One-Week Interior Alaska Itinerary
People come to Interior Alaska for the gold-mining history, dog mushing, northern lights (in winter)—and Denali National Park. Fairbanks is the real transit hub for this part of the state, giving you almost all the “big city” luxuries you could want along with access to vast wildlands, the wide sweep of the Arctic, or your favorite gold-panning venue.
Day 1
Welcome to Fairbanks! As you get settled, take the time to visit Gold Daughters and learn how to pan for gold from a pair of talented women who grew up giving demonstrations to visitors. Don’t miss the Pipeline Viewing Station, just across the highway, where you can get up close to the 800-mi (1,287-km) pipeline that transfers crude oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez; it’s considered a major landmark. Next, if you love Christmas, make the 20-minute drive southeast to the year-round Santa Claus House in the city of North Pole. End the day at Pioneer Park, filled with historic buildings, mining equipment, a delicious salmon bake, and a hilarious dinner theater show about the history of Fairbanks. If you’re here from late August to mid-April, let the front desk at your hotel know you’d like to be woken up if the northern lights come out.
Day 2
Choose your big adventure for the day: If you want a day of relaxation, head out to Chena Hot Springs for hot springs and an ice museum. If you want a more extreme adventure, you can book a day trip to a more remote area: Get up very early to fly halfway up the Dalton Highway (a.k.a. the Haul Road) and then drive back with Northern Alaska Tour Company, or hitch a ride on the mail plane to a rural village with Warbelow’s Air. You won’t get to spend real time in the villages—the plane just drops off the mail, then takes off again. But getting to flit out to a remote village in a small plane is still a fun, exciting experience.
Day 3
Book a morning tour at the Running Reindeer Ranch, where you get to take a short nature walk with a herd of reindeer running wild around you; it’s perfectly safe but surprisingly exhilarating, and you’ll learn a lot about the domesticated cousin to Alaska’s wild caribou. Next, stop by the stunning Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It has a number of interesting exhibits, including the original bus that was used for filming Into the Wild. The museum gift shop also has a small but excellent selection of authentic Alaska Native art for sale. Then head downtown to visit The Crepery for one of Fairbanks’s best lunches.
That evening, make the 2.5-hour drive south to Denali National Park and Preserve and get settled in your hotel, cabin, or campground.
Day 4
Take either a narrated tour bus or shuttle bus ride into Denali National Park and Preserve. The difference is more than just narration; shuttle buses will stop for photo ops and to let people hop on and off, while the narrated tour buses only stop for photo ops. There are many shuttle and tour bus trips into the park every day, each of them of varying length, although the road is currently closed at Mile 43, where a slow-moving landslide has damaged the road. It’s expected to stay that way at least partway through 2026.
Still, even riding halfway in on the 92-mi (148-km) park road offers chances for spectacular wildlife sightings and stunning landscape vistas. That shorter ride also leaves you time for a short day hike before you check out nearby restaurants. You have a few dining options near the crowded park entrance, or hop in your rental car (or catch a shuttle for a nominal fee) for an excellent pub-style dinner at the 49th State Brewing Company in nearby Healy.
Day 5
Check out the park’s three visitor centers if you haven’t already. Even when visiting hours are limited or the buildings themselves are closed, some ranger-led programs remain available outdoors. It’s also good fun to visit the park’s working kennel of sled dogs (check the park website or ask at the visitor centers for open hours), or book a day tour of your choice. Options include everything from white-water rafting to horseback rides, dog-cart rides, ATV rides, and zip-lining. Then make the 2.5-hour drive south to Talkeetna.
Day 6
Once you’ve arrived in Talkeetna, it’s time to book that flightseeing trip around Denali, using one of the small airlines that also ferry climbers back and forth to Denali base camp. If you don’t like small planes you have lots of other day tour options, including a jet boat ride on the mighty rivers nearby, fishing, or zip-lining. End your day with live music at the Fairview Inn or a great dinner at Mountain High Pizza Pie.
Day 7
Hop on the Hurricane Turn train, a delightful narrated trip on one of the nation’s last flag stop trains. When you get back, make it a point to wander the shops along Main Street (they’re all locally owned) before you drive back to Fairbanks or head south to explore Southcentral Alaska.
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