Fairbanks Winter Activities
While renowned for its breathtaking views of the northern lights, Fairbanks also offers an abundance of other activities during the winter season. From dogsledding adventures to snowmobiling, ice fishing, and skiing, you’ll find something for everyone to enjoy.
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Winter Activities
Dog Mushing View All
Take part in the thrill of winter and fall dog sledding out of Fairbanks. You’ll experience the sport with one of Alaska’s longest-running dog tour companies. Go for a ride, attend mushing school, or go on a multi-day adventure to the historic Tolovana Roadhouse.
Visit the world’s oldest Siberian Husky kennel any time of the year with tour options ranging from a couple of hours in the summer to multi-day winter adventures exploring Fairbanks.
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.
Snowmobiling Tours View All
Safe snowmobiling tours for first-timers • Winter wildlife viewing
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.
Northern Lights Tours View All
Warm up by a fire and look at stars as you wait for the Northern Lights
Stand out on the Arctic tundra under the northern lights, experiencing their eerie glow on a one-day tour you won’t soon forget. From October to April, you’ll depart from Fairbanks on this one-day adventure and get a majestic flightseeing trip to the remote town of Coldfoot, above the Arctic Circle. Explore this fascinating town and look for the mysterious lights overhead. Then drive south and get a close up of all the terrain in between, seeing ...more
Just a short 15-minute drive from downtown 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.
Spend some time above the Arctic Circle under the mysterious, eerie northern lights. From mid-September to late April, when you have the best chance of witnessing phenomenon of the aurora borealis, you’ll fly from Fairbanks to the remote village of Coldfoot, in the Brooks Mountain Range. After the spectacular flightseeing experience, you’ll have either 3 days/2 nights or 4 days/3 nights to explore this rugged, fascinating landscape, with ...more
Join Alaska Wildlife Guide in exploring 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 viewing the breathtaking Northern Lights dance across the sky, this tour will be a highlight of your Alaskan experience.
Seeing the Northern Lights is an unforgettable wintertime experience. Of course, you never know quite when (or even if) Mother Nature is going to unleash the display into the night sky. So while you wait, you’ll be trying your hand at another activity that’s unique to the Alaskan winter: ice fishing!
Wondering how folks up here deal with Alaska’s long winter days? It’s easy when the inky night sky comes alive with an amazing light show like the aurora borealis. Braving the cold is nothing if you get a chance to see the lights dancing and waving overhead. Combine your aurora viewing trip with a few other highlights planned out by Salmon Berry Tours, and you’ll experience the best of winter in Alaska.
Located on a quiet ridgeline outside of Fairbanks, the Borealis Basecamp offers 20 elegant igloos and a new village with 5 aurora-viewing cubes, including a family suite custom-designed and specifically positioned to maximize your viewing of the Northern Lights. You’ll also have the chance to take advantage of the camps many winter activities like dogsledding, snowmachining, snowshoeing, and fat-tire biking.
Ice Fishing View All
Experience the unique thrill of ice fishing in winter with a chance of seeing the northern lights
Experience the fabulously unique sport of ice fishing in winter. Owner, Rod Pangborn and his team of skilled guides based in North Pole will coach you, based on whatever your skill level. Choose from a daytime experience, or an evening tour with a chance to view the northern lights.
Seeing the Northern Lights is an unforgettable wintertime experience. Of course, you never know quite when (or even if) Mother Nature is going to unleash the display into the night sky. So while you wait, you’ll be trying your hand at another activity that’s unique to the Alaskan winter: ice fishing!
Winter Sightseeing Tours View All
Northern lights tours • Aurora Winter Train • Snowshoeing
Sample a variety of Alaskan activities year-round through this organization that’s all about showcasing the community of Two Rivers. The signature Taste of Two Rivers Tour includes a dog sled demonstration, gold panning, and an opportunity to meet & pet reindeer. Other summer tours include hikes with reindeer and visiting a peony farm. In winter, go dog sledding (day or multi-day expedition) and view the northern lights.
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.
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.
Join Alaska Wildlife Guide in exploring 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 viewing the breathtaking Northern Lights dance across the sky, this tour will be a highlight of your Alaskan experience.
Wildlife Parks View All
Meet some reindeer • See birds, foxes, moose at wildlife sanctuary
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.
Sample a variety of Alaskan activities year-round through this organization that’s all about showcasing the community of Two Rivers. The signature Taste of Two Rivers Tour includes a dog sled demonstration, gold panning, and an opportunity to meet & pet reindeer. Other summer tours include hikes with reindeer and visiting a peony farm. In winter, go dog sledding (day or multi-day expedition) and view the northern lights.
Daily tours at the Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station (LARS) at University of Alaska Fairbanks provide visitors with the chance to view muskoxen and reindeer while learning about ongoing research studying the adaptations enabling these arctic animals to survive and thrive in extremely cold temperatures.
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.
Cross Country Skiing View All
The White Mountain National Recreation Area has over 200 miles of winter trails that are shared by dog mushers, skiiers, skijorers, and snow machiners and several cabins have been built along the White Mountain winter trails to provide visitors with safety and comfort during their adventures.
Recreational and competitive cross-country skiers alike are passionate about Birch Hill Recreation Area; a favorite among locals with its extensive and challenging trails that are always well-groomed, for both classical and skate skiers.
This public use area roughly 2,000 acres is sandwiched between Sheep Creek, Goldstream and Ballaine roads. The area is criss-crossed with dog mushing, skiing, skijoring and snowmachine trails. This is also is a popular blueberry-picking spot.
This is a moderately difficult 5 mile long trail that begins and ends at the Wickersham Dome Trailhead at Mile 28 Elliot Highway. This trail offers beautiful views of the Alaska Range and Denali (Mt. McKinley).
Ice Skating View All
Named after Hez Houston Ray, a can-do teacher who came to Fairbanks in 1952. His friends called him an “irresistible force,” when advocating for youth sports, and he was well-known for his unusual and concerted efforts to get any job done. One of his most complex — and famous — schemes involved the development of the Big Dipper Ice Arena that now resides at the Hez Ray Sports Complex.
Referred to as “The Big Dipper” by locals, this is a multi-purpose arena that is open year-round. The Big Dipper features an 85’ x 100’ indoor ice rink with spectator seating for 2,200 that offers youth and adult hockey, speed skating, recreational skating, and sheet rentals for private parties.
Winter Photography Workshops View All
Single: $3,995; Double*: $3,195 each
6 Days
Visits: Fairbanks, Delta Junction
Land Package Type: Photography Tours