FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

The starting point for some great Alaska adventures!

Don't be fooled by the initial appearance of this sprawling city with the typical fast-food spots, malls and hotels; this region in the heart of Alaska's interior has a lot to offer. If you're lucky enough to be here between late September and early April, you can view the spectacular Northern Lights, or aurora borealis. 

University of Alaska Museum- Museum of the North
This excellent museum is UAF's main tourist attraction and sits overlooking the Tanana Valley. The most famous exhibits are Blue Babe, a fully restored 36,000-year-old bison that was found preserved intact thanks to the permafrost, and the awesome gold nugget display. The museum is currently undergoing an impressive expansion due for completion in 2005. (Credit: Lonely Plaent.com)

Pioneer Park
Built for the Alaska purchase centennial in 1967, Pioneer Park (formerly Alaskaland) is the boiled-down essence of Fairbanks on grounds at the intersection of Airport Way and Peger Road. Pioneer Park is a city park with a theme. It's relaxing and low-key, entrancing for young children and interesting for adults if you can give in to the charm of the place.

Riverboat Discovery Tour
A long-running and popular tour, this three-and-a-half-hour cruise on a genuine sternwheel riverboat takes you on the Chena and Tenena rivers past demonstrations of local activities on the shore followed by a tour of a simulated Athabascan Indian village. 

Trail Breaker Kennels
Visit the home and kennels of four time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher, during an exclusive luncheon with John Hall's Alaska. Learn first hand about kennel life and the challenges that go into making a champion dogsled team. Susan's husband Dave Monson, a champion of the Yukon Quest, shares stories of life in the dog yard and on the trails, as puppies play in anticipation of joining the team. Susan and her husband Dave Monson ran in and won almost every major dog sled race worldwide. Additionally, Susan accomplished many challenges never before attempted, including taking a team of dogs to the summit of Mount McKinley! You will get a chance to see her Iditarod champion dogs in action and meet them up close as you hear more about dog mushing.

Musk Ok Farm (or Large Animal Research Station)
Get up close and personal with the impressive musk oxen at the Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station, or LARS, at the University of Fairbanks. Near extinction in the 19th-century, the reintroduction of the muskoxen from Greenland worked. Now they roam all over the state, but the best place to feast your eyes on this ice-age creature is here, one of only five facilities in the world that studies the biology of the muskoxen. You'll also be able to check out the station's caribou and domesticated reindeer.