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Fairbanks
The Golden Heart of Alaska
Originally a gold rush boomtown, now known as the “Golden Heart of Alaska,” visitors find Fairbanks inviting, engaging and awe-inspiring—the heart of the last frontier. Take a deep breath and explore Fairbanks! Get lucky panning for gold, float the Chena River, mingle with reindeer and musk oxen, cool off in an ice museum, take a refreshing hike and look for birds and wildlife, visit a dog mushing kennel or be captivated by an array of art galleries, museums, cultural activities and historic sites. After the snow flies Fairbanks offers a host of additional cool things to do and see like skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, curling, hockey, sledding, ice fishing, dog mushing and ice sculpting. Quirky and invigorating, Fairbanks is an outstanding and authentic year-round destination.
General Information:
- Fairbanks is Alaska’s second-largest population center, located within the Fairbanks North Star Borough which has a population of nearly 100,000.
- Centrally located in Alaska’s Interior, Fairbanks is north of Denali National Park and Preserve and south of the Arctic Circle.
- The 100-mile long Chena River runs through the middle of town and is a focal point for events and activities.
- The Alaska Highway, Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, military bases, mining and the University of Alaska are all integral to Fairbanks.
Pipeline
The amazing trans-Alaska oil pipeline is an engineering feat of the highest order. The 800 mile (1,288 kilometers) pipeline crosses three mountain ranges and 34 major rivers through some of the most rugged and remote terrain on earth. Starting at Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean, the pipeline runs below and above ground to Valdez, the northernmost, year-round ice-free port in America. The iconic pipeline is one of the longest in the world and was built to withstand earthquakes and permafrost as well as to allow caribou migration. Construction started in April of 1974 and the first oil flowed through the pipeline on June 20, 1977. The pipeline transformed Fairbanks and the state of Alaska in many ways, providing a large number of jobs and infusing Alaska’s government with a large amount of capital.
Basecamp
Fairbanks is the ideal basecamp for exploring Alaska’s Interior and Arctic. Denali National Park is two hours away; the Arctic Circle and Yukon River are an accessible five- to six-hour drive; villages without road access, refuges and parks are just a short flight away. The “Adventure Corridor” leads to Valdez and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Singular places like Barrow, Nome, Fort Yukon, Beaver, Bettles, Anaktuvuk Pass and Coldfoot are all within reach. Auto rentals, air and ground transportation, guided eco-tours, fishing and boat charters and wildlife tours can be arranged through professional outfitters. Let the warmth and knowledge of local guides help you discover these vast and beautiful lands.
Fairbanks Crafted
Northern Light Ale, Prudhoe Pig Stout, Coldfoot Pilsner and Fairbanks Lager—let the names speak for themselves. “Fairbanks, where the people are unusual and the beer is unusually good” is Silver Gulch’s clever slogan. The Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling Company, housed in an attractive, renovated historic roadhouse, is proud to serve Fairbanks-crafted, world-approved recipes year round. The wildly popular, small-batch, small-town focused HooDoo Brewing Co., named after the Alaskan mountains bearing the same name, takes the phrase “the ART of brewing” totally seriously. The diverse, winning crowd at HooDoo will attest to the painstaking process of brewing craft beer that yields enticing rewards.
