When I travel, I always like to find a little hike to venture on so I can feel the place I am in. For that reason, I have added this list of places to hike in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Creamer’s Field
There are a lot of little trails around this field. It used to be privately owned but now it is public use. The entire history of creamers field can be found here. There are a lot of wooden planked trails through the diverse ecosystems that live in the woods here. It’s a really nice place to go and there are informative signs that explain what you are looking at specific to Alaska.
There are a lot of trails behind the University of Alaska Fairbanks. You can kind of get lost back there but they have maps in intermittent areas. I really enjoy this walking/hiking area because although it is used a lot, it’s big enough that you don’t see a lot of people.
Ester Dome
I like to drive to this dome to get sunset pictures but hiking it is really nice as well. It’s pretty steep in some parts but it’s a really nice place to get out and get some exercise. If you don’t want to hike it, you can drive to the very top to check out the views.
Murphy Dome
Same story as Ester Dome. It can be steep, it’s beautiful and you can get some killer views. You can also come up here to see the northern lights if you want to take the drive. It’s dark and the roads aren’t the best so if you drive in the winter, be VERY careful with ice and moose.
This hill is good for walking, skiing, running, etc. It’s wide and open and even has a little area you can rent if you want to have a ceremony or wedding reception. But the hill is full of birch trees and it’s just beautiful in the summer and the autumn. Probably pretty wet in the spring.
This is a nice little afternoon trail that sports a lot of Alaskan Eco life. It has a ton of bird life for the bird watchers, beavers in the pond, and lots of fun little billboards explaining about the habitats you are viewing. It’s a little less than a mile walk at the edge of creamers field or close to Wedgwood.
Chena Lakes is one of my favorite places to go and walk/hike/play in the water/fish/camp etc. It is a “recreation area” that is monitored by the state. To walk around or use the bike paths, its completely free and there is a lot to see and do there.
To read more about Chena Lakes, click here.
This seems to be one of the most popular trails for people visiting Fairbanks, Alaska. It is approximately 3-4 miles long. It’s a nice trail to climb up and see the hills around Fairbanks. The trail sports volcanic rock that you can climb on and great areas for resting. You can take children on it as well as it is not very strenuous – just in some parts.
Angel Rocks (9mile follow through)
Same trail as above but instead of turning around at the large rocks, you continue up the mountain (I found this to be the hardest part) and then you walk the tops of the hills all the way to Chena Hot Springs. I enjoy this trip because its long but the hot springs at the end is the best way to relax. You can go with someone and park a car at CHS then drive back to Angel Rocks to get your other car as they are on the same Road – Chena Hot Springs Rd.
Wickersham Dome [Summit Trail] (7 miles)
this is a beautiful trail but I would classify it as a little harder. You can drive to the trail head and start from there – you can also Access Lee’s cabin from here. The northern lights can be seen from here as well. The hike is a steady climb
I have had many enjoyable experiences in this hike. There is a steep climb up one of the hills after a little 2-mile easy loops but once you get up that, you see the valley and the volcanic tors. You can camp out here and get some great shots of the sky and there is a cabin on the 15-mile loop you can check out or stay in.
Stiles Creek
There is also a cabin on this trail and it’s a nice long trail. Once up on the top of the ridge, you can see the whole valley. Its so pretty.
Table Top
I hiked this in a bit of a snowstorm so I don’t know about the views at the top but the hike was enjoyable and felt really nice. Coming down from the clouds, the hill was nice to view and I could see all the way out to the road.
All of these trails are listed on all trails.com and have updated information from hikers who travel on them. The app or website will be able to tell you how to get to the trail heads and best time to visit.