Fairbanks, Alaska is also known as 'The Golden Heart of Alaska', a reference to both its geographic location and the discovery of gold in 1902, not to mention the warmhearted people who call it home. Just 188 miles south of the Arctic Circle, our summer days are long with sunshine all day and night. We're not going to talk about the opposite, short and cold winter days here :)

An excellent resource to learn more about what Fairbanks has to offer can be found through Explore Fairbanks. Check them out here! https://www.explorefairbanks.com/

While we hope to keep families quite busy with all the action of the Midnight Sun Soccer Tournament, there is so much to share about the city and surrounding areas. Here are just a few tidbits about the wonders of Interior Alaska.

Check out the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus and visit the UAF Museum of the North or the Large Animal Research Station!

Drive up to the Arctic Circle, see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, or pick any direction and take a hike!

Try your hand at goldpanning, where you can actually find (and keep!) real gold.

  

Explore downtown Fairbanks and visit the the Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center
   
Participate in the annual Midnight Sun Run 10K, enjoy the Midnight Sun baseball game with the Alaska Goldpanners and be sure to plan for the Midnight Sun Festival downtown
 

Not far from Fairbanks are many other amazing places to check out on your visit to Alaska, like Chena Hot Spring Resort (they have an Ice Museum all year round!), Denali National Park (book an ATV tour for the team), the Santa Claus House in the City of North Pole, Alaska. Take a ride on the Alaska Railroad and see more of the state often called 'The Last Frontier'. We even have our own natural lazy river and floating the Chena from one end of Fairbanks to another is a great way to enjoy part of a summer day. Coming to Alaska can be the trip of a lifetime for many and we hope you can visit for more than just a soccer tournament!