Trip Highlights:

This trip is designed to give you a taste of the magic of winter camping and dog mushing.  If you only have a few days, this is the best way to experience dog sledding, winter camping, snowshoeing, ice fishing, and our Tanana River homestead.  This trip is run out of our homestead and on trails where we seldom see any other humans.  Comfortable winter camping is a great way to see the northern lights!

Itinerary:

Day 1: We will arrange to have you picked up from Fairbanks lodging and driven south on the Parks Highway to the trailhead, about 40 minutes away.  Here' you’ll meet one of us with a thermos of tea or cocoa for the snowmachine journey into our homestead. After a journey through woods and lakes you’ll arrive at our homestead where a warm lunch and cabin awaits. Over lunch we’ll cover mushing basics and introducing you to our safe and fun "tag sled" set up (two sleds are connected by flexible plastic, one person sits in the front sled, driven by the guide, and the other person rides standing on the back sled, learning to steer their own sled). After double checking your warm clothes, we will hit the trail for a scenic dogsled trip of 1-3 hours, depending on conditions and your desires. The rest of the day is spent getting settled into our private Sunlodge Cabin, learning to snowshoe along the sunny bluff, covering winter travel basics and relaxing by the woodstove.  We will share a delicious candlelit dinner in our kitchen tent and get a good night's sleep or stay up watching for the aurora borealis.

Day 2: The next morning we’ll enjoy a substantial breakfast and morning activity. Depending on the temperature we’ll either eat a hot lunch in the cabin or pack you one for the trail. Either way, there is no rush and we aim to hit the trail in the early afternoon. We’ll travel first on established river trails, then branch out into the woods to travel through scenic bog and lake country.  We will spend 3-5 hours on the trail this first day, stopping for snacks and to rest the dogs and take pictures and arrive to find cozy campsite all ready to go.  Once we enjoy a hot drink and a rest from the day's travel, we invite you to take part in gathering firewood,  spruce boughs, and ice- all the ingredients of a comfortable campsite.  As the sky grows dark we will settle in for the night, drying our clothing out and cooking dinner over the woodstove.  We’ll spend a cozy night all together in the wall tent, listening for wolves and coyotes and hopefully some nice northern lights.  The dogs will sleep on their beds right outside the tent and will likely treat us to a howl of their own.  You will sleep on cots on top of caribou hide sleeping mats and in extremely warm -40 down sleeping bags.  The tent is shared with the guides for this night, which means we will tend the fire and be available to help.

Day 3: We will wake up to the sound of a crackling spruce fire hearing our morning brews.  Mornings consist of a leisurely breakfast, tending to the dogs, and letting the world outside warm up.  Today a different stretch of trail awaits us.  We will head first towards a ridge and follow a small creek as it winds along rocky bluffs and empties into the Tanana River.  Once on the main river, we will cruise another 15 miles or so, stopping for lunch and rest breaks.  The trail is generally well-established and interesting, in 2015 and 2017 this trail was used by the iditarod sled dog race.  We will take the river and its sloughs all the way back home, some 18 miles total to our homestead where a warm cabin awaits.  We can celebrate an adventurous night on the trail with a pleasant fire in the front yard and enjoy the comforts of a homestead.

Day 4: Today you can choose from a variety of morning activities- snowshoeing to the amphitheater bluffs for a view of Denali and the Alaska Range, working on small craft projects in the kitchen tent, checking on the ice fishing lines, or simply relaxing with a book or a sled dog to cuddle.  We will provide hot breakfast and lunch and in the early afternoon we will load up the dog sleds once more for the trip back to the truck. We will have you back in Fairbanks in time for dinner and a shower.

Alternatives- We can add an additional night of camping to this trip, this allows us to explore tributaries of the Tanana and spend more time on the trail (ask for updated quote).  This trip can also be run as a cross-country ski trip. 

Reserve your Adventure! The first step is to e-mail us at alaskahomesteadadventures@gmail.com.  Once you have confirmed with us that this is a good fit for your party and picked out dates, you can use the Paypal button below to complete your reservation by paying a $500 down payment.  This is fully refundable (minus $100 booking fee) if you cancel at least four months before your trip's start date. You can pay the remainder with cash or check at the conclusion of your tour. 

Just click the "buy now" button and pay using paypal.

Accommodations:

Where you sleep is part of the experience! When at the homestead, guests stay in our traditional sod-roof “Sun Lodge” cabin, and dine in David and Jenna’s cabin. When on the trail, guests sleep and eat in hand-sewn canvas wall tents. The cabin is a few minutes walk from other dwellings to preserve a senses of solitude. To learn how we built the cabins, see our blog. Our guest cabins are rustic but elegant and clean. Staying in one is a real Alaskan experience!  Here are some details to help you understand how they work:  

• Water- We get water from the Tanana River by chopping a water hole through the ice and then carrying the water up the hill.  For our guests, we filter all of the drinking water.  We will have a jug of cold drinking water available and there will always be a kettle and a big pot of hot water on the woodstove for hot drinks and washing. 

• Heat- Our cabins are heated by wood.  We’ll teach you how to make good fires and supply ample kindling and firewood. We love heating with wood and think you’ll enjoy it too.

• Power- The cabins have small solar system that we use to power LED lights.  We also have an inverter that you may use to charge cell phones, cameras, etc.

• Cell service- Depending on your carrier, you may or may not get cell reception.  We have phones that work in case of emergencies and generally discourage clients from using phones too much as they can detract from the experience.

• Bathing- The cabin includes a simple sink, but no shower. We encourage sponge baths- we’ve got bowls, wash cloths, towels, and soap for you, it’s a nice thing to do by a roaring woodstove!

• Bathroom- You have a private outhouse with a great view.

• Food- We cook and serve meals to guests in David and Jenna’s cabin. Your cabin is stocked with tea, coffee, and cocoa.

Sunlodge Guest Cabin

Built in 2013, the Sun Lodge was our first real structure on the homestead and served as our home for nearly seven years! We completely re-built the Sun Lodge in 2021, making some improvements in the foundation, insulation, and giving a thorough cleaning (re-peeled all of the logs!) To learn about how the lodge was originally built, see our blog entry.

Accommodates: 2 People (1 queen bed)

Distance: 5-minute walk to David and Jenna’s cabin on a foot trail.

View: The Alaska Range’s Mt. Deborah is visible from the big window. If you go to the front yard and look downriver the view of Denali is good.

Camping Tents

Canvas wall tents are traditional for a reason- they are delightful to stay in! Light, breathable, and cozy, when heated with a wood stove they are truly enjoyable places to spend the night. We use spruce bough floors, caribou and foam sleeping pads, and -40 degree sleeping bags. We’ve spent a lot of time winter camping over the years and love sharing tricks for making it a comfortable experience.

Accommodates: 2-4 people, we have a range of sizes.

Heat Source: Wood Stove

View: Depending on where we are camped, the Alaska Range, Tanana River, Denali, and excellent chances of the aurora borealis.

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