Buzzy restaurants

Riverfront deck dining on a summer's day or evening! Pikes or the Princess Hotel or the Pump House

Cool bars

Silver Gulch Brewery features locally produced beers and ales (plus good food); across the road is the Howling Dog Saloon if you want a wilder scene.

Cozy cafés

plenty of coffee shops with local character (Alaska is the only state with no freestanding Starbucks though we have them in grocery stores)

Retail therapy

Don't come here if retail therapy is your main form of entertainment, unless art galleries are your thing!

Bit of culture

University museum; Summer Fine Arts Festival

Walks in the park

You don't need a park; just walk out the door and head up the slope behind the house, and you will be connected to a vast trail system.

Spot of exercise

After a hike at Angel Rocks, continue on down the road to Chena Hot Springs for a soak in the natural rockpool.

Day tripping

Creamer's Dairy to see migratory birds; Chena Hot Springs; up to Murphy Dome for a view over miles of wilderness; or overnight for a good visit to Denali National Park

Our area is in the center of Alaska and therefore much warmer than coastal areas, generally in the 20s C, though rainy spells will be cooler. The sun does officially set for a few hours as we are about 80 miles south of the Arctic Circle but at the solstice it never gets darker than what you would call dusk (you could easily read a book outside all night in June and July). We have hiking trails all around our home, winding through birch forest, and the university 3 miles away offers many cultural events including a two week summer arts festival with classes. Our home is a two hour drive from Denali National Park. One takes a bus tour into the park (no private cars allowed) and because of the reduced traffic on the road, it is not unusual to see numerous grizzly bears (one day I saw a dozen, with half of them on or very close to the road!) as well as caribou, moose, and possibly wolves. The scenery is beautiful, with lots of variety along the road. The Fairbanks area has numerous businesses sharing area history with visitors (a paddlewheel boat trip, a gold mine with panning opportunities, etc.). Our "history" is very different from Europe's, that's for sure: Fairbanks has only been a town for a little over 100 years, and before that the only people in the area were Athabaskan natives. Our university museum has a collection of Alaskan art, crafts, flora and fauna, and downtown there are many art galleries. Sixty miles east is a hot springs resort with a wonderful natural "rockpool." Everyone who has visited our home has had a great time and kept very busy as well as saving some time for relaxing around the house (where you might well be visited by a momma moose and her calves).