Chena Hot Springs Resort: Hot Springs, Aurora Tours and Geothermal Power

After a day outdoors, there is a particular pleasure in lowering yourself into steaming mineral water while the air around you is cold enough to frost your hair. That is the scene Chena Hot Springs Resort is known for, a geothermal retreat in the Alaskan wilderness outside Fairbanks. It combines hot soaking, aurora viewing in season, a few tours, and lodging steps from the water.

What is Chena Hot Springs Resort?

Chena Hot Springs Resort is a hot spring resort built around natural geothermal water, with lodging, tours, an ice museum and its own renewable power.

The story goes back more than a century. Two gold mining brothers, Robert and Thomas Swan, founded it, and in 1911 twelve small cabins were built to house the visitors who came for the water. What began as a place to ease aching miners has grown into a resort with lodges, private cabins and yurts, all steps from the springs.

The hot water

Rock Lake, a geothermal feature at the resort, is another place to soak. The appeal is the contrast: warm mineral water, cool air on your shoulders, and in the right season a dark sky overhead that may show the aurora.

Geothermal power

The same underground heat that fills the pools runs the resort and its greenhouses. Two 200 kW Organic Rankine cycle geothermal plants supply power, the first of their kind in Alaska. Since July 2006 they have cut the cost of electricity from 30 cents per kWh to 5 cents, a change that helped the resort lead in renewable energy.

It is a rare thing to find in a remote lodge: a place where the hot tub and the light switch draw from the same source. The greenhouses are part of that story, and the resort presents itself as much as an energy experiment as a spa.

A DC-6A named Good Grief

One of the odder sights on the grounds is a Douglas DC-6A aircraft named Good Grief, on display after its final flight on October 2, 2016. A large propeller airliner parked among spruce and snow makes for a good photograph, and it gives a walk around the property a landmark beyond the pools.

Where is it?

Chena Hot Springs Resort sits in the Alaskan wilderness, about 56 miles northeast of Fairbanks, near the Chena River State Recreation Area. It is an unincorporated community rather than a town, which tells you what to expect: a single resort and its surroundings, not a main street.

Fairbanks is the city you start from, and it is also where most of the winter events that pair well with a stay take place. The resort has its own character, quiet and set apart, with the spruce forest and the river recreation area around it.

Fairbanks events that pair with a stay

In the dark months Fairbanks has a calendar worth building a trip around. The Winter Solstice Celebration fills Downtown Fairbanks during the week of December 21, with fireworks that cannot be seen in the summertime. Ice art sculptures are displayed around the city from mid-February to the end of March.

The World Ice Art Championships, held from late February through March, bring more than 80 ice sculptures by international carvers. The International Ice Art Classic adds ice slides and an ice playground. In mid-March the Open North American Championship sled dog race takes place in Fairbanks.

Denali Winterfest

Denali Winterfest runs from the end of February to the beginning of March in Denali National Park. It features dog sledding, a 5K race, snowshoeing, hiking and park ranger programs. It is a separate trip from a Chena stay, but the timing overlaps with the Fairbanks ice art season.

Aurora timing

Aurora viewing season at Chena Hot Springs runs from late August to mid-April. The aurora is visible from the resort, especially around the March equinox. As with any natural display, it is a chance and not a promise, so a night or two of waiting is part of the plan.

What is on site?

On site you find lodging, hot water, an ice museum and a set of tours that change with the season. Accommodations include lodges, private cabins and yurts, all steps from the hot springs, so a soak is never far from your door.

Aurora Viewing Tour

The winter Aurora Viewing Tour takes guests by SUSV, a tracked vehicle, to Charlie Dome for 360-degree open-sky views. Heated yurts and hot drinks are provided, so you can warm up between stretches of sky-watching. The tour costs $125 per person, lasts 5 hours, and riders must be at least 2 years old.

Because the aurora cannot be guaranteed, the draw is the wide dark sky from the dome and the warm yurt waiting nearby. The viewing season runs from late August to mid-April.

Aurora Ice Museum

The Aurora Ice Museum holds carved ice sculptures and is open throughout the year. It is a good counterpart to the hot water: a room of frozen art after a soak in the pools. The tour is open to ages 6 and up.

Summer and winter tours

In summer, the Electric ATV Tour is a single-rider ride down Monument Creek Trail through forest, mud and rugged terrain. In winter, Electric Snowmachine tours run on silent electric snowmobiles through pristine trails. Horseback riding is also on the list.

Good to know before you go

The springs and the ice museum stay open all year, while the aurora tour belongs to the stretch from late August to mid-April. The ATV tours are a summer activity and the snowmachine tours a winter one, so the season you choose shapes what you can do. Bring a swimsuit for the pools, and plan for a long dark evening if you come to watch the sky.