In downtown Anchorage in February, teams push outhouses on skis down a snowy street while a crowd in parkas cheers them on, one small piece of a winter festival that has been running since the 1930s. Farther north, sculptors work at blocks of ice in Fairbanks, and the sky above the Interior stays dark enough on clear nights for the aurora. Alaska in February is a month for winter people: snow, sled dogs, festivals and long cold nights, with the daylight returning a little more each week.
What is the weather like in Alaska in February?
February is cold everywhere in Alaska, but the cold takes different forms: dry and deep in the Interior and the Arctic, snowy in Anchorage, and damp and close to freezing along the Inside Passage.
| Place | Average high (°F) | Average low (°F) | Precipitation (in) | Daylight on the 15th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage | 27.3 | 15.2 | 0.86 | 8 h 58 min |
| Fairbanks | 11.6 | -11.2 | 0.52 | 8 h 24 min |
| Juneau | 35.7 | 24.6 | 4.31 | 9 h 19 min |
| Ketchikan | 40.9 | 31.5 | 11.80 | 9 h 37 min |
| Seward | 34.3 | 23.5 | 6.35 | 9 h 06 min |
| Utqiagvik | -5.5 | -18.3 | 0.21 | 6 h 46 min |
The Inside Passage is the wet side of the state. Ketchikan gets the most precipitation of the six places, and rain falls there on most days of the month, while Juneau sees a mix of rain and wet snow with a good share of gray days. Seward, at the head of Resurrection Bay, sits between the two: milder than Anchorage, with precipitation on nearly ten days.
Anchorage is colder but far drier, with only a few days of snow or other precipitation, so many February days are cold, bright and dry. Fairbanks goes further, with afternoons that stay well below freezing and nights that drop below zero.
Utqiagvik, the northernmost city in the United States, is the coldest of the six, and its air is the driest. The sun is back there for part of every day, though it shines for fewer hours than anywhere else in this list.
Where to go in Alaska in February
February rewards the traveler who comes for winter itself. The places below each offer something different, from city festivals to dark Interior skies.
Southcentral and the Kenai coast
Anchorage is the natural base this month. In winter the city’s visitors can ski, skate, dog sled, ride snow bikes, watch for the northern lights and take flightseeing tours over the Chugach Mountains and the Alaska Range, and flightseeing tours leave Anchorage all year.
A ski resort sits 40 minutes from downtown, in the Girdwood and Portage area, which also has a pair of resorts and lodges. Dog sledding around Anchorage typically runs from October through March, so February falls squarely inside it.
February is also Fur Rendezvous month, with the city turning over to the festival. Between events, the museums of Anchorage are a warm refuge, telling the story of Alaska’s Russian, Native, gold rush and pioneer past. The city lies on the homelands of the Dena’ina Athabascan people, and the exhibits are a good way to understand what you will see elsewhere in the state.
Seward lies on the Kenai coast, with Mount Marathon rising behind the town and Kenai Fjords National Park across the water. The drive from Anchorage takes about 2.5 hours on the Seward Highway.
The Alaska Railroad’s daily Anchorage to Seward passenger service is a summer arrangement, running from May 13 to September 14, so February is a road trip. The Alaska SeaLife Center, the state’s only public aquarium, gives the town an indoor stop on a wet or windy day.
The Interior: Fairbanks, Chena and Denali
Fairbanks is the place for deep cold, clear dark skies and the aurora. The town is well known for aurora viewing and has many tours and sites for watchers.
Mid-February is also when ice art sculptures begin to appear around town, a display that lasts to the end of March.
| Chena Hot Springs | Price |
|---|---|
| Pool House day pass, adults | $20 |
| Pool House day pass, children | $17 |
| Winter aurora viewing tour (5 hours, riders at least 2 years old) | $125 per person |
Denali National Park and Preserve is open all year, though winter is a different park from the summer one. Bus service runs only in summer, generally from May 20 to mid-September, and most organized events are held between mid-May and mid-September.
In winter the visitor center is the Murie Science and Learning Center at mile 1.3 on the Denali Park Road, and the road itself may close at Mountain Vista or at Park Headquarters at any time because of winter weather. The park entrance is about 2.5 hours by car from Fairbanks and about 5.5 hours from Anchorage.
| Site | Open |
|---|---|
| Denali National Park and Preserve | Year-round |
| Denali park kennels | Saturdays and Sundays, 1 pm to 4 pm |
| Murie Science and Learning Center (winter visitor center) | Late September until early May |
Southeast and the Inside Passage
Juneau, the state capital, cannot be reached by road, only by air or by sea, and it sits on Gastineau Channel in the Inside Passage. The Mendenhall Glacier is 13 miles from downtown and visitors can drive directly to it.
February in town is a mix of moody weather, snowy streets and the sense of a small capital without its summer crowds. The Alaskan Hotel and Bar downtown, more than a century old, is a good place to warm up, and the Alaskan Brewery’s beer is brewed in town.
Ketchikan is the wettest of the six places, so it suits travelers who accept rain as part of the scenery and will walk the town in rain gear. The forests that surround the Southeast towns belong to the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the country. The wildlife season in Juneau for bears, bald eagles and humpback whales is April through November, so February is not the time for that kind of trip.
The Arctic: Utqiagvik
Utqiagvik is the northernmost city in the United States, and February there is about extreme cold and a landscape of snow and ice. The light is returning, with nearly seven hours of daylight in the middle of the month, so it is not the polar night. This is a destination for travelers who want to see how far north a town can go, and who are ready for temperatures well below zero.
What to do in Alaska in February
Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage
Fur Rendezvous, known as Fur Rondy, is Anchorage’s premier winter festival, and it bills itself as the largest winter festival in North America. It started in 1936 as a three-day sporting event. Today it has well over 100 events. It was once a ten-day affair, but since 2004 it has extended into early March to lead into the Iditarod.
The Outhouse Races are the best known quirk, with teams steering outhouses on skis. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, one of Alaska’s iconic winter events, traditionally starts in Anchorage on the first Saturday of March, just after the month ends. The collector pin for the festival is a small ritual for regulars, with a Lord or Lady Trapper chosen each year.
Ice art in Fairbanks
Ice Alaska hosts the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, an ice sculpting contest produced by a non-profit started in 1989. It is the largest of its kind in the world, and more than 100 sculptors from 30 countries attend every year. The event begins in mid-February and, weather permitting, lasts until the end of March. Sculptures also stand around town across the same weeks.
Northern lights
The aurora is possible across most of Alaska, since the oval where it is most likely covers most of the state. In Fairbanks the viewing season runs roughly from August 21 to April 21, and with clear weather and at least three nights, seeing it is highly likely. Anchorage’s season runs from late September through the middle of April, and sightings are possible even after sundown in the city.
Activity tends to be stronger around the equinoxes than at midwinter, so February sits between the stronger and weaker periods. Cloud is what usually decides a night, so a few nights in a row gives you more chances.
Dogs, skis and flights
Sled dogs in Alaska traditionally pull side by side in pairs rather than in a fan, and February is within the dog sledding season around Anchorage. At Denali, the park kennels are open on winter weekends, a place to visit the park’s huskies. Flightseeing over the Chugach Mountains and the Alaska Range is available from Anchorage, and skiing and skating round out the winter list.
Is Alaska busy in February?
February is a quiet month across most of Alaska, with a few pockets of festival crowds. The big cruise influx in Juneau comes between May and September, so the capital’s waterfront is calm in February. Denali’s main season runs from late May to early September, and its bus service and most events belong to summer.
The busy places are the ones with something to celebrate. Anchorage fills with Fur Rondy crowds as the festival approaches its weeks of events. Fairbanks draws aurora watchers and, from mid-February, ice art visitors, and Chena Hot Springs runs its aurora season until mid-April. Away from these, Southeast towns and Kenai coast communities like Seward are calm, and Utqiagvik is as remote as ever.
What to pack for Alaska in February
Packing changes with the region: serious cold gear for the Interior and the Arctic, layers for Anchorage, and waterproof clothing for the wet coast of the Southeast.
- A parka rated for deep cold, for Fairbanks and Utqiagvik, where lows fall well below zero.
- Insulated waterproof boots, because snow and slush are the norm in Anchorage and Juneau.
- Rain gear for Ketchikan, Juneau and Seward, where precipitation falls on many days.
- Warm layers, hats and gloves for nights outside watching for the aurora.
- Sunglasses for bright snowy days as the light grows.
Good to know before you go
Denali National Park is open all year, but the park road may close at Mountain Vista or Park Headquarters at any time because of winter weather, and bus service is a summer operation. The Alaska Railroad’s daily Seward service belongs to summer, from May 13 to September 14.
Daylight is short in the north and lengthening everywhere, with about nine hours in Anchorage and Juneau in mid-month and under seven in Utqiagvik. In Denali, dial 9-1-1 in an emergency, and note that cell coverage exists only within three miles of the park entrance.
Is February a good time to visit Alaska?
February is a good time for travelers who want winter, and the best region this month is Southcentral and the Interior, where Anchorage’s festival and Fairbanks’ ice art and aurora skies are concentrated. It is a poor match for anyone hoping for wildlife cruises, glacier boats or the summer parks.
Compared with January, the days are longer and the cold eases a little. Fairbanks, with highs barely above zero in January, climbs noticeably in the following weeks, and Anchorage warms steadily toward March. By March the festivals and the Iditarod start pull the crowds into Anchorage, and Fairbanks reaches highs in the mid-20s, so March is gentler but February keeps more of the deep-winter character.
What February offers that other months do not is the overlap: the aurora season still running, the sled dog season in full swing, Fur Rondy starting in Anchorage and the first ice sculptures rising in Fairbanks, all under a sun that is returning a little each day.
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