From the parking lot you will see a long stretch of leveled land, this is the airport landing strip, please stay clear of this area.

To the north of the resort is the RV and camping area.  To the south is the hot springs, ice museum, hotel area.

Activities

There are many activities to enjoy depending on if you are a visitor in the summer or winter months.

ATV rides, horseback riding, hiking, ice museum tours, hot springs relaxing, greenhouse tours, flight seeing, dog mushing tours, bike rentals, snow coach tours, snow machine tours, cross country skiing tours, northern lights viewing, massages and more.

The Activity Center has a list of everything you can do – of course almost all of these activities comes with a price.

The ice museum is located closest to the parking lot.  If you are visiting in the summer months it is a great way to cool off inside and grab an apple martini served in an ice “glass”. Inside the museum you will see many ice sculptures and creations including a “hotel room”

Ice sculptor classes are available as well.

The restaurant and bar offers good eating and alcohol but at a price. You are about 50+ miles from the city so expect to pay extra for most offerings here.  Many of the produce the restaurant uses is naturally grown here at the resort.  I’ve eaten here a few times and it is pretty good.

The hot springs are the main attraction!  The are well-maintained and offer a relaxing experience.  I have used the hot springs in the summer months and the temperature is sometimes on the verge of being unbearably hot – due to the hot summer weather!

Fresh water from the nearby creek is used to cool down the hot springs a little bit but the temperature usually feels just like a hot tub or hotter.

During the winter months as the temperature drops considerably and the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) become more visible, you will enjoy sitting in the springs and watching the sky light up.

The hot springs also has an indoor pool with two hot tubs next to a small coy fish pond.  The outdoors area has the large hot springs with another hot tub area and a deck to relax and hang out on.  In the hot springs there is a large sprinkler type device that sprays water over parts of the area.

You can find plenty of places to hang out and relax on the rocks that surround the hot springs.  There is a hand guide rail that leads into the pools.  The hot spring pool has a gravel bottom.

Northern Lights Viewing

Chena Hot Springs is an incredible place for viewing the Northern Lights.  The hot springs are located in a flat(ish) valley where you have great visibility and also the springs is located more than 50+ miles outside of town so light pollution won’t be an issue.  And the best part is, you get to view the Aurora Borealis while relaxing in hot springs!

We visited on August 31 and the lights were beginning to “come out” around midnight and dance across the sky!

For a good place to check for Aurora forecasts, check out the Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.