Fairbanks AK-Chena River & Hot Springs-65 North

One of the spots we had on our ‘must-visit’ list was Chena Hot springs. Heading northeast from Fairbanks about 50 miles, we crossed latitude 65 North, the farthest north we’ve ever been.

 

Lots of professional dog sled mushers live along the Chena River and run their teams up and down the river and alongside the road.

We found a couple of remote spots along the river where we could pull off the road and set up camp. Amazing scenery, total quiet and way off the grid.

Not a bad view out the window!

Some of the roads are better than others. Our tolerance for what conditions we were willing to drive on definitely changed during our trip.

Most of the signs along the roads, especially the ones that saying “No shooting” seem to have the same problem, lots of bullet holes in them. Some sort of statement about the rebellious nature of Alaskans?

The hot springs in the north are pretty spectacular. Cold air, cold water everywhere and then a hot spring with water well over 100 deg F. We met a local couple who run a lodge down the road from the hot spring. The only reason they were there was because the weather was unusually cold for the summer. But they said they are there almost every winter weekend. Something about taking a dip in the hot spring when it’s 30 or 40 below 0. They said it’s the only way to warm up their bones!

We ended up going to 3 different hot springs during our trip: Chena, Takhini, and Liard. Only Chena was in Alaska.

 

While we were camped, an environmental researcher stopped by the river to collect samples. He’s studying the food supply that salmon eat. They spent about an hour setting up their equipment and then about an hour taking the sample. Talking to them was very interesting.

A few people stopped by our campsite to fish. This guy was the only one successful.

 

But if not…