I had the pleasure of visiting Fairbanks, Alaska in the Winter for New Years a couple of years ago. We really wanted to see the Northern Lights and boy we were not disappointed. While the Northern Lights might have been the main draw of our trip, there are so many fun things to do in Fairbanks during the winter.

Here are 14 fun things to do in Fairbanks during the winter:

See the Northern lights

Seeing the northern lights was the main reason we went to Fairbanks. However, they are highly unreliable so plan to take many excursions on multiple days to actually see them. We got lucky and saw them on our first night and it was magical, straight out of a movie. However, we did not see them again on our 2 other excursions so you just never know.

Fun facts about the Northern Lights:

The northern lights are actually called “Auroral borealis” when you see them in the north and “Auroral australis” when seen in the south. They are caused by gas particles from the Earth’s atmosphere colliding with charged particles released by the sun’s atmosphere. The best place to see them is near the magnetic poles, so way up north or far down south. According to the Northern Lights Centre, “Researchers have also discovered that auroral activity is cyclic, peaking roughly every 11 years,” making 2024 the next peak! Might have to plan another trip to see them.

Dog sledding

One of the funnest things we did on our trip was go dog sledding. Dog Sledding in Alaska is a sport. Think of the movie Snow Dogs. It was pretty much like that. The guide showed us all the dogs, explained a little bit about the dog sledding and mushing, gave the dogs a treat, and then we were on our way. We went through the wilderness and saw so much untouched white freshly fallen snow. It was so beautiful.

Snowmobiling

Another SUPER fun activity we did was a 2 hour snowmobile tour. We got to ride our own snowmobiles and were lead through the Alaska wilderness. We even rode on top of a frozen lake! I was pretty scared but guide assured us that it was suer think and there was nothing to worry about.

There something about the Alaska sun in the sky as your in the middle of nowhere that’s so peaceful, especially since we were the only 2 people on the tour. We didn’t plan to have a private tour, it just got really lucky that way.

Visit Santa at the North Pole

This was an unexpected part of our trip. We just so happened to be driving back from Chena Hot Springs when we saw the North Pole. Since my favorite holiday is Christmas I HAD to stop and see this city called Northpole.

I was not disappointed. They have Santa Claus House where you can buy Christmas ornaments and hot chocolate (and you’re going to want hot chocolate after being in the winter cold). But the best part is that we got to meet and take picture with Santa!

Reindeer farm

Did you know reindeer are a real animal? Yea I don’t know what I was expecting to see but when I saw real reindeer I was shocked! The Running Reindeer Ranch was such a cool experience. They gave us some facts about reindeer, let us feed the reindeer and then we got to go on a mile long walk along side these beautiful creatures. This is a must do!

Hot Springs

The Chena Hot Springs were really cool. I was not sure about running out in the cold in my bathing suit but once you run into the water it was so warm and delightful and you don’t even remember you are in below zero weather. They have a locker room to leave all your stuff and change, they have an indoor heated pool, and then you walk out to the hot springs. You can still in the resort which is an hour from Fairbanks or you can drive there like we did.

Ice Museum

We took a tour of the Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs Resort. It is not exclusively a winter activity. I did not know this but its open year round and was created from over 1,000 tons of ice! The ice was sculpted into beautiful sculptures and lit in different pretty colors.

Ice Fishing

While we were at Fairbanks, we tools an ice fishing and aurora tour. We have never been ice fishing before so didn’t know what to expect but the tour was pretty cool. They take you to a little hut and with you along the walls then uncover your hole. I was so lucky to have caught a fish and when you catch a fish, they cook it for you!

Unfortunately, as I was unhooking my fish it jumped back into the hole so we did not get to eat it. If you don’t catch a fish that ok, you can still have great conversation with the guide or other people n the tour as you wait for the aurora activity start.

Warm up at the brewery

We had some free time one night and decided to go for some adult fun. We found the America’s northern most brewery called Silver Gulch. They not only had great beer but fantastic food and a great fire pit outside.

Auto museum

If you need a break from the winter cold, an interesting museum to visit is the Antique Auto Museum. You not only get see a whole bunch of antique cars but learn about history and see the fashion of the times. Most of the exhibits had cars and costumes to look at.

For more travel ideas, check out this post.