Things to do in The Interior
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Paddling the Noatak National Wild River
The Noatak National Wild River is a 16-day, 350-mile float from Lake Matcharak to the village of Noatak, where Bering Air (www.beringair.com) has scheduled flights to Kotzebue. However, the numerous access lakes on the river allow it to be broken down into shorter paddles. The entire river is rated from Class I to II. The upper portion, in the Brooks Range, offers much more dramatic scenery and is usually accessed from Bettles.
The lower half, accessed through Kotzebue, flows through a broad, gently sloping valley where hills replace the sharp peaks of the Brooks Range. The most common trip here is to put in at Nimiuktuk River where, within an hour of paddling, you enter …
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Camper Buses
The alternative to the shuttle buses are the less crowded, more informal camper buses, aimed at ferrying overnight campers, backpackers and cyclists, and offering ample space to stow gear. To take these buses you must have a campsite or backcountry unit reserved along Park Rd, or be toting a bicycle. If you don't have a campground reservation, you can't ride out on the camper bus, but you can probably hitch a ride back on one - a recommended course of action.
As with shuttles, it's good to reserve as far in advance as possible.
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Museum of the North
Museum of the North at the University of Alaska rivals the Anchorage Museum of History & Art as the state's most impressive cultural center. A $42 million expansion added a Alaska Native art gallery and a sound-and-light theatre that features the northern lights. But the most popular exhibit is still Blue Babe, a 36,000-year-old bison found preserved in the permafrost.
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Lemongrass
Ignore the out-of-the-way, strip-mall setting - Fairbanks' best Thai food and most gracious service is found here.
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Polychrome Pass Circuit
Polychrome Pass Circuit One cross-country route you might consider off Park Rd is Polychrome Pass Circuit, an 8-mile trek that will challenge fit, experienced day hikers. (Less studly souls might want to do it as an overnight, which requires a permit.) This hike traverses one of the park's most scenic areas. The brilliantly colored rocks of Polychrome Pass are the result of volcanic action some 60 million years ago.
Today the multicolored hills and mountains, including Polychrome Mountain (5790ft) and Cain Peak (4961ft), are a stunning sight in the low-angle light of a clear Alaskan summer day.
The route begins on the west side of Park Rd's bridge across East Fork Toklat R…
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Wilderness Camping
For many, the reason to come to Denali is to escape into the backcountry for a truly Alaskan experience. Unlike many parks in the Lower 48, Denali's rigid restrictions ensure you can trek and camp in a piece of wilderness all your own, even if it's just for a few days.
The park is divided into 87 backcountry units, and in 43 only a regulated number of backpackers (usually from four to six) are allowed at a time. You have to obtain a free permit for the unit you want to overnight in. You may spend a maximum of seven nights in any one unit, and a maximum of 30 consecutive nights in the backcountry.
Obtain permits at the Backcountry Information Center, where you'll find wall …
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Mt McKinley
Encompassing both the north and south flanks of the Alaska Range, 237 miles from Anchorage and about half that distance from Fairbanks, Denali National Park is an immense subarctic wilderness centered on Mt McKinley - North America's highest peak and an overwhelming sight when caught on a clear day. At 20,320ft, the peak of this massif is almost 4 miles high, but what makes it stunning is that it rises from an elevation of just 2000ft.
From Park Rd, you'll see 18,000ft of rock, snow and glacier reaching for the sky. In contrast, Mt Everest, the world's highest mountain at 29,028ft, rises only 11,000ft from the lofty Tibetan Plateau.
Mt McKinley is not visible from the park…
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Wildlife Spotting
Because hunting has never been allowed in the park, professional photographers refer to animals in Denali as 'approachable wildlife.' That means bears, moose, Dall sheep and caribou aren't as skittish here as in other regions of the state. For this reason, and because Park Rd was built to maximize the chances of seeing wildlife by traversing high open ground, the national park is an excellent place to view a variety of animals.
Roughly 1800 moose roam the north side of the Alaska Range, and the most spectacular scene in Denali comes in early September, when the bulls begin to clash their immense racks over breeding rights to a cow. Moose are almost always found in stands …
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Mt Healy Overlook Trail
This is the longest maintained trail in the entrance area, and the only one in the vicinity that truly lets you escape the crowds. It's a popular trail among day hikers as it provides a good workout and the reward of fine views over the Nenana River valley, Healy Ridge and other ridgelines. The trail veers off the Taiga Trail and makes a steep climb up Mt Healy, ascending 1700ft in 2½ miles. Plan on three to five hours for the hike.
Once on the trail, you soon cross a bridge over Horseshoe Creek, after which there's a moderately steep climb through a forest of spruce mixed with aspen and alder. After a mile you reach a scenic viewpoint where you can gaze upon Mt Fellows …
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K2 Aviation Flightseeing
K2 Aviation Flightseeing When in Talkeetna, it's pretty much mandatory to go flightseeing around Mt McKinley. It's not cheap, but on a clear day it's so worthwhile that it's one of the best bargains in this expensive state.
There are five local flightseeing operations, all well established, all similar with regards to safety, professionalism and price, and all recipients of fawning reviews from their customers. Most offer three different tours: a circuit of Mt McKinley, a ski-equipped landing on one of its glaciated flanks, and a wildlife tour when the peak is clouded over.
The main difference between the companies is the planes they use: some have small aircraft that sta…
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Driving the Dalton Highway
Though the Dalton is slowly being tamed - since 2000 around 130 miles have been paved - it's still not a road that suffers fools. In summer the 28ft-wide corridor is a dusty minefield of potholes, its embankments littered with blown tires. Paint scratches and window chips are inevitable, which is why most car-rental companies don't allow their vehicles here. There are few services, such as telephones, tire repair, fuel and restaurants, and none for the final 225 miles from Wiseman to Deadhorse.
The road is open year-round, but you should only tackle it between late May and early September, when there's virtually endless light and little snow and ice. Drive with headlights…
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Hudson Air Service Flightseeing
When in Talkeetna, it's pretty much mandatory to go flightseeing around Mt McKinley. It's not cheap, but on a clear day it's so worthwhile that it's one of the best bargains in this expensive state.
There are five local flightseeing operations, all well established, all similar with regards to safety, professionalism and price, and all recipients of fawning reviews from their customers. Most offer three different tours: a circuit of Mt McKinley, a ski-equipped landing on one of its glaciated flanks, and a wildlife tour when the peak is clouded over.
The main difference between the companies is the planes they use: some have small aircraft that stay below 12,000ft but can …
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Talkeetna Aero Services Flightseeing
When in Talkeetna, it's pretty much mandatory to go flightseeing around Mt McKinley. It's not cheap, but on a clear day it's so worthwhile that it's one of the best bargains in this expensive state.
There are five local flightseeing operations, all well established, all similar with regards to safety, professionalism and price, and all recipients of fawning reviews from their customers. Most offer three different tours: a circuit of Mt McKinley, a ski-equipped landing on one of its glaciated flanks, and a wildlife tour when the peak is clouded over.
The main difference between the companies is the planes they use: some have small aircraft that stay below 12,000ft but can …
reviewed
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Talkeetna Air Taxi Flightseeing
When in Talkeetna, it's pretty much mandatory to go flightseeing around Mt McKinley. It's not cheap, but on a clear day it's so worthwhile that it's one of the best bargains in this expensive state.
There are five local flightseeing operations, all well established, all similar with regards to safety, professionalism and price, and all recipients of fawning reviews from their customers. Most offer three different tours: a circuit of Mt McKinley, a ski-equipped landing on one of its glaciated flanks, and a wildlife tour when the peak is clouded over.
The main difference between the companies is the planes they use: some have small aircraft that stay below 12,000ft but can …
reviewed
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Doug Geeting Aviation Flightseeing
When in Talkeetna, it's pretty much mandatory to go flightseeing around Mt McKinley. It's not cheap, but on a clear day it's so worthwhile that it's one of the best bargains in this expensive state.
There are five local flightseeing operations, all well established, all similar with regards to safety, professionalism and price, and all recipients of fawning reviews from their customers. Most offer three different tours: a circuit of Mt McKinley, a ski-equipped landing on one of its glaciated flanks, and a wildlife tour when the peak is clouded over.
The main difference between the companies is the planes they use: some have small aircraft that stay below 12,000ft but can …
reviewed
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Golden Sands Beach
A very interesting afternoon can be spent at Nome's Golden Sands Beach , stretching a mile east of town along Front St. At the height of summer a few local children may be seen playing in the 45°F water, and on Memorial Day (in May), more than 100 masochistic residents plunge into the ice-choked waters for the annual Polar Bear Swim.
Usually more numerous than swimmers here are gold prospectors, as the beach is open to recreational mining. Miners will set up camp along the shore and work the sands throughout the summer. The serious miners rig their sluice and dredging equipment on a small pontoon boat and anchor it 100yd offshore to suck up the more productive sand along…
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Shuttle Buses
Shuttle buses are aimed at wildlife watchers and day hikers. They aren't fancy, comfortable, high-tech wonders but big, clunky school-bus-style affairs. On board, passengers armed with binoculars and cameras scour the terrain for animals, most of which are so accustomed to the rambling buses that they rarely run and hide. When someone spots something and yells 'stop!' the driver pulls over for viewing and picture taking.
The drivers are concessionaire employees, not NPS naturalists, but they provide unofficial natural-history information en route. Some are better at this than others.
Day hikers don't need a backcountry permit and can get off shuttle buses anywhere along Pa…
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Paddling the Yukon
During its heyday, Eagle was an important riverboat landing for traffic moving up and down the Yukon. Today it's a departure point for the many paddlers who float along the river through the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The 150-mile trip extends from Eagle to Circle, at the end of the Steese Hwy northeast of Fairbanks; most paddlers take six to 10 days, though some require as few as three.
It's not a difficult paddle, but it must be planned carefully. Kayakers and canoeists should come prepared for insects, but can usually camp either in public-use cabins or on open beaches and river bars, where winds keep the bugs at bay. They also need to be prepared for extr…
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Fairbanks Ice Museum
Certainly the most bemusing sight in the city's downtown - and by far the best place to chill out - is the Fairbanks Ice Museum . This hour-long experience takes place in the historic, musty-smelling Lacey Street Theater, which you'll likely have largely to yourself. First comes the screening of the film Freeze Frame, which employs dramatic editing to chronicle the World Ice Art Championships, an ice-sculpting contest held in Fairbanks each March.
Then the lights come up to reveal an array of life-sized crystalline carvings ringing the theatre. They're all stereotypical Alaskan scenes - howling huskies and bears wrestling salmon - and some are slightly melted or broken. I…
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Fortymile River
River Historic Fortymile River, designated as Fortymile National Wild River, offers an excellent escape into scenic wilderness for paddlers experienced in lining their canoes around rapids. It's also a step back into Alaska's gold-rush era; the river passes abandoned mining communities, including Franklin, Steele Creek and Fortymile, as well as some present-day mining operations.
The best place to start paddling is at the bridge over South Fork, because the access points south of here on Taylor Hwy are often too shallow for an enjoyable trip. Many canoeists paddle the 40 miles from South Fork bridge to the bridge over O'Brien Creek, at Mile 113 of Taylor Hwy. This two- to…
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Fairview Inn
Closed in 2005, it would be a travesty if the Fairview Inn failed to reopen. Though not an official museum, it might as well be. Founded in 1923 to serve as the overnight stop between Seward and Fairbanks on the newly constructed Alaska Railroad, the inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its old plank-floored saloon is classic Alaska: its walls are covered with racks of antlers, various furry critters (including a grizzly on the ceiling) and lots of local memorabilia. One corner holds Talkeetna's only slot machine; another is devoted to President Warren G Harding. When the railroad was finished in 1923, Harding arrived in Alaska and rode the rails to …
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Circle District Historical Society Museum
One of the best museums of any small Alaskan town is the Circle District Historical Society Museum in Central. Established in 1984, the main portion of the museum is a large log lodge that houses a miner's cabin, exhibits on early mining equipment and dog-team freight and mail hauling, and the Yukon Press - the first printing press north of Juneau, which produced Interior Alaska's first newspaper.
The most interesting display is the museum's collection of gold nuggets and gold flakes recovered and donated by local miners. This display, more than anything else, will help you understand why they continue to tear away at the hills and streams in an effort to find the preciou…
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Park Rd
Park Rd begins at George Parks Hwy and winds 92 miles through the heart of the park, ending at Kantishna, an old mining settlement and the site of several wilderness lodges. Early on, park officials envisaged the onset of bumper-to-bumper traffic jams along this road and wisely closed almost all of it to private vehicles. With few exceptions, motorists can drive only to a parking area along the Savage River at Mile 14, a mile beyond the Savage River Campground. To venture further along the road you must walk, bike, be part of a concessionaire-run tour, or, most popularly, take a park shuttle or camper bus.
If you're planning to spend the day riding the buses, pack plenty …
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University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks is the original campus of the state's university system and an interesting place to spend an afternoon. Incorporated in 1917 as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, the school began its first year with six students. Today, it has more than 8000, and hundreds of degree and certificate programs.
The beautiful campus is 4 miles west of downtown, on a hilltop from which you can see Mt McKinley on a clear day. An Alaska Range viewpoint on Yukon Dr, near the University of Alaska Museum, provides a turnout and a marker detailing the mountainous horizon.
Guided campus tours are offered at 10:00 weekdays; meet at the museum. The tours …
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Chena Hot Springs Resort
At the end of Chena Hot Springs Rd is the Chena Hot Springs Resort. The springs themselves were discovered by gold miners in 1905, and by 1912 they were the premier place to soak for the happy residents of boom town Fairbanks. They still are. The busiest season for this resort, by far, is winter, and often during midweek in the summer you can score on some impressive 'slow season discounts'.
The Chena springs are at the centre of a 40 sq mile geothermal area and produce a steady stream of water that's so hot, it must be cooled before you can even think about putting a toe in. The most popular activity is hot-tub soaking, done both outdoors and indoors. Other activities in…
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