Winter Hub Communities in Alaska
You’ve decided to book your dream winter vacation in Alaska. Visions of northern lights, activities in the snow, and cozy nights dance through your head as you imagine yourself on your winter escape. But where should you start your adventure? Alaska has three hub communities that offer direct flights from the Lower 48 year-round. While these are prime summer destinations, they each offer their own unique attractions in winter and are jumping off points to other top snowy destinations. Read on to learn more about the top places to fly in to when visiting Alaska in winter.
Anchorage
Alaska’s largest city offers a wonderland of winter activities when the snow falls, along with plenty of cultural activities indoors when you’re ready to warm up. Of all Alaska cities, Anchorage receives the most direct flights in winter from the Lower 48, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Kahului (Maui), Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Seattle, Pheonix, and Portland. With dozens of flights each day between Anchorage and Seattle, it’s easy to book a connecting flight from all corners of the U.S. In addition to having the most options for getting there, Anchorage also offers the most in-state flights to other destinations within Alaska.
Once you arrive, you’ll find a wide variety of activities and tours in Anchorage in winter. Cross country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing, northern lights viewing, snowmobiling, winter hiking, fat tire biking, fun winter festivals and events like Fur Rondy and the Iditarod Ceremonial Start all make Anchorage a prime winter destination. Anchorage is also the starting point of the Aurora Winter Train, a scenic full-day train ride that takes you through breathtaking scenery and ends in Fairbanks. When you’re ready to head indoors, there are many museums and cultural centers to immerse yourself in Alaska history and culture. Anchorage also boasts a rich culinary scene, with many restaurants highlighting local Alaska seafood, along with dozens of breweries & distilleries.
Much of Alaska is not accessible by road, but Anchorage provides easy access to many of Alaska’s scenic highways and communities along the road system. Head north from Anchorage to connect to other winter destinations like the Mat-Su Valley, Talkeetna, or all the way up to Fairbanks. Head 45 minutes south on the scenic Seward Highway to visit one of the top winter towns in Alaska, the mountain-ringed town of Girdwood, home to the state’s largest downhill ski resort – Alyeska Resort. With 1,610 skiable acres, 76 named trails, and a vertical rise of 2,500 feet, Alyeska is a playground for skiers and snowboarders of all levels. The resort is notable as the only ski resort in the U.S. with a base nearly at sea level, and it lives up to its reputation as “steep and deep” with over 650” average annual snowfall and the longest double black diamond run in the world.
Fairbanks
If your top priority for visiting Alaska in winter is to see the northern lights, head to Fairbanks in Alaska’s Interior region. Thanks to its clear, dark nights and location under the auroral oval, Fairbanks is one of the best places to see the aurora in the state. In winter, Fairbanks receives direct flights from Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Fairbanks is also a quick one-hour flight from Anchorage, with multiple flights running daily through winter, making it easy to fly into Anchorage and make your way north if your city isn’t served by a direct flight.
The top northern lights viewing hub in the state offers the widest variety of aurora tours and accommodations. Experienced guides will take you to prime northern lights viewing locations away from city lights for a night of aurora viewing – many of which provide access to lodges and warming huts, fire pits, or hot drinks to help you stay warm through the night. They often include hotel pick-ups and take the guesswork out of where to go and how to get there. If you want to maximize your chances of seeing the aurora, stay at one of the many specialty accommodations in Fairbanks that are dedicated specifically to northern lights viewing – from igloos to lodges to cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows.
In addition to northern lights viewing, you’ll find other fun winter activities in Fairbanks including dog sledding tours, cross country and downhill skiing, snowmachine tours, walking with reindeer, and festivals including the World Ice Art Championship and the Festival of Native Arts. Also not to be missed is Chena Hot Springs Resort, a natural thermal hot spring with indoor and outdoor pools. The resort is home to the Aurora Ice Museum – the world’s largest year-round indoor ice environment (don’t miss your chance to enjoy a drink from the ice bar!). Fairbanks is also the northern terminus of the Aurora Winter Train, allowing you to travel south to Anchorage on a full-day scenic rail journey.
Fairbanks’ location in the heart of Alaska makes it the jumping off point to nearby winter attractions in the Interior and Arctic regions. For those looking to get into the Christmas spirit any time of year, head to North Pole, just 15 minutes from town. Here, you’ll find the Santa Claus House, where you can do some Christmas shopping, meet Santa and his reindeer, and enjoy many holiday photo-ops. Two hours south of Fairbanks is the entrance to Denali National Park. While services in the park are very limited in winter, you can visit the winter visitor center, go snowshoeing or cross country skiing, and say hello to the canine rangers at the Sled Dog Kennels. Fairbanks is also the jumping off point for northern lights and winter adventure tours in the Arctic region, with most winter activities centered in the communities of Coldfoot and Wiseman.
Juneau
One of the state’s most popular cruise ship destinations in the summer also offers an array of winter and cultural activities during non-cruise season. Alaska’s state capital, Juneau, is a bustling and lively summer destination, and visitors in winter can enjoy many of the same cultural and culinary delights as summer visitors. Daily direct flights from Seattle connect Juneau to the Lower 48 year-round.
Located in the Inside Passage in Alaska’s southeast, Juneau has milder temperatures and more daylight than other winter destinations, including Anchorage and Fairbanks. Thanks to its location in a temperate rainforest, Juneau receives lots of precipitation, including plenty of snow in winter. Here, you’ll find “Alaska’s best kept secret” when it comes to downhill skiing – Eaglecrest Ski Area. Skiers and snowboarders are treated to stunning views of the surrounding ocean and islands while cruising the 640+ acres and 1,620-foot vertical drop. There are 36 marked trails along with open boundaries for backcountry skiing. You’ll find short lift lines, plenty of room to spread out, and affordable lift ticket prices. The mountain is typically open early December to early April.
Winter visitors can also enjoy cross country skiing at Eaglecrest, the Mendenhall Glacier area, and Montana Creek – all popular Nordic ski areas with groomed trails and beautiful views. One of the town’s most popular destinations year-round is Mendenhall Glacier. In winter, when the ice is thick enough, the frozen Mendenhall Lake is a wonderland for skiing and walking with mountain and glacier views. The Mendenhall Visitor Center is open in winter with reduced hours.
Juneau is known as one of the state’s top cultural destinations. In winter, museums, shops, galleries, restaurants, cafes, and breweries & distilleries beckon you in from the cold to enjoy a taste of the town’s cultural and culinary richness. Don’t miss the Sealaska Heritage Institute to learn about local Alaska Native Culture, and the Alaska State Museum and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum to dive in to local and state history.
Visitors to Juneau in winter can also connect to other Inside Passage destinations to explore this region further during the quiet off-season. From Juneau, you can catch flights to other regional communities including Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Gustavus, and Skagway.
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