One of my favorite Fairbanks wintertime activities is to visit Chena Hot Springs. The springs are very nice (and they feel even better when it’s super cold out), and it’s a relaxing place but with several activities to engage in. Aurora viewing can be very good there, and they even have some special aurora-viewing options (taking a snow cat up on the ridge, etc.).
The
center of the auroral oval is usually directly over Fort Yukon, but there’s not much in the way of infrastructure there, and it’s not really necessary to go there to see the lights.
Other activities you can look into (not sure what all will be open, though):
- North Pole Santa Claus House
- Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum
- University of Alaska Museum of the North
- Morris Thompson Visitor’s Center (they can also tell you what’s open)
- Trans-Alaska Pipeline viewing station in Fox
- HooDoo Brewing
- Silver Gulch brewing in Fox
- Bundle up and walk around downtown, checking out some of the galleries and things
Beyond that, I’m really not sure what’s open, and I suspect most of the other things of interest in Fairbanks will be closed at that time of year.