Eleanor was VERY pleasant when we arrived!…read more We filled out our waivers, had to use their outhouse which was an experience and not of the good variety lol Jimmy was my musher OH MAN! That was MY GUY! He was VERY passionate about his dogs. He told me alllll about them, mushing, Alaska etc you name it, we chatted about it during our ride. Loved the trail, nice scenery and the dogs go at a nice pace so you can talk and chat. They gave me a sleeping bag for my feet so I wasn't cold at all minus my face. Would for sure do it if it's your first time in Fairbanks or haven't done it ever.

Wow, wow, wow!!!!! YES, we loved the experience!!! Eleanor is incredible with the children, and…read moregrown ups too:). Her dogs are definitely her children, and she should get parenting awards! I had no idea how peaceful and connected the experience would be for our family. Yes, yes and yes.

Strongly not recommend this place…read more In general, Not like other place in the US, Alaska is not safe due to the lacking of police. I am so surprised to see Dan's review about the threaten from the host and started to feel lucky for not confronting with the host about his rudeness and racism. Here is my story: We stayed 3 nights at this place. The 2nd day, we went a north arctic tour, which was booked before we get to Alaska as we always plan things ahead. The tour guide drove his van to pick us up at the ranch. When the van arrived the ranch, there are some people already in the car who also joined the same tour. These tourists want to use bathroom so they just went inside the main log cabin. My friends and I then step into the van and leave the side door open when waiting for these tourists. The male host seems not happy about other people use his bathroom. He come to our van and ask the tour guide:"do you see a sign of public bathroom?" "Then why are you parking here?" We are not interested with the conversation between the host and tour guide until the host changed his angry target. At the end of their conversation, the host turned his head and look at me straight at my eyes and said:"I respect every culture, but Chineses made a bad name of it." Then he left and leaving me and my friends in the shock of feeling insulted and trying to understand what's happened between the tour guide and the host. He ruined our mood for that whole day. 1. It is the other tourists used his public bathroom without noticing him. We were simply stay in the van and waiting for them. We were tenanted in the place. Should had every right to use the bathroom. 2. We don't know other tourists. From what I see and hear, some of them are not Chinese. They just have a Asian face. 3. The host didn't ask whether we are Chinese or not and made his supercilious assumption that we are all Chinese. 4. He expanded his angry to other Asian tourists to us, who paid and followed every rules. 5. There is no sigh or notice saying people cannot use the public bathroom in the hallway. 6. We didn't say anything when the host is talking to the tour guide. 7. We had not had any conversations with other tourists at that time. After reading reviews in Yelp. I found that all Chinese have terrible experience in this place. Plus by our experience, the host's supercilious attitude towards Asians made me believe he is racist even when he himself is an Asian. Besides the treatment we got, the place itself is bad. It should be renamed as a hostel since none of the rooms have bathroom. The shower is small and spectated by waterproof cloth. At night it is noisy...... it is the worst experience in a hostel in my life.

I don't know who the owner is or if it was he that approached us a couple days ago but there seems…read moreto be some kind of mental instability going on with him. We (4 60+ seniors) were watching the Northern Lights, parked at the public school a mile or so from the ranch and this guy drives up and tells us we have to leave and recommends a place to go. The place he recommends is a pullout along the main highway so we head back toward the school but find a little pond so pull over to view the lights. This guy comes out and harasses us telling us that we were illegally parked on a public road and points a strong flashlight in our faces and tells us "you people from the lower 48 should just go home and stay there". When one of us shined a light in his face, he reached for his hip - as in where a gun holster would be. He says if you take another step, you'll be on my property and you'll be sorry. We never actually saw a gun but he was acting pretty bold walking our to a car full of people at 2:00 in the morning. We notified the state troopers and they said they were going to investigate but haven't heard of any resolution. The thing is that while this guy may be making nice with whoever pays to stay at his place, he actually despises those of us in "the lower 48" in a seemingly mentally unbalanced way. Just a heads up to those considering staying at Chandalar.

A wonderful hour spent with some caribou (AKA reindeer). My family and I enjoyed learning…read moreeverything about the animals, the history human and animal relationships in the region and the current laws and protectionzls. Best of all we got to go for a walk and a photo op on one of the shortest days of the year. An experience worth the time and energy.

What an amazing experience this was! It was a very cold day, so in addition to all of our layers we…read morewere wearing, the guides kindly suggested wearing an additional heavy coat. So glad we took them up on their offer...! We were bundled tight into the sleds, and wrapped in blankets. Our guides, Laura A, and Shaynee T, introduced us to all their sweet dogs and then we were off and running through the gorgeous woods and landscape found in Pleasant Valley. Laura (Runner Dance Kennel) was my team's guide and I learned some fascinating information and heard some great stories from her time in Alaska and some of the crazy long races she's been apart of. My wife had a similar great experience with Shaynee (Howling Ridge Kennel) The east west road is very icy and doesn't catch much sun in late December, early January so allow for extra travel time!

I went on an air tour of Gates of the Arctic National Park with Northern Alaska Tour Company. I had…read moreto be there by 6 and we left around 7. We flew to the town of Coldfoot, about an hour away and 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle. We landed, a guide picked us up and showed us around town then took us to the restaurant/general store. We got our preordered food, ate, visited the national park visitor center, then returned to the airport. At that point, we got back on the plane, did our air tour of the park, landed briefly at Coldfoot to let people off the plane, then returned to Fairbanks around midnight. This was a really cool experience and I'm glad I went. NATC did a great job lining everything up and making sure things went smoothly. The flight(s) were good and enjoyable. The park was beautiful and flying was a great way to see it - I'm sure I saw far more than those who trek in on foot. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed our stop in Coldfoot. It was interesting to see how people lived in the Arctic and I even saw one of the places we went on an episode of Ice Road Truckers since I got back, which was cool. I was happy with the whole experience and I would recommend them.

Booked an artic flight with my cruise company for while we were in Denali. This flight departs…read morefrom Heely and takes you over the Yukon River to Wiseman and Coldfoot. The main focus is to get you past the arctic circle and to visit Jack a permanent long term resident in Wiseman who lives off the land. It is about 8.5 hours. The van driver picked us up at our hotel. The flight was great in a small Navajo plane with pilot and five people. They do not want you to have more than what you can carry. No large packs, but if you have an item because you didn't know. Then you can sometimes get them to store it in the plane or lock it in the office. The Heely Airport is just an office, old gas truck and portapotty. You can purchase some merch to document your trip. You can also order a meal to pickup in Coldfoot, that helps to support the community. Jack is the main attraction. He shares about the history of his family and shows you around areas of Wiseman. It is a very rough home and life. He will show you how he survives including hunting and gardening. Lots of skins and animal parts. His home is a tight squeeze and our group arrived with another 6 person group from another location. He will show you pictures but make sure to ask to have them pass it around. He is on a schedule so he goes quick and then leads you outside to tour. Very uneven and wet terrain with mosquitoes. TAKE A NET and BUG SPRAY or ask for the spray. There is an early flight that ends at about 5pm and ours departed shortly after and returned a little after midnight (still light in June). Unfortunately, our focus was to get a visit to the Interagency Visitor Center to say we made it to the nearby Gateway to the Arctic National park. Apparently the early flight makes a stop. The visitor center closes at 8pm, so it just closed when we arrived and it was not part of our trip. If they would have arrived half hour early that would have been AMAZING, but it wasn't to be. However, on the way back we talked our driver into making a quick stop so we could get pictures at the visitor center. My biggest recommendation is for the company to realize most people want to not only cross the artic circle but also have bucket list to get to the Gateway to the Arctic National Park, so they should move the schedules around a little to allow both groups, morning and afternoon, to get to the visitor center for at least 15-20 minutes. I liked Jack, but he was not why I took the trip, he was a great bonus. Make sure you bring tip money for the pilot, driver in Coldfoot and Jack. There is also a winter tour where Jack will help you photograph the northern lights, which Jack will correct you to call it the aurora borealis.

I was skeptical but $180ish (after $20 fishing license and tip) for a half-day fishing trip down…read morethe Chena River turned out to be worth it. For us, it included floating at a brisk pace 5 miles down a river that was in places only a few inches deep, surrounded by spruce and birch trees, with occasional stops to fish in the arctic grayling hotspots (and Joe knew well where they were), with glimpses of several duck species and ravens chasing bald eagles and other things you just don't get to see in the lower 48. Joe has an impressive knowledge of the flora, fauna, and geology of the area. He's also one of the few guides "with it" enough to have an online presence. He's a quiet and likeable guy. Hard to imagine you'd be disappointed with this trip. Caution/disclaimer: I cannot say how the other guided trips compare to the one we did (half-day arctic grayling on the Chena River in early May), or how other Wilderness Enterprises guides compare to Joe, or how the other guided fishing or hunting companies compare to Wilderness Enterprises. (But I can say that I had a good time. And I suspect you would, too.)

Wilderness Enterprisess is top notch! Hunted with Master Guide Joe Letarte in 2010 and had a 5…read morestar experience. Shot my first black bear and had the trip if a lifetime! Thank you Joe!!!

My partner and I had an incredible experience with Ronn and Marketa at the Aurora Chasers in…read moreFebruary 2026. We met Ronn & Marketa for the night tour at an accessible & central meeting spot in Fairbanks, as we were staying ~20 min away. Ronn drove the comfortable van while Marketa analyzed satellite data for cloud coverage and predicted the best places to see the aurora. We saw brilliant aurora from the moment we arrived in our spot for the night! I brought my own DSLR and my partner rented a camera; we loved the guidance on how to photograph the sky. Marketa also took stunning portraits of us. From the get-go, their communication was outstanding. The Aurora Chasers website fully prepared us for what to buy/wear to stay warm in -40 to -20F weather. If you're interested in seeing the Northern Lights, I highly recommend taking a tour. My partner and I were not equipped to drive on icy, snowy roads late at night and to navigate weather data on our own - Ronn & Marketa made it possible for us to experience clear skies and thus vivid, magical aurora during our trip to Fairbanks.

After reading all the reviews on Trip Advisor/Viator, and Google, I chose to go with The Aurora…read moreChasers, owned and ran by Ron and Marketa. Having a little bit of DSLR experience, I needed a tour company that didn't just drop me off into a warm hut with hot chocolate, but someone with photography expertise to help me operate in the raw elements of Alaska. I did my research with ALL the local Aurora companies. The Aurora Chasers are the only ones with professional educational videos of Aurora photography on YouTube, have an Aurora cam on their own very easy to navigate informative website. You can also rent cameras and tripods in advance from them. While on the way to a remote area with a beautiful private view to catch the Aurora, they educated us on everything about the Aurora. They played videos on a big screen inside the tour bus, which they produced themselves. They provided us information about the Aurora, and very specific instructions adjusting settings on your specific DSLR and cell phone. They have thorough knowledge of canon, sony, and nikon, and cell phone settings, and I'm almost positive they could figure out any other branded cameras. It blew my mind and excited the inner tech nerd in me. I really liked how although they gave us the freedom to shoot as we chose, they always checked up on us if we needed any help with our camera settings, and even provided hot chocolate. There were various people shooting that night spread out on different locations and they managed to get to every single one of us to make sure we were happy and comfortable. Marketa took amazingly beautiful portraits of my wife and I with the Aurora in the background! She got deep in the snow just to get the right angle! Thank you Ron and Marketa!!! You made this our favorite vacation!!!

Really fun. Don't miss the Running Reindeer Ranch. You'll learn a lot and get to spend up close…read moretime with Reindeer and take a walk in the woods with them. Jane and her team are super nice and extremely knowledgeable. I also didn't expect the Reindeer having such distinct personalities. We were there in late May and had a great weather day and there were three new babies - so cute. Thanks to Jane and her team. We had a great time!!!

Oh man, was this the coolest experience? Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable as well and we…read morehad great conversations. Being able to have contact with such a majestical creature was so cool. They let you feed them as well. This definitely isn't one of those experiences where they are just trying to get you in and out. We didn't feel rushed whatsoever, and had such a great time. A heads up for any tourists out there like me. If you come closer to winter or in the break up season, there is a lot of hardened snow and ice on the roads. I would definitely recommend getting a rental car that has four-wheel-drive. It was my first time ever driving on snow/ice like that. It wasn't too scary. Other than a couple moments when I had to stop and turn around. I could definitely see myself getting stuck if I didn't have a car that had four-wheel-drive. So just be mindful of that. Overall, it was a really beautiful drive though. And if you're going in the summer, you shouldn't have any problem on the roads. You could always call ahead and ask the staff with the road conditions are ahead of booking. But you definitely need to book this! There is also a really cool building where you meet your instructor that has a really beautiful view. There are also a couple of walking trails nearby that you can go down. And there is a coffee shop inside that had a decent latte. I believe they also serve food, though we didn't end up ordering anything, I did see other people eating. When we were trying to find our way there, we did get a little bit lost. But there is signage on the road on the left-hand side if you're heading north. They are part of a larger event booking. You'll see something on the right hand side that looks like a bunch of viewing domes. Then right after that the turn is on the left.

We went on the Northern Lights excursion. Jason, the owner…read morepicked us up in the van right on time. It was about a 30-40 minute drive. I'd rented a camera from him with the proper settings preset. He also helped anyone who needed their camera phones adjusted. They provided tripods for free. Jason, and his wife Heather have a great set up. Big cabin for warmth. Lots of beverages, snacks, seating. Indoor plumbing. They have modern technology for tracking the northern lights. They told us when to head out. They have a huge, dark field for viewing. We watched a great Northern Lights show. We also saw a lot of stars and constellations. I'd definitely book with them again.

If there were half stars I'd give the experience a 2.5- because the actual dog sledding portion…read more(all 20 minutes of it) was 5 star fantastic, but the getting there and getting back was a one star. Let me explain: Pick up was at Walmart because we stayed in a VRBO. There wasn't very clear communication ahead of time as to exactly where at Walmart and what vehicle I was looking for- tho I was able to reach someone on their business number after I arrived in the parking lot. A large passenger van picked my son and I up, the driver was very young and pleasant looking but literally said nothing but "hello", not even his name. There was one other couple in the van. Here's the weird part- the driver gave us ZERO communication on anything. Not how far we were going, or where, or some background on dog mushing, or pleasant conversation. I asked maybe 2 questions and he answered them but it was clear he wasn't going to offer anything further. The van was so uncomfortably silent I felt like I had to whisper to my son. After about a 35min drive "out of town" I guess I expected to arrive at some kind of professional kennel/facility but it was actually someone's house with dog kennels out back. Again, we piled out of the van, I was holding my purse and my son had a backpack (do I take them? Are there lockers? Do I leave them in the van? Who knows...) and our driver just walked off, giving no instructions. We decided to follow him. I asked if I could use the restroom before we started and he waved me in the general direction of an outhouse in the woods (which I never found- I just took care of business in the trees, clutching my nuisance of a purse). There was a team of dogs already hooked up, and he told the other couple "you're first" and loaded them on the sled with the owner/musher named Amy (we didn't know any of this til my son and I actually got our "turn" because again, ZERO conversation or communication). I guess I expected that if there were other people we would be on separate sleds but all go out together? Nope. Other couple took off with musher. So here we are, standing in the middle of the dog yard with significant dog kennel odors and yelping dogs and van driver than won't say a word and wondering what the hell is going on. I'm still wondering what to do with my purse, as it's obvious this is no place to be carrying it and there's no where to put it. I asked the driver if I could put it back in the van, and he said, "I guess I can take it for you, they'll be back any minute". (Again, I'm confused... they've only been gone 10-15 minutes... is that how long the "experience" is?) Sure enough, they returned a few minutes later. So my son and I load up. Here is where the 5* part comes in. Amy (owner of kennel/dogs/professional musher) quickly introduced herself with a smile and warm welcome. We took off into the woods on a well groomed trail, and she talked the whole time about her dogs, the breed of Alaskan Husky, the sport, her experiences, and more. It was thrilling and fun and interesting to hear her point of view and expertise! Tho the time on the sled was only 20 minutes or so, my son and I both really enjoyed every moment. In short- If you're looking for a full-service 5* adventure, this isn't it.