Fairbanks, Alaska has by far exceeded my expectations when we visited in January. As girls from Los Angeles, my friends and I wanted something different from our usual busy city and beach life.  We’ve been dreaming to chase the winter wonderland of our dreams, so what better place to do it than Alaska.

1. The Magical Hot Springs

When it gets to negative degrees Fahrenheit temperature, the best way to enjoy the winter snow fall is by the hot springs. Our hair was literally turning into ice and we loved it!

The Chena Hot Springs was a nice balance to keep our bodies warm through the freezing weather without having to wear layers of clothing. It felt so refreshing and relaxing to just walk around the water and lay by the rocks.

 

2. Dog Sledding with the Huskies

What an unforgettable experience!

The dog sled ride has to be one of my favorite activities in Alaska. We had an amazing time with the Frisky Pups B&B tour. You can tell that the owner, Bill, treats his dogs like they are his own children. It was adorable how the dogs knew each of their names whenever Bill was calling them one by one.

The scenic tour seemed like it was in the middle of a huge forest and it gave me Christmas vibes.The trail has many hills which makes the ride more exciting like a mini roller coaster.

The view around was just pure white and so unreal.

 

3.Northern Lights

Obviously a must.

We went to Alaska to chase the Northern Lights and we were lucky enough to catch them on a good day. At some point, the lights were dancing in color green and pink. So Surreal!

We watched the Northern Lights simply at the balcony of the place we rented. It took a while before the Northern lights to turn brighter but it was so beautiful.

Photos do not justify what we saw. I wasn’t able to get good shots of the Northern Lights because I didn’t know how to set up my camera settings for low light and I didn’t have a tripod. Ugh! So if you plan on capturing this, remember to bring a tripod and learn the best camera settings and tricks for night shots.

4. Winter Wonderland Drive

 

 

Driving around is also quite enjoyable since everywhere is seriously just magical.

We would see some cute open spots and just take a bunch of photographs of the place. The city is just naturally photogenic.

Just be careful of the road because it can get slippery. Our truck got a bit out of control a few times.

 

 

6. Aurora Ice Bar

 

Another part of the Chena Hot springs Resort that you shouldn’t miss is their Ice Museum. There was an entrance fee of $15 to stay there for an hour and that was enough time to explore and have a drink.

They keep the museum at a cold temperature even during summer times to keep it open all year round. The place is filled with some really cool ice sculptures and they have an ice bar. (Yay!)

Even our Appletinis were in a glass carefully carved out of ice. For fun, some people would drink it and just throw the glass to the ground outside the museum.

7. Ice Fishing

We haven’t gone ice fishing ourselves so I can’t share my opinion about it, but it would be worth the try.

After all, not many people could say that they have gone ice fishing!

8. Snowmobile

Snowmobile is another activity we tried at the Chenna Hot Springs Resort. We had a very good time. However, I wouldn’t recommend riding a snowmobile here. It didn’t feel thrilling for me because we just followed an employee drive a certain path.

There are a bunch of snowmobiling activities elsewhere. I would’ve preferred doing this activity at an another place in Fairbanks where I can freely drive around in an open space.

So, are any of you thinking of going to Alaska soon?