March 7, 2025
I went to Fairbanks, Alaska with a girlfriend and came back with a fiancè.
After spending a week in Fairbanks to catch the Northern Lights, here’s how I’d plan the perfect trip.
This does depend on what time you’re able to arrive, but flying from Austin, TX like I did, flights get in and leave around midnight.
Arrival/Night 1 – Should I rent a car in Fairbanks?
You’ll get in late, but if you napped on the flights in, you should be fine.
The airport is small and car rentals are right next to the baggage claim. Renting a car is super easy and Important – you just get your keys after signing the paperwork and paying and you’re off.
We went from February 26-March 4th (technically left at 1:30am on March 5th), so I rented us a GMC Acadia, which was the perfect snow and ice car. Driving on the ice was easy with the larger car with 4WD and winter tires.
We were frequently on roads with inches of ice on top as well as days where some of the ice melted and left a thin layer of water. As long as you’re cautious and take things at the proper speed, you’ll be fine.
What I’d recommend for your first night is booking a hotel close to the airport. You’ll be tired and will likely just want to sleep.
Important Aurora Links
It took me a few nights to create the perfect Aurora Tracking System, so you’ll want to bookmark this and come back to visit.
Fairbanks Aurora Live Camera – This has been a live feed for the past few years and is the best way to stay warm while waiting for auroras.
Aurora Forecast – This website has live aurora forecasts done by University of Alaska Fairbanks. Keep a watch on this once you arrive to have an idea of what nights may be best. This forecast isn’t super accurate. Some nights were showing as a 3 but the next day showed a historical 5 or 6, which is why the live tracker is so important.
Current Activity – This shows current global activity at the north and south of the globe. Seeing a huge wave coming towards Alaska is a great sign. Once it’s starting to green over the center of Alaska is when I’d start to watch for activity at night.
Day 1/Night 2
I’d recommend booking the cheapest room at Chenna Hot Springs. We booked a more expensive cabin and spent two nights there, which wasn’t needed.
Renting a car is important because they charge $95 per person each way and we met a girl who said they shared a group Uber there that was $200.
I’m not going to lie, Chenna is kind of a dump in the rooms and locker room, but it’s worth it for a single night, not two like we did.
They still use quarters in their lockers, so bring around 6 quarters per person if you don’t want to risk things being stolen. Locals told me they don’t lock their things ever and have never had things stolen so if you forget quarters, don’t sweat it.
The hot springs felt amazing in the cold and the water was super refreshing. I’d recommend going when you arrive as well as at night to take in the stars. It can get crowded after dinner. If you want peace and privacy, I’d go before dinner, grab a bite, and then head back to the pool to catch the auora if it’s a nice night.
We read on Reddit that the worst thing about Chenna is the potential and it’s true. It’s one of the highest potential areas for being amazing, but the hot springs are still worth it.
Next Place to Stay
Book the Tiny Home on the Dome on AirBNB for as long as possible, or 4-5 nights. This is what I would say is likely one of the best locations in town for watching the lights at night in privacy and in a warm hot tub. We stayed for 4 nights which I think is the perfect amount of time. Any shorter and you may get unlucky without good lights. Any longer and you’ll feel a bit bored.
I proposed in the hot tub underneath the northern lights. It was amazing, but also the motion sensor was a bit oversensitive so I had to turn the lights off and did it in the dark, which Kayla and I have had a nice laugh about now haha.
How to see the Aurora in Fairbanks
After relying on looking through the window at night and missing some of the best auoras of the trip, I created the perfect Aurora Watch System for my recommended place to stay.
To catch the auora, put on the live camera from the University of Fairbanks on a laptop or iPad. Place that right next to the TV and leave it running.
Get your swimsuit and towels ready nearby.
Then, pick a show or movie to stream from your personal cellphone and stream that directly to the main TV that’s next to your iPad or Laptop.
As you’re watching your show or movie, just keep an eye on the live stream.
From my experience, they started fairly dim for 20-30 minutes, but as soon as you start to see multiple stripes forming, you should get into your swimsuit and hop into the hot tub.
What we noticed was a slower buildup of the lights, followed by a peak of auoras across the sky with a dancing of the streaks for about 15 minutes, followed by a slow decline back to a single dim streak.
This isn’t always going to be the case, but if you’re asleep for the best 15 minutes of the night, odds are you won’t get to see much for the rest of the night.
Even if you don’t see an Auora or get a great show, the stars are absolutely beautiful and you’ll still probably get to see a shooting star or two.
Food To Eat
Fairbanks has no right to have as good of Thai Food as they do. Sam’s at the bottom of the hill from THOD is claimed on Reddit as the best in town. It’s a small shack, but I’d say it’s a tie with Lemongrass. But for ease of eating, it’s up there.
Lemongrass is also fantastic and a must visit.
LuLu’s bagels is great as well as Alaska Coffee Roasters for morning breakfast or coffee.
The Pump House is packed out and we thought the food was great. Kayla loved her King Crab and got every last bit of food from the shell.
Things To Do
Here are some things to do when you visit yourself.
Castner Glacier Ice Cave
There’s a lot to do around Fairbanks, Kayla and I agreed our favorite was the Glacier Ice Cave. It’s a long drive there, but a beautiful drive, so worth the trip and the short hike out to it, just dress warm and plan to go on a sunny day.
The cave goes super deep so I’d recommend bringing a real flashlight as your phone won’t do much. The ice crystals on the ceiling are stunning and it makes for a great photoshoot.
Denali National Park
A long drive for a slim chance at seeing a moose. Nothing special here and most locals I heard discussing it agree. In the winter it’s a single road in with a small loop hike that’s uneventful at the end. I’d skip this unless you love driving and are bored.
We saw the $295 tours on Viator and thought it would be a great adventure but in the end we decided we feel bad for anyone wasting $295 on the long drive.
Snowboarding or Skiing
We spent a nice sunny day on the slopes shredding (for me) and going down slowly (for Kayla).
It’s a small mountain and you’ll take a bus up to the top at the bottom, but it’s still a nice day on the slopes. Plus, for $95 for a board, boots, and helmet rental, you can’t really go wrong compared to hundreds anywhere else I’ve been before.
There’s another mountain nearby that’s more technical for skiers called Ski Land, but we didn’t make it there.
Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum
I love cars and I really was not at all interested in going to this museum, but once I was inside I was shocked at how great it was.
Fountainhead is the collection of a local businessman with a large commercial real estate portfolio who loves Pre-WWII classics.
The cars he has on display are unlike any I’ve seen with cars as old as 1897, and all made in America. Paired with outfits from the time, it’s a great experience that I truly enjoyed. Plenty of staff are there to answer questions and make the museum great.
It’s impossible to say for sure, but knowing that they buy cars from high end auctions like Pebble Beach and that a lot of the cars are the last in existence or one of the last and in mint condition, I wouldn’t be surprised if the total value of the collection was over $50m. To have that level of variation and history on display for a $20 entry ticket is truly remarkable as I’m sure the entry doesn’t even cover the costs.
My personal favorite was the Duesenberg, but it’s truly hard to choose.
Iditarod Race Start
We got lucky and unfortunately for you, you likely won’t. The Iditarod race has only started in Fairbanks 4 times ever and we happened to be there during the 4th. It was awesome to catch the start and walk the Chenna River ice and watch the teams going by.
Dog Sledding at the last Alaskan Malamut Kennel
They say if you want a good trip to follow the Chinese Tourists. Kayla was 1 for 1 with the Ice Cave that she found on Little Red Book, a Chinese Social Media App.
With Firewalker Alaskan Malamute, she was 2 for 2.
Oliver runs the last Alaskan Malamute working kennel in the state. On Little Red Book, the Chinese prefer it because the dogs are all a little chubby which shows he’s feeding them well. Seeing other kennels it’s clear to see that Oliver truly treats his dogs well. He doesn’t run tours at times when the dogs will overheat and the dogs are in much better conditions than other kennels we saw like the one at Chenna.
If you want the traditional fluffy sled dog experience, Firewalke is the only option. If you want skinner dogs that are currently used to run races, other kennels will suffice. But to me, the Malamute is a much cuter and friendlier option. He only takes cash, his website is out of date, and he gets so many Chinese tourists in now that he’s stopped advertising.
He didn’t know why he was so popular with Chinese tourists until we told him, so this is my attempt at removing the unintentional gatekeeping that has been going on haha.
Conclusion
Fairbanks was amazing – I went with a girlfriend and came back with a fiancée! The GMC Acadia handled those ice roads perfectly. One night at Chenna Hot Springs is plenty (kind of a dump, but worth it), then head to the Tiny Home on the Dome for 4-5 nights with that hot tub.
My Aurora Watch System worked great – just keep the live camera next to your TV and jump in the hot tub when you see those stripes forming! The Thai food in Fairbanks has no right to be as good as it is – Sam’s and Lemongrass were fantastic.
For daytime fun, that Castner Glacier Ice Cave was worth the drive, but skip Denali in winter. The Antique Auto Museum totally surprised me – super impressive for a $20 ticket.
And if you want those cute fluffy sled dogs, go with Firewalker’s chubby Malamutes!