Chena Hot Springs by night
A soak in steaming water at −20 °F (−29 °C) and a museum carved from ice come first, then a slow drive back to Fairbanks with an eye on the sky. It is the one aurora night that still feels like a night out when the clouds refuse to move. Two operators run it, and they differ more in their terms than in their route.
How the evening runs
The Tour Fairbanks van collects you between 4:30 and 5:15 pm, and the guide walks into the hotel lobby to find you. From town it is about 60 miles (97 km) east on Chena Hot Springs Road, a two-lane road that ends at the resort. In winter the drive takes about an hour and a half, more after fresh snow. Most of it runs through spruce forest with very little along the way. Reviewers on this tour mention moose and foxes by the roadside, and now and then something rarer.
For most of the season you arrive after dark. You then have a few hours at the resort to soak and eat, with a guided visit to the ice museum fitted in. The aurora part of the night comes on the drive home, when the guide pulls over at dark spots if the sky shows anything. The listing gives the whole trip as about 10 hours, so expect to be back in Fairbanks well after midnight.
The outdoor rock lake, and who may use it
The draw is the outdoor rock lake, a natural pool ringed with boulders where steam rolls off the water into the night. Tour Fairbanks gives the water temperature as about 106 °F (41 °C). When the air is far below zero, wet hair freezes stiff while the rest of you sits in hot water, and recent reviewers love the frosted photos that come out of it.
The catch for families is the age rule. Per the Alaska Wild Lights listing, the outdoor lake is for adults 18 and over, and anyone younger uses the indoor pool. That includes teenagers, so a family with a 16-year-old should know before booking that one of them will be indoors while the others soak outside.
The walk from the changing room to the water is short and very cold. Some reviewers found the changing rooms crowded and the facilities dated. A locker takes 50 cents, which Tour Fairbanks covers, while Alaska Wild Lights asks you to bring quarters.
The Aurora Ice Museum
The other half of the visit is a guided walk through the Aurora Ice Museum, a hall of ice sculptures kept below freezing all year, so leave your coat on. The visit ends at the ice bar, where an appletini served in a glass carved from ice costs extra and is only for guests 21 and over. Reviewers on both tours count the drink among the high points of the night. A few found the museum small, and busy when several groups arrive at once.
Tour Fairbanks or Alaska Wild Lights
Two operators sell this trip from Fairbanks, and the gap between them lies mostly in the small print.
| Tour Fairbanks | Alaska Wild Lights | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$231 | ~$275 |
| Start | 4:30–5:15 pm from your hotel or B&B | 4 pm, Fairbanks and North Pole city limits, no airport pickups |
| Group | Up to 14 | Up to 14 |
| Reviews | Viator 4.9 from 86 | Viator 4.6 from 1,352, GetYourGuide 4.5 from 178 |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours before | Non-refundable on both sites |
| Dinner | On your own | A table is reserved, you pay for the meal |
| Towel | Bring your own | Bring your own, or rent one for $5 |
We would book Tour Fairbanks at ~$231. It costs less and lets you cancel for free a day ahead, and almost all of its 86 reviews give five stars. Alaska Wild Lights at ~$275 has far more reviews behind it and books your dinner table, but you cannot get your money back once you pay. On Viator it is also sold on request, with confirmation within 48 hours. GetYourGuide reviewers rate it 4.2 for value, and the usual grumble is that the extras pile up on top of a higher ticket.
A soak you can still cancel
Tour Fairbanks keeps the group to 14 and pays your way into the springs and the ice museum. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before, so you can hold a seat and decide once the weather is clearer.
What you pay on top
Neither ticket covers the whole evening. Budget for these at the resort.
- Dinner at the resort restaurant, on both tours. Alaska Wild Lights reserves the table, and the bill is still yours;
- Drinks at the ice bar, including the appletini;
- A towel if you forget yours ($5 to rent, per the Alaska Wild Lights listing);
- A tip for the guide, customary and not included on either tour.
Reviewers have reported card and phone payments failing at the resort, so carry some cash. Our cost guide sets these extras beside every other tour in town.
The aurora on the drive back
This is a hot springs night with aurora stops, not a chase. The resort lies far from city lights, so a strong display can show over the valley while you are still there. On the road home the guide watches the sky and stops at dark pullouts when something appears. What the guide cannot do is go looking elsewhere. If cloud sits over Chena Hot Springs Road, there is only one way back to town, and you drive home under it.
That is why we like it for a poor forecast. If the clouds win, you still had the soak and the ice. With three or four nights in Fairbanks, give Chena the gloomiest one and save a van chase for the night when the forecast and the cloud maps line up.
Who the Chena night suits
Tour Fairbanks takes guests from age 3 and says the resort is not wheelchair accessible. The Alaska Wild Lights listing says its tour is. With two listings disagreeing about the same resort, ask the operator about the changing rooms and the path to the water before you pay. Our guide for families and limited mobility covers every tour on this site.
It suits travelers who want an evening that does not hang on the sky, or who dread an hour on a roadside at −20 °F (−29 °C). It does less for anyone with one night who came only for the lights, since a chase gives better odds. If a long day out with the aurora at the end appeals, compare it with the trip to the Arctic Circle.
What to pack
- A swimsuit and your own towel
- A warm hat to wear in the water, so wet hair stays covered
- A plastic bag for the wet swimsuit on the way home
- Your full winter layers for the aurora stops
- Some cash for dinner and the ice bar
Phones drain fast in the cold air by the pool, so keep yours in an inner pocket until you want a picture. Our cold-weather clothing list and tips for photographing the aurora cover the rest.