What to do on our own in Fairbanks?

[Northern Aurora]

25 minutes ago, NengEuis said:

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AM or PM Riverboat only is a common itinerary for pax that just spend one night in Fairbanks as part of their land tour. 

 

 

As I interpret the post by  @Stevepcb64 they leave the next day to transit to DNP. And I don't agree that only the Riverboat Discovery is "a common itinerary for pax who just spend one night in Fairabanksk...  ."  Not the feedback I hear when on cruises.

[hrt4girls]

Restaurant suggestions, please. Our Fairbanks hotel is Pikes Waterfront Lodge, near the airport.  We will pick up our rental car around 11 am.  So we will be able to drive to find lunch and will not return it until after we eat dinner.  Is there a pub/tavern place that is good for lunch.  We don't need anything fancy and not interested in Thai food.  And any suggestions for dinner?  Is there a restaurant with the hotel?  Perhaps we could return the rental car and walk there for dinner since we won't have any luggage with us.  I appreciate all the local advice

 

[Northern Aurora]

On 2/2/2024 at 6:15 AM, hrt4girls said:

Restaurant suggestions, please. Our Fairbanks hotel is Pikes Waterfront Lodge, near the airport.  We will pick up our rental car around 11 am.  So we will be able to drive to find lunch and will not return it until after we eat dinner.  Is there a pub/tavern place that is good for lunch.  We don't need anything fancy and not interested in Thai food.  And any suggestions for dinner?  Is there a restaurant with the hotel?  Perhaps we could return the rental car and walk there for dinner since we won't have any luggage with us.  I appreciate all the local advice

 

 

 

The owner of Pike's Waterfront Lodge also owns the stand-alone Pike's Landing restaurant which is located beside the lodge.  This restaurant has a nice deck on the river which serves more casual fare while the main restaurant is more upscale.

 

Acquaintances were in Fairbanks last summer on a Princess cruise tour so we picked them up at the Princess Lodge.  The Princess is essentially right beside the Pike's Waterfront Lodge.  I took a peek at their menu and it seemed to be designed with the notion that they needed to serve something but didn't expect to see the customer again.  Definitely not trying to attract locals.  So the menu included items like a hamburger, a vegan offering, a salmon dish, an entree sized salad and so forth.  I also watched a meal being delivered and it didn't look very great either.

 

If my memory is correct you are planing to spend some time at the Museum of the North.  There is a strip mall near the West Ridge of the campus (which is where the Museum of the North is located) which houses the Red Fox Bar and Grill (in addition to our favorite Thai restaurant the Lemon Grass).  The Red Fox is open for lunch.  I have only been inside the Red Fox once and found it very much a bar (in contrast a pub) but they are a popular place for pizza (many people order carry-out).  When we sit in the Lemon Grass front windows we watch a steady stream of people picking up takeout pizza from the Red Fox during the evenings.

 

If you plan to visit the pipeline first then consider driving down College Road and stopping at Geraldo's.  Pizza and sandwiches with decent atmosphere.

 

Also check the website for the Pump House to learn if they are serving lunch this coming summer.  This is where we took our acquaintances last summer.  Years ago they would open for lunch during the summer.  Ownership of the Pump House changed about 20 months ago.  The new owners are making some changes which I see as positive so I wonder if they will again open for lunch.  The Senator's Saloon (in the Pump House) is much more like a pub versus a bar.  We live on Chena Ridge and this is our "go to" restaurant, but we do like Jazz Bistro, Soba and Lavelle's Bistro which are all downtown.

 

As is standard in the rest of the US all of these restaurants have websites with menus.

[Ber2048]

We are arriving in Fairbanks and renting a car for 24 hours. Since we will be on the Riverboat Cruise and still have some time in Fairbanks the next day, we are hoping to drive to Chena Hot Springs the day we rent the car. I understand it is a scenic drive with possible wild life spotting, and places to pull over. Depending on how early we start, we will stop at the University of Alaska before or after the hot springs. Dinner at one of the suggested restaurants sound good. The next night we have the option of taking the bus to Pioneer Park for the Salman Bake, or something on our own. Just trying to future out Denali since we will be there before the Park buses are running. 

[Northern Aurora]

7 minutes ago, Ber2048 said:

We are arriving in Fairbanks and renting a car for 24 hours. .......

 

Which Fairbanks hotel will you be at?

 

The drive from Fairbanks to the Chena Hot Springs Resort takes 90 minutes to two hours.  It seems to me that every summer there is some sort of road construction on the Chena Hot Springs road.  The first 22 or so miles is through some strange and funky subdivisions, but at mile 23 you enter the massive Chena River Recreation Area.  Great moose habitat area.  The resort itself has decent food.  Their massive greenhouses, which are heated with a system using their thermal hot springs, grows their own lettuces, herbs and tomatoes.   They can keep the greenhouses warm until the outdoor temperatures reach about -60F.  They offer a tour of their energy facility, and, of course, the Ice Museum is very popular.

 

The Pioneer Park Salmon Bake is one of those restaurants which has a very hard time attracting locals.  In my opinion, it is over priced for what it is.

[Ber2048]

We are staying at the Westmark Fairbanks hotel. We are used to renting a car and doing road trips. If we leave early in the morning for the hot springs,  we should be back by mid afternoon. Our choice as to how long we take. It gives a

us a chance to see more of Alaska land and wild life. I figured the salman bake was more for tourists. Some reviews enjoyed it, and some said to skip it. 
Thanks for your input. Now we have to figure out if we should rent a car in Denali and drive to mile 30 on our own. We are missing the park buses by a few days. We are set up for the History Tour which starts a few days before the buses and Wilderness tour. If only we could predict the weather for mid May. 

[Northern Aurora]

3 minutes ago, Ber2048 said:

We are staying at the Westmark Fairbanks hotel. We are used to renting a car and doing road trips. If we leave early in the morning for the hot springs,  we should be back by mid afternoon. Our choice as to how long we take. It gives a

us a chance to see more of Alaska land and wild life. I figured the salman bake was more for tourists. Some reviews enjoyed it, and some said to skip it. 
Thanks for your input. Now we have to figure out if we should rent a car in Denali and drive to mile 30 on our own. We are missing the park buses by a few days. We are set up for the History Tour which starts a few days before the buses and Wilderness tour. If only we could predict the weather for mid May. 

 

Good restaurants walkable from the Westmark include the Thai House, Soba (Moldovan cuisine but be aware that service can be slow), Jazz Bistro and Lavelle's Bistro (which is where we are going to night with friends).  Salty's would be another possibility, but I personally find them very sandwich focused so don't like them for dinner.

 

And yes, I would rent a car in Denali and drive to mile 30 on the single park road.  Also consider the hiking trails around Mt. Vista.  The NPS visitor center at the park entrance is also worth a visit.

[wolfie11]

Why not just dump the relatively worthless land tour, fly to Fairbanks, rent a car, and drive it to Denali.  You can overnight in Healy and it’s a beautiful 2.5-3 hour drive.  Then you can spend as much time as you want looking for wildlife.

[Ber2048]

10 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

Good restaurants walkable from the Westmark include the Thai House, Soba (Moldovan cuisine but be aware that service can be slow), Jazz Bistro and Lavelle's Bistro (which is where we are going to night with friends).  Salty's would be another possibility, but I personally find them very sandwich focused so don't like them for dinner.

 

And yes, I would rent a car in Denali and drive to mile 30 on the single park road.  Also consider the hiking trails around Mt. Vista.  The NPS visitor center at the park entrance is also worth a visit.

Thank you for the restaurant suggestions, and the Denali info. It sounds like renting a car in Denali is the way to go. 

[Ber2048]

32 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

Why not just dump the relatively worthless land tour, fly to Fairbanks, rent a car, and drive it to Denali.  You can overnight in Healy and it’s a beautiful 2.5-3 hour drive.  Then you can spend as much time as you want looking for wildlife.

We did think about that. I can see why folks do more than one visit to Alaska. Thanks for your input. 

[Pepsismith]

Great information on this post, particularly from the local residents. We will only be in Fairbanks 24 hours this trip, not a part of the Cruisetour but will be essentially taking the same route to Anchorage. We are booked at River's Edge Resort for May 21st, we arrive that morning and leave on the Alaska Rail the next day. We're thinking Gold Dredge, Pioneer Park and the Museum of the North will be a lot in a day, but next time we'll stay longer.

[Ber2048]

59 minutes ago, Pepsismith said:

Great information on this post, particularly from the local residents. We will only be in Fairbanks 24 hours this trip, not a part of the Cruisetour but will be essentially taking the same route to Anchorage. We are booked at River's Edge Resort for May 21st, we arrive that morning and leave on the Alaska Rail the next day. We're thinking Gold Dredge, Pioneer Park and the Museum of the North will be a lot in a day, but next time we'll stay longer.

Sounds like a good plan. The locals did give some good information which I hope to use.