IF YOU DECIDE TO GO
Where to stay
Hotel Captain Cook
939 W. Fifth Ave, Anchorage 800-843-1950 captaincook.com
The 546-room downtown hotel, a Historic Hotels of America member, feels like a mini-mall (in a good way), with a dozen shops selling Alaskan art, souvenirs and clothing, plus four restaurants. Ask at the front desk for a northern lights wake-up call and a room with views of the Cook Inlet or Chugach Mountains. Rates from $165.
Roadhouse
13550 E. Main St., Talkeetna 907-733-1351 talkeetnaroadhouse.com The Roadhouse, which originally hosted miners, trappers and railroad workers, is the “Cheers” of Talkeetna. Stay in one of the main house rooms (dorm-style or traditional), all of which have shared bathrooms. If you are sensitive to noise (the building is more than 100 years old and very creaky), rent the apartment over the museum or one of the cabins. The charming Garden Cabin, by the airstrip, comes with an outhouse and a wandering moose. The property offers pie-making classes ($70) on select weekends from October through April. Or book a two-night package with the Alaska Railroad for $265; price includes round-trip train ticket from Anchorage, one night’s lodging and pie class. Double rooms from $85.
Borealis Basecamp
2640 Himalaya Road, Fairbanks 907-885-2845 borealisbasecamp.net The basecamp, which sits in a boreal forest 25 miles north of Fairbanks, is open September through April. For next season, the owners plan to expand the number of two-person domes from six to 20 and add a lodge and restaurant. (For its inaugural year, guests had to preorder dinner, which came from a restaurant in Fairbanks.) Other activities, such as fat-tire biking, dog sledding and northern lights photo workshops, are additional. Two-night minimum stay starts at $389 per couple per night, including breakfast.
Where to eat
Roadhouse
13550 E. Main St., Talkeetna 907-733-1351 talkeetnaroadhouse.com Pull up a seat beside a stranger and dig into homemade breakfast and lunch dishes served at long, family-style tables. The restaurant specializes in hearty meals—don’t worry, you’ll shiver off the calories—such as hot cakes (the flavor changes daily), Hungarian mushroom soup, mac-n-cheese and pastys. (Fillings include beef, salmon and curried potato and pea, among others.) Finish with a slice of pie. Main dishes from $6.25.
What to do
Alaska Railroad
411 W. First Ave., Anchorage 800-544-0552 alaskarailroad.com The Aurora Winter Train travels between Anchorage and Fairbanks on weekends from September through May and on select weekdays December through March. The trip takes 12 hours, or you can stop for a few nights, for instance, in Talkeetna. One-way fares are $195 for adults and $98 for children ages 2 through 11. For meals, take a seat in the dining car for a proper sitdown experience or grab a portable snack in the cafe car.
Chena Hot Springs
17600 Chena Hot Springs Road, Fairbanks 907-451-8104 chenahotsprings.com Soak all day, if you can handle the heat. The pools are open from 7 a.m. to 11:45 p.m., and the $15 pass includes the hot springs lake (adults-only), indoor pool, hot tubs and locker room. (Note: Don’t leave your boots on the rack in the entrance. Mine went a-missing.) Add $5 for a towel. The resort also offers a full slate of summer and winter activities, such as a sled dog kennel tour ($20), Aurora Ice Museum ($15, plus $15 for an appletini served in an ice glass) and Aurora snow coach tour ($75). In addition, visitors can spend the night in a lodge room or dry cabin; springs pass included.
Talkeetna Flower Kennel and Homestead Tours
Seven miles south of Talkeetna 907-232-3944 flowerkennel.com Dutch native Iris Vandenham turns her offthe-grid home into a classroom, where she teaches visitors about her life as a homesteader and a musher to a sled dog team of seven. Tour options range from a half-hour dog sled ride ($75) to mushing school, a ride, and a kennel and homestead tour ($155) in the winter and a kennel and homestead tour in the summer.
Running Reindeer Ranch
About 25 minutes from downtown Fairbanks 907-455-4998 runningreindeer.com Hike with a herd of “pet” reindeer, including Buttercup, Daisy and, the newest addition, Margarita. During the forested walk behind the owners’ house, learn about the domesticated caribou, from what they like to eat to how you can tell if a reindeer is pregnant. Reservations required. Cost is $55 to $100, depending on the season.
University of Alaska Museum of the North
1962 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks 907-474-7505 uaf.edu/museum
The museum covers all facets of Alaskan life, including the wildlife (see the 36,000-year-old mummified steppe bison), gold mining, dinosaurs, Denali and the northern lights. The theater screens several films, including “Dynamic Aurora,” for $5. Admission costs $14