Barrow In The Winter Time?
 

Hi Everyone,

I just got a free bonus ticket on Alaska Airlines today, and I'm already dying to use it. I've always wanted to visit Barrow, Alaska and in the process check out the Northern Lights. Has anyone been there in the winter? Is there things to do in November/December? Is it worth going? How many padded days should I have in case its clouded over? Is it possible to see Polar Bears? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

With Thanks,

Bryan

I'm kinda curious to know what responses you get. One thing's for sure--it's going to be cold. And dark the entire day, too. (In Barrow, the sun sets sometime in November, I think, and doesn't rise until like February. I may be off on my months, but it does disappear below the horizon for an extended amount of time.)

Not sure on the cloudy-to-clear ratio. The chance of northern lights is likely to be as high as one in two (versus one in 10 or less in Anchorage). Believe it or not, Fairbanks lies closer to the middle of the aurora arc than does Barrow (Fort Yukon is even better, but it's hard to get to). See the aurora prediction site at the Geophysical Institute at UAF for some maps and information.

Have fun up there! Know you're saving a lot of money by booking it as an award--it's almost $600 to to book a round-trip from Anchorage to Barrow in December (hardly peak season). I can only imagine what it would be from SNA... (I just checked--$1260. Ugh...)

Just my own $0.02 here...

That time of year, especially if you want to see the northern lights, I would recommend going to Fairbanks instead. As jackal mentioned, viewing is typically better, plus you won't have to worry about the weather getting you stuck (lived in Fairbanks 2000-2005, and never once was the airport closed due to weather). In addition, Fairbanks offers a lot more in the way of additional activities, and is an interesting place as well. In fact, I can safely assure you that for better or worse, there is no other place on earth quite like Fairbanks, Alaska.

Having been to Barrow twice, I can tell you that it's an interesting place, but there's not a whole lot there. The attraction of Barrow is the novelty of the place as much as anything else, and as a visitor there's enough stuff to keep you interested for about one night.

Or, if it's possible for you, perhaps plan most of your time for Fairbanks, and then do an overnighter to Barrow in the middle of it.

I don't mean to discourage you on the Barrow idea...just trying to give some additional options! :)

Also, if you do decide on Barrow, stay at the King Eider Inn. Far and away the best accommodations in town...avoid the Top of the World Hotel.

Thank you both for your tips and suggestions. I appreciate it. If I were to visit Fairbanks/Barrow sometime between next week and the end of the month, would it still be possible to see the Northern Lights? What are my chances of seeing polar bears this time of year? Also, have any of you been to Adak? If so, is it worth seeing? I really appreciate your advice and I hope I can return the favor some day. Thanks again!

It's possible to see the Aurora, barring (1) clouds, or (2) no Aurora activity. October can be cloudy and nasty on the Arctic coast - temperatures around freezing or below. It's much dryer and frankly more conducive to seeing the Aurora later in the year (albeit colder too.) But Barrow is indeed interesting from a cultural viewpoint. I would not expect there to be bears about, BTW.

Adak is somewhat historically interesting - former major US Navy base trying to figure out a role for itself now that the cold war has moved elsewhere. Terrible weather most of the year, but the Chain is a fascinating and beautiful area. You might want to look at the trip report on an FTer's recent tour of Juneau and flight out to DUT. You might find Unalaska more interesting in October than Adak, as things really start heating up for the crabbers in October. Pretty much zero chance of seeing the Aurora on the Chain, though.

Here's another vote for Fairbanks. I was just up there last week, and we had visible aurora on both clear nights during the week we were there. I don't know that you can really "pad days" because it's totally dependent on cloud cover.

While I was there, it was very obvious that everything was in the process of shutting down for the season. The resort our Denali tour left from was shutting down for the season the next day. Same thing with the Riverboat Discovery in Fairbanks. I'm sure there's still stuff to do (definitely more than in Barrow), just not as much as during the summer.

I too debated a day or overnight trip to Barrow just to say I've done it, but it really didn't look like there was much to do besides a museum or two. Instead, I took AS143 home which went from FAI-SCC-BRW-ANC. In Prudhoe Bay and Barrow, I was able to get off and walk into the "terminal" which was more than enough for me.

Hi again,

Thanks everyone for your input. Because of your input, I've decided to visit Fairbanks for sure in the next month and do a day trip to Barrow. I have only one concern though. I've only been able to find one company on the internet that will take me on a night excursion to see the Northern Lights. I'm planning on staying at a hotel in town, but I won't have a rental car. Do any of you know if there are multiple tour operators that could take me to see the lights? Also, how difficult would it be to get to the northern most point of the United States in October on a day trip to Barrow?

Thank-you again for your time! You're help is invaluable as I plan this excursion.

With Gratitude,

Bryan

I don't know offhand, but when I get a chance, I'll check the brochure stand at the ANC airport to see if they list anything for tour operators in Fairbanks (I work at the ANC airport).

This is most assuredly the off season, so car rental rates *should* be pretty dang cheap (well under $30 including taxes). Fairbanks is pretty spread out, so I would definitely look into renting a car--unless you're under 21 (which I take it might be possible, since your username is, after all, premierstudent). Still, there are small mom-and-pop rental agencies that might rent to people under 21, though (search the acsyellowpages.com online phone book for Fairbanks).

Although the majority of the tourist industry is shut down for the winter, if you're going to be in Fairbanks for more than just overnight, take a look at the tours offered at UAF (here, here and here). Some special tours can be arranged during the school year with advanced notice. I strongly recommend checking out the Geophysical Institute (including the Alaska Volcano Observatory and the Alaska Earthquake Information Center) if you are at all interested in science. The University of Alaska Museum of the North is fascinating if you're in to anthropology or the arctic in general--it's the best museum in the state.

As far as your day trip to Barrow--I don't know too much about the area, but Barrow's taxi drivers are legendary (there was a big Anchorage Daily News special on them last year). Getting around town via taxi shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm not sure how far Point Barrow is from the town (the town itself is pretty small), but word has it the taxis are pretty economical.

Also, for aurora viewing opportunities, look at the link I posted earlier to the UAF Geophysical Institute's aurora predictions. On the right hand side of the page is a long-term forecast. This might help you pick some dates on which you're likely to see some good aurora. (The prediction isn't meant to be super-accurate, but it is based on known hot-spot activity on the sun and is calculated using the sun's 28-day rotational period and serves as a general guide for trip-planning purposes.)

Hi Jackal,

Thanks for the tips. I'm actually close to thirty years old now (my log in name was created many years ago) so I should be able to rent a car with ease. My only concern is the potential of getting in an accident because of the snow that Fairbanks could receive while I'm there. None the less, I'll look into rental cars as well. All of the sites you mentioned were helpful as well. If you're ever planning a trip to Southern California, drop me an email and I'll return the favor by giving you information and tips.

Take Care,

Bryan

Rent from National and use 5004461 as your contract ID. Full LDW coverage will be included on your rental.

Good advice on the surface, but as someone who works in the industry, I have to warn you that pretending to be with a corporate account you really have no affiliation with is a dangerous proposition. I'd strongly recommend against that course of action. You may find the LDW voided and your rate jacked up if you are unable to prove you work with that company. It may not happen, but I would suggest it's not worth the risk.

If you're worried about driving in winter conditions, the $20 per day for LDW (and perhaps purchasing liability, too) is most assuredly worth the extra cost.

Honestly, though, driving in winter conditions isn't terribly hard. Just remember the three rules: slow down, brake early, and leave yourself a margin of error. It's not worth not renting a car over. You'll be too limited in what you can do in Fairbanks without one, anyway. With a car, too, you won't need to depend on a tour company to take you to where you can see the lights--all you need to do is drive 15 miles outside of town in any direction (though north, like on the Elliott or Steese highways past Fox, would probably get you away from civilization and into the darkness to where the lights would be most spectacular). In fact, you'll likely see them in the city itself (if they're bright enough), but to make the experience even more awesome, getting away from city lights is key. This page recommends either atop Ester Dome or in the Chatanika area (mmm...eat at the Old FE Gold Camp, although I think Chef Alexander is no longer there), this one suggests the same and links to a couple of tour operators, and this UAF professor suggests a few additional spots (here, too).

Anyone know what the deal with the ice hotel at Chena Hot Springs is this year? Is it going to go up? That might be a cool place to view the Northern Lights from...

No, the widely distributed newspaper article about the Alaska town called the "taxicab capital of the US" was about *Bethel*, not Barrow.


Nothing is really "pretty economical" in Barrow.

Someone who wants to go to the point and/or try to see polar bears should email some of the tour operators and ask about availability, prices, wildlife conditions, etc for their proposed time of visit. Some guides combine a trip to and stop at the point barrow sign to take pictures before looking for bears or other wildlife. Some have vehicles that can continue past the sign a ways and drive to the actual point. There's not much too see at the point and it basically takes a GPS to figure out where exactly the northern most spot is. The last time I was up there, there happened to be a dead bird where the GPS told us to stop. :)

Oops, my bad. And to make it even worse, a former coworker's parents were taxi drivers in Bethel. I should have remembered.

I should stick to what I know (Anchorage and Fairbanks). If AS ever publishes non-price-gouging fares to some of these cities, perhaps I'll get a chance to visit some of them...

(To be fair to my memory, there *was* an article in the ADN about a taxi driver in Barrow a few years ago. It's a little less happy of a story, though. IIRC--and it's likely I'm not RC--he was shot by some of the troubled (and perhaps drunk) youth there...)

jackal's warning makes a lot of sense to me. There are various threads around about taking advantage of corporate discounts on rental cars, hotels, etc., and it appears that oft-times the vendors are not going to bother to try to validate that you're entitled to make use of the discount codes. However, if you get into an accident, I strongly suspect that the company's investigators will look into everything that they can use to legitimately deny coverage.

premierstudent, I enjoyed my first visit to Alaska in 2000 very much on a Alaska Airlines VDB compensation ticket (assuming that might be what you're talking about). I used it mid-summer to go to Anchorage and visited the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward and the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage itself. (I recently enjoyed my second trip to Alaska, also to Anchorage, for a conference....) Hope you enjoy your trip to Fairbanks!

P.S. I had also been tempted to go to a destination north of the Arctic Circle, but ultimately decided against the novelty value. What was really tempting was to use my specially-endorsed VDB compensation ticket to go to Russia! :)