Chena Hot Springs Resort for Aurora Borealis

---

We went to Chena hoping to see Aurora Borealis and we did! They were faint and only came out for about two hours but we'll take it.

Chena Resort is an hour outside of Fairbanks. There is a main road and few campgrounds around the area. They have a shuttle for $125 per person each way which is easy to schedule. We did not want to deal with snow tires and figuring out how to plug in the car so the engine would not freeze. The resort is overall lovely if you are an outdoorsy kind of person. It feels like being at summer camp. The lodge has a restaurant which is right across from the pool/hot springs which is right across from the activity center. In the middle was our room. We stayed in a Fox room, the older cheaper kind of rooms. It was basic but warm and cozy. We did wish we had our white noise machine though.

The activity center doesn't take reservations so it's the first place you should go when you arrive to plan out your time there. If you are into renewable energy and living off the grid definitely take the geothermal energy tour. Chena uses the hot water from the springs and the cold water from the snow to make their own electricity and warm all the buildings. They also have a greenhouse where they grow their own food and a year round ice museum/ice bar. It's quiet impressive. The Chena salads were delicious and so were the apple martini's at the ice bar.

We paid for dog sledding and the aurora tour. The dog sledding is a quick ride around a loop that is the coldest 10 minutes of your life but absolutely gorgeous. I loved it and thought it was worth the $75 dollars. The dogs are so eager to run. Some of them looked like your average house pet and others looked like wolves. The older dogs can be adopted. The aurora tour is at night since the lights are best seen between 11 and 3am. A big snow cat takes you up to the top of the mountain. It's very loud and bumpy. At the top there are unobstructed views to the north and two giant heated yurts. There were no signs of civilization in either direction. This is where the lights came out for us. It started as a thin line across the entire horizon, then added, then came back as a smaller thicker line that moved upward. There were lots of folks with fancy cameras capturing it but all our pictures came out black. Nonetheless we were beyond excited to get the chance to see one of natures wonders in real time.

The Chena restaurant was a busy place and it's one of two places to eat at the resort. We learned fast to get there early before the rush. The activity center also has pizzas, sandwiches, ramen and ice cream which did not help me since I'm allergic to milk. So if you go take snacks with you.

Finally the hot springs. Ahhh. The hot springs are incredible. They really have it down. From the locker room for the pool there is a covered and heated ramp that walks you right into the water. No need for a towel or sandals, nada. The water is super hot especially around the edges. The bottom has a soft cover that must get changed regularly because it was not slimy at all. You may want a hat because your ears get really cold after awhile. The frozen hair and eye lashes are fun for photos but that means having your hand out of the water so you have to be quick.

Being from Southern California we did not have a lot of winter gear. In order to not break the bank we went to the REI garage sale and got smart wool first layers, gloves and down jackets for cheap. Hot hands and hot toes for your boots are a must. While we were in Alaska it was around -15 near Fairbanks and 20 degrees in Anchorage. After 15 minutes outside it felt like no amount of layers could keep us warm enough especially when we were at the top of the mountain at midnight.

---