Part 1: Exploring North Pole and Fairbanks Alaska.
- Dawn Shaikh
- Feb 12, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 4, 2024
We spent 3 nights (Feb 2-5, 2024) at The Northern Lights Cabin through Alaska Aurora Adventures where we had a chance to explore Chena Lake Recreation Area, North Pole, and Fairbanks. Ironically, the town of North Pole is south of Fairbanks. Below is a deep dive on the cabin we stayed in, aurora viewing without a guide, activities, and restaurants. For our high-level summary, check out our post on Key Lessons.
Northern Lights Cabin by Alaska Aurora Adventures, LLC was alright, but would not be top of our list for a return trip
A family member suggested I look into Alaska Aurora Adventures because they had an excellent experience with them a few years ago. In November 2023, I booked the Northern Lights cabin for 3 nights at a rate of $162/night. This is just one of the cabins available through this company. This review is specific to this cabin. While we enjoyed the remote location of this cabin, we would not rent it in the future.
The cabin was advertised as "Sleeps 4" which is true - there are two queen size beds with one downstairs and one in a loft upstairs. The stairs to the loft are small and steep. I would not want to hit those in the middle of the night to use the bathroom! We only used the downstairs bedroom. The bed in the downstairs bedroom is up against a wall on one side. Beds against the walls prove to be quite the obstacle course for us - especially for those late-night bathroom treks.
The other side of the bed had no outlet and no table/shelf. I travels with a CPAP, so this posed a major challenge. The first night, we used a kitchen chair, The second night, M explored the upstairs bedroom and found a crate to sit by the bed. The next challenge was where to plug it in! There was one set of outlets in the downstairs bedroom and it was at the foot of the bed. There was an extension cord on it but it was not long enough. Fortunately, I had my 1 foot extension cord, plug extender, and dual USB/wall charger with me -- and the CPAP has a very long cord. The cord snaking across the bedroom floor did pose a bit of a tripping hazard. The downstairs bedroom had a set of shelves and a small chest for storage. The door to the downstairs bedroom had to be kept open all night to prevent pipes in the bathroom from freezing. The one source of heat, a propane heater, is in the living room/kitchen.
The one bathroom in the cabin is off the downstairs bedroom. The bathroom is "cozy" with a sink, a full-size washer, a full-size dryer, a water softening unit, a toilet, and a small shower. As a larger person, I prefer a shower with more room. The water from all faucets smelled of sulfur or something stinky. The mirrored medicine cabinet provided some much-needed storage space for bathroom items, because there is limited space on the vanity. The bathroom was always very cold. Even with the propane heater on 76 and the bedroom door open, it just did not warm up.
The kitchen was well very stocked for a rental with a variety of spices, a french press and some coffee, a Keurig machine and pods, a teapot, a microwave, and some small snacks. The fridge had a few drinks - Coke, Sprite, and water. We cooked a few meals in the cabin and found all the supplies we needed including a good assortment for baking. There is not a lot of prep area, so we kept meals pretty simple.
The dining area is in the middle of the kitchen and living room. The table is a small outdoor table with two metal(ish) folding chairs with cushions. For those with wrinkles and wobbly bits, these types of folding chairs are uncomfortable. We found it strange that a cabin that sleeps 4 did not have dinner seating for 4 people.
The living room had a comfy couch and chair and a couple of lamps. There were a variety of games and DVDs. The small kitchen table is the only table, and it might not be big enough for board games but will work fine for card gams. By the door, there were 4 hooks which were perfect for hanging coats and gear.
The cabin is advertised as "No Shoes" but the light switch to turn on the living room light is on the other side of the living room. This cabin is in the middle of nowhere which means it is very dark inside and outside. We ended up using headlamps to get across the living room. There was a switch labeled outside lights but we could not get those to consistently work.
The 5 stairs leading from the ground to the front door of the cabin do not have a rail on either side. Given the -40F temperatures and packed snow that gets slippery, this concerned us. We found it challenging to get our luggage up the stairs with nothing to hold on to. The covered parking spot was nice and came with a plug so we could plug in the Subaru Outback at night.
For those with Wrinkles and Wobbly Bits, this cabin is a definite NO! For others, this cabin might suit your needs well. It was clean and quiet.
Here is a summary of what we liked and did not like about the Northern Lights Cabin.
What we liked | What we did not like |
|---|---|
👍 Quiet location | 👎 Lack of rails on the stairs to enter the cabin |
👍 Well stocked kitchen & snacks provided | 👎 Bedroom setup with no table/stand by the bed and no plugs near the top of the bed |
👍 Comfortable bed | 👎 The smell of the water from all faucets |
👍 Full size washer & dryer | 👎 The size of the shower - too small |
👍 Cozy slippers provided | 👎 The very cold bathroom experience |
👍 Plenty of storage space in the downstairs bedroom | 👎 The limited and uncomfortable dining seating |
👍 Covered parking and available plug | 👎 The location of the switches to turn on main lights when entering the house |
👍 Games and DVDs provided | 👎 The cabin stayed pretty cool even with the heat on a higher setting; seating near the windows was very, very breezy |
👎 The lodge viewing felt overpriced since we did not need transportation | |
👎 Would be extremely tight for 4 guests |
Video walkthrough of the cabin https://photos.app.goo.gl/vMXcQCrDqwNDF1EH8
We saw the Northern Lights every night while sitting at Chena Lake Park and off Eielsen Road
Alaska Aurora Adventures also runs the Aurora Viewing Lodge located near their cabins. For $150 a person, the lodge hosts groups from 10pm to 3am. The price includes round trip transportation to and from any hotel in Fairbanks. Because we were staying at a cabin very close to the lodge, I stubbornly did not want to pay the full prices for the lodge viewing experience, so we did not view the aurora from the lodge. The lodge also has a Malamute in residence at times which made us shy away even more - M's allergies just cannot do dogs! Alaska Aurora Adventures runs several excursions, but we did not book any since we wanted to allow time to sleep during the day and many of the activities were available to us at Borealis Basecamp as part of our package.
But! We saw the aurora every night we went out while staying at the cabin. We did not attempt to see her from the cabin because there were many trees around the cabin. In hindsight, I do not think that would have impacted the viewing experience much. At 10pm every night we bundled up and drove to a suggested location in Fairbanks. We had good luck at Chena Lake Recreation Park and even better luck at a plowed pull out on Eielson Farm Road. There are many places called Chena [insert rest of a name]... most sources recommend viewing the aurora at Chena River State Recreation area not Chena Lake Park... now we know! (Map showing the difference)
Was this the best aurora viewing experience? Who knows! Chasing the aurora is like chasing rainbows. You might see it or you might not. It might be intense or it might be pale. The first nights helped us learn how to spot the aurora because it was not what we expected. We thought the Northern Lights would appear to the naked eye the same as they appear in photos. That is mostly untrue. Based on our experience, the Northern Lights appear to the eye as a pale green blob that gets more intense and shifts through the sky. For us, seeing the full color spectrum was challenging without a camera on night mode or long exposure.
On the first few nights, I experimented with apps on the iPhone and iPhone camera settings. I did not take any camera other than my iPhone 13 Pro. My photography skills and our spotting abilities improved over our week-long stay, so we will never know for sure which of our accommodations had better viewing experiences.
I tried the Northern Lights app and the NightCap app on the iPhone and experimented with the iPhone's native camera's night mode. I favored the iPhone native camera app for photos and the NightCap app for time lapse shots. I did not use a tripod for any of these shots - a rookie mistake! Photos taken at Chena Lake Park and off Eielson Farm Road.
Take time to visit the Santa Claus House, Museum of the North, and Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center
During our time in North Pole, AK, we visited a few local attractions and ventured into Fairbanks every day. We kept our outings to a minimum since we were staying up from 10PM to 3AM and sleeping in as much as we wanted. Sunset was at about 5:00PM, so the days were short. After our sightseeing outing, we ate out and headed back to the cabin for some quiet time before driving out to a viewing location.
Santa Claus House in North Pole
A must-see delightful, over-the-top (free) Christmas destination 365 days of the year. The stop is rich with history and flush with seasonal charm! When you arrive, you are greeted by a 42' tall Santa Claus and a festive vibe. The inside of the building is level and flat and offers seating in several places - with and without photo opportunities, including a beautiful antique sled acquired in Seattle. We took a break for a nice coffee and piece of fudge at the sweet shop. If you want to have a photo with Santa Claus and Mrs Claus - call ahead to check their schedule.
Other sightseeing in Fairbanks
We spent time at two other Fairbanks attractions: The Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Morris Thompson Cutural and Visitors Center. We spent about two hours at each museum/center and enjoyed both with a slight preference for the Morris Center.
The Morris Center has excellent exhibits about the people and land of Alaska. The Center is free to visit and is a one-stop shop for information on all sorts of activities in Fairbanks.
The Museum of the North is a proper museum with in-depth exhibits and art. We learned a lot from the "Forced to Leave: WW II Detention of Alaskan Japanese Americans and Aleuts" and the Alaska's largest public display of gold. The museum is open 7 days a week: 9 AM - 5:30 PM, and admission ranges in price from $16 to $20 per adult. The museum has a small cafe with coffee and snack options.
Both places offer electric outlets for keeping the car ready for the cold temperatures. Both places were easy to navigate and offered plenty of places to sit for a break while still enjoying the exhibits.
We recommend Pagoda Chinese for dinner and Alaska Coffee Roasting for a mid-day (caffeinated) break
After leaving the Fairbanks Airport, we stopped at the Fred Myers (about 3 miles from the airport) and got a few groceries to tide us over for the short stay at the Northern Lights Cabin. We ate a late lunch at the cabin after sleeping in. The Alaska Coffee Roasting is a wonderful snack and coffee stop. For dinner, we 100% recommend these two restaurants near North Pole AK - Pagoda Chinese and Spicy Thai by Moo (takeout only during the winter). Serving sizes at both Pagoda Chinese and Spicy Thai were large - definitely made to share or pack up for leftovers. We had an excellent sandwich at The Cookie Jar before heading to Borealis Basecamp -- see Part 2 for a deep dive!
Comentários