expedition that offers an excellent chance of seeing polar bears playing, eating and snoozing in the wild.

Join Alaska Wildlife Guide on a once in a lifetime adventure as you snowmobile through forests, over frozen lakes, view various wildlife, listen to fascinating stories and meet the world-famous Bison, Cowie.

Plunge into a winter wonderland of spruce forests, wide open spaces and wildlife. This snowmobile tour in North Pole (just outside of Fairbanks) offers an unparalleled peek at Alaska’s interior and a serious thrill, whether you take a first-timer’s tour or embark on an overnight adventure.

Just a short drive from Fairbanks, wait for the northern lights to appear in a warm, inviting space. Cozy up to the fire, sip on cocoa and coffee, and step outside when mother nature puts on a show. Although the center is a short distance from town, it is far enough away so that you won’t have to worry about light pollution interrupting your view as you stand gazing under the vast, starlit sky.

Fly from Fairbanks to the remote village of Coldfoot for a 3 day / 2 night or 4 day / 3 night trip to view the northern lights beyond the Arctic Circle. Optional daytime excursions include dog sledding and a trip to the famous Attigun Pass. You’ll return to Fairbanks via the Dalton Highway.

Fly or take a guided van tour from Fairbanks to the remote village of Coldfoot, a remote town located in the Brooks Mountain Range that’s perfectly situated under the "auroral oval," where you’ll find the best displays of northern lights.

Take a guided van tour from Fairbanks to the beautiful Chena Hot Springs Resort. Tour the Ice Museum, soak in the hot springs, and look for the northern lights. The drive back to Fairbanks provides another opportunity to view the lights.

You may think of reindeer as flying creatures of the imagination, but here in Alaska they’re very real. And this unique tour gives you the opportunity to get up close and personal with these magnificent animals. Walk among them and pet them—it’s truly a moment made for Instagram.

Join Alaska Wildlife Guide in experiencing one of Alaska’s most desired attractions, Chena Hot Springs Resort. From visiting the most northern Ice Museum, soaking in the all-natural hot springs to learning more about geothermal energy and visiting reindeers, this tour will be a highlight of your Alaska experience.

This train travels through the forested areas north of Anchorage into the boreal forest, and eventually into the tundra regions further north. On a clear day the train will slow down to allow you to see beautiful vistas of Denali. You may also spot wildlife along the way.

• Day Trip from Anchorage: Talkeetna Day Trip from Fairbanks: Denali
• Multi-Day Trip from Anchorage: Talkeetna, Denali National Park, and / or Fairbanks
• Multi-Day Trip from Fairbanks: Denali, Talkeetna, and / or Anchorage