Chena Hot Springs

The hot springs were known to Athabascan people of the Interior long before newcomers arrived. In 1905, during the gold era around Fairbanks, prospecting brothers seeking relief for aching muscles followed reports of steam rising from the hills and located the springs, and a rough resort soon grew up around them.

For more than a century since, Chena has drawn Fairbanks residents and travelers up the valley to soak. The setting, at the end of a road deep in the boreal country, gives it a remote, off-the-map feeling even though it is an easy day trip from the city.

The water emerges naturally hot from the ground and is cooled to a comfortable temperature for the outdoor rock lake, the heart of the resort and the reason most people come.

The outdoor rock lake is an adults-only pool of warm mineral water surrounded by boulders and, much of the year, snow and frost. In winter the contrast is unforgettable: the air far below freezing, steam rising off the surface, and, on a clear night, the aurora borealis dancing above.

Fairbanks and the surrounding Interior sit under the auroral oval, one of the best zones on earth for seeing the northern lights, and Chena's dark skies and open valley make it a premier viewing spot. The resort even runs late-night aurora watching, with warm-up lodges and tours up a nearby ridge.

Aurora season runs roughly from late August into April, peaking on cold, clear, moonless nights. Summer visitors trade the lights for the midnight sun and long daylight, and soak all the same.

One of Chena's oddest attractions is the Aurora Ice Museum, a large structure built entirely of ice and snow and kept frozen inside all year, even through the Interior summer, using power drawn from the springs. Inside are ice sculptures, ice bedrooms, and a bar that serves a signature cocktail in a glass carved from ice.

Keeping ice frozen in summer takes energy, and Chena makes its own. The resort pioneered low-temperature geothermal power, using the hot spring water to run a generator, and it channels the heat into greenhouses that grow tomatoes, lettuce, and other produce through the deep cold of winter.

Tours of the greenhouses and the geothermal plant show off a small, self-reliant experiment in living off the earth's heat at the edge of the subarctic.

Getting to the springs is half the pleasure. Chena Hot Springs Road runs 56 paved miles east from the Fairbanks area up the valley of the Chena River, through the Chena River State Recreation Area, a favorite for hiking, canoeing, fishing, and, in winter, dog mushing and skiing.

The drive passes trailheads, riverside campgrounds, and granite tors on the ridgelines, with good chances of seeing moose. In winter the road is plowed but remote, so travelers should carry warm gear and check conditions. Many visitors come on a guided tour from Fairbanks, especially for aurora nights.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.