Even if your friends and family will only brave the summers, don’t pass up the opportunity to show them once and for all what Alaska’s most extreme winter conditions are like — even for just a minute — at Denali’s own Alaska at 40 below simulator, Arctic Blast.  Guide your parka-wrapped guests (they supply the parkas) into the chamber that’s kept at 40 degrees below zero. (If they need a buffer, you can get acclimated at 20 degrees before plunging into 40 below.) While there, find out what happens to antifreeze and whether soap bubbles survive at sub-zero temperatures. Even without the excuse of showing off the conditions we affectionately refer to as extreme, the experience is worth a step back (or forward) into the winter season we hold close to our thermal-protected hearts.

“Activity of the Week” is a weekly blog series that profiles adventures, destinations and tour operators from across Alaska.

Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge

Be sure and pack:

• Fishing gear – if you plan on fishing with a guide, they will supply the gear but if you already know the ropes, don’t forget to pack your pole, tackle, waders, fishing license and of course a big ice chest. Red and king salmon are running right now in the Russian and Kenai rivers and when fall hits, get ready to fish for some silver salmon.
• Rain gear – the weather on the Kenai Peninsula can be a little rainy from time to time so if you pack raingear, it’s guaranteed not to rain (or so the saying goes).

Plan ahead for:

• Traffic – it’s no secret that the area near Cooper Landing has some of the best fishing around so if you’re driving on a weekend, be prepared to share the road with fellow travelers. Luckily, Cooper Landing is just a short two-hour drive from Anchorage and has plenty of pull-offs to stop and enjoy the scenery.
• Reservations – if you’re going to book a fishing charter or rafting trip at the tour desk at this time of year, plan ahead to be sure you get a reservation during peak times.

Mount McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge

Be sure and pack:

• Binoculars – whether you take a flightseeing trip, go on a hike, experience a jet boat ride or take off on an ATV adventure, the views are astounding.
• Your appetite – if you come to Talkeetna, the list of must-try eateries is long. Between the restaurants at the Princess Lodge, the bake shops, pizza joints and a brewery in town, it’s a good thing there are opportunities to walk it off.

Plan ahead for:

• Weather – if you plan on going flightseeing, give yourself an extra day in case weather prevents the trip. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.
• Time to relax – with the Great One right outside the windows, take a seat once in awhile and just relax. Schedule some time to sit in the Great Room, featuring cozy sitting areas, tables and enormous floor-to-ceiling windows.

Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge

Be sure and pack:

• Camera – it sound obvious, but when a brown bear or bull moose crosses your path, you don’t want to be kicking yourself for forgetting the camera at home.
• Good walking/hiking shoes – I’m not suggesting you climb Mount McKinley, but when you’re staying at a location just one mile from the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve, your feet will want to explore the grounds (or shop along the promenade).

Plan ahead for:

• Taking the train – we Alaskans are reliant upon our cars (they didn’t invent auto-start for nothing!), but once in awhile, it’s nice to sit back and enjoy the ride. Princess Rail Tours combine the thrill of traveling the Alaska Railroad with one or more nights at either the Denali or Mt. McKinley Princess lodges.
• A trip into the park – at the tour desk, ask about the Tundra Wilderness Tour or Natural History Tour to travel into the park for opportunities to spot wildlife. A long bus trip may sound daunting, but well worth the journey.

Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge

Be sure and pack:

• Sunglasses – with upwards of 20 hours of daylight in the summer, Fairbanks makes you want to stay up and play long into the nighttime hours. The Midnight Sun Dinner and Float trip combines dinner with a late-night float trip down the Chena River.
• Gold mining spirit – with a rich mining history, Fairbanks is packed with opportunities to roll up the sleeves and explore. From the El Dorado Gold Mine Tour to a visit to the Museum of the North, it’s easy to embrace yourself in all that glitters.

Plan ahead for:

• Special events – there is no shortage of things to do and see in Fairbanks, and many weekends are packed with special events like the Tanana Valley State Fair (Aug 6-14).
• A return trip this winter – the only one of Princess’ lodges open all year round, the Fairbanks Princess is available to serve your lodging needs whether you’re coming to enjoy the midnight sun or the northern lights.

Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge

Be sure and pack:

• An extra large cooler – located at the confluence of the Copper and Klutina rivers, this area is prime for some of the best fishing in the state, only not as many people know about it so there will be plenty of elbow room.
• Road map – if you haven’t been to this area of the state before, there is more to do and see then you might think. Take advantage of the close proximity to Valdez, the Mat-Su Valley and Copper Center regions.

Plan ahead for:

• A trip to McCarthy and Kennicott – one of the most treasured adventures in Alaska, this trip will reveal a location that sprang from the wilderness to support the nearby copper and gold mines. You can book a day trip by air or combine a fly/drive adventure from the Tour Desk.
• Driving time – depending on where you’re coming from, this lodge is a true wilderness escape. It’s located at milepost 102 of the Richardson Highway, approximately two hours north of Valdez and five hours east of Anchorage.

My favorite Alaska meals always begin with a starter of salmon cakes; pan-seared and served with a citrus mustard sauce.  Follow this with a lighter course, like the grilled Caesar salad or the seafood salad blended with crab and shrimp. If you’re a glutton for seafood, the Wild Alaskan Salmon Chowder is a house favorite with chunks of salmon smoked over hardwood in traditional Northwest style. For the main course, the reindeer lasagna is a salivating twist on the traditional dish, packed with Alaska reindeer sausage, ricotta and mozzarella cheese. For the perfect endnote to a melody of wild seafood and fresh game, try the berry desserts such as locally made blueberry ice cream or the wild berry pie in a flaky crust. While the name and décor put you in the mindset of summiting Alaska’s Great One, after a meal of this caliber you’ll be glad you’re only steps away from your bed.

Fairgoers can enjoy the Antique Tractor Pull Demonstration featuring classic tractors, many over 100 years old; the Backhoe Rodeo that pits highly skilled backhoe drivers against one another in a competition of complicated driving maneuvers; or join in traditional games such as the pie-eating contest and the moose and hog calling competitions. Some of the oldest ongoing competitions that date back to at least 1926 include the Baby Show, the Farm and Garden Display, Most Attractively Decorated Advertising Booth and of course, the biggest cabbage.

Creating “pun” themes for the fair is also a popular tradition, beginning with 1982’s “Fun for You in ‘82” theme and continuing to more recent years, such as “Lettuce Entertain Ewe” in 1990. The 2010 fair, “Barn in the USA” takes place August 6-14.

If you go:

Be sure to take advantage of special rates available all summer at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. Tickets for the fair and a schedule of events is available online here.

“Activity of the Week” is a weekly blog series that profiles adventures, destinations and tour operators from across Alaska.

But Fairbanks was an energetic town long before Alaska was even a state, beginning back in 1902 when gold was discovered here. The city’s most famous dredge, Gold Dredge No. 8 — still the most viewed in the state — recovered more than 7 million ounces of gold from 1928-1959. The construction of the Alaska Railroad, the Alaska Highway and the trans-Alaska oil pipeline all contributed to the growth of Fairbanks. It was even home to the original campus of University of Alaska, incorporated in 1917. More than 100 years after its inception, Fairbanks is a boomtown of oil, gas, gold and coal mining, a flourishing university and of course: tourism. The original inhabitants of Fairbanks were swept up by gold fever but we’re glad they stuck around to plow some trails, navigate some rivers and build some fantastic properties for those who followed to stay and explore.

All of these experiences can be booked at the Tour Desk of the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.

“Community Profile” is a blog series that provides a closer look at the towns, history and events near Princess lodges in Alaska.

Mushing Terminology

Mush = In the beginning days of mushing, the dog commands were brought over to America from Siberia and they adopted the strong command of MUSH to tell the dogs to go. Today, the drivers are referred to as mushers, but the term more commonly used for “GO” is HIKE. Or a simple “let’s go!” will usually get the frenzied pups into gear.

Gee = Right

Haw = Left

Whoa = stop

Line out = command to lead dog to pull the team out straight from the sled. Used mostly while hooking dogs into the team or unhooking them.

Trail! = a friendly request for right of way on the trail

*If a moose happens to land in the trail or a lead dog gets distracted and the team is tangled, I’m told various other colorful expressions are used. We won’t list them here.

All of this information will come in handy when you experience the strength and enthusiasm of the dogs for yourself on the Sled Dog Demonstration and Ride. The tour aboard a wheeled cart used by mushers to exercise their dogs in the summer takes off right from the entrance of the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. The cart seats four and is a great experience for kids as well as adults. You’ll also learn the ropes of training and caring for the dogs — keeping them in sublime shape in the summer and warm and healthy in the winter.

“Activity of the Week” is a weekly blog series that profiles adventures, destinations and tour operators from across Alaska.

The ranger program is free to guests and offers the chance to get insider knowledge and guidance to explore Denali State Park. Now through the end of the season (Sept. 15 for the McKinley lodge), guests can participate in a series of ranger-led walks and presentations held daily. Topics range from the lifecycle of salmon to the history and culture of Alaska to information on climbing Mount McKinley. The ranger desk, located in the lobby, lists a schedule of walks and presentations for the following day and also contains brochures, animal furs, maps, park data and other items of interest. The ranger-led walks take groups down the lodge trail to a sequence of scenic lookouts, with views of the Alaska Range, Mount McKinley and the Chulitna River. Rangers will provide information about the history, flora and fauna, including some of the 131 birds that have been identified in this area. Both the walks and presentations are offered multiple times per day and generally last from 30-45 minutes. Topics vary by day so if you’re checking in for the weekend, catch more than one.

The four-hour trail ride departing from the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge allows you to saddle up and explore the outback of Cooper Landing without the roar of an engine or smudgy window. Along with the scenery, the area is prime for wildlife viewing. Some people suspect that traveling by way of a four-legged friend makes animals more inclined to come a bit closer.  But even if you don’t have any luck spotting other animals, the experience leaves you feeling a bit closer to wildlife, and a bit friendlier to the environment. After all, your carbon footprint is only as large as the horse you rode in on.

If you go:

You can book this adventure from the Tour Desk and the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. The Cooper Landing Trail Ride is a four-hour adventure available to guests over 12 years of age. The cost of this tour is $234 per person.

“Activity of the Week” is a weekly blog series that profiles adventures, destinations and tour operators from across Alaska.

Copper Center sprang up as one of the first tent cities during the god rush by miners seeking a shortcut to the Klondike. Then came Ringwald Blix, coined the “Grand Poobah” of Copper Center. In 1896, he built a roadhouse, was named U.S. Commissioner, postmaster, notary public, hotel proprietor, farmer and miner.  Soon after the turn of the century, Copper Center became a major military telecommunications route between Valdez and Fairbanks. Many historic buildings still remain, including the Copper Center Lodge (in the location of Ringwald’s original roadhouse), The Chapel on the Hill and the Copper Valley Historical Society Museum.

Copper Center may have been established as a valuable transportation route, but today this area has earned its reputation as a destination in itself. With the confluence of the Copper and Klutina rivers, fishing is superb, and a lesser-known hot spot than other areas of the state. Whitewater rafting offers viewing stops and an interpretation of the geological history, early US Army exploration and the gold rush history of the region. It’s also the perfect base camp for adventures into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Whether you choose to fly or drive into the park, you will fall in love with the quaint town of Wrangell and the abandoned Kennicott copper mines, their bright red structures jetting out from the mountainside.

All of these experiences can be booked at the Tour Desk at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge.

“Community Profile” is a blog series that provides a closer look at the towns, history and events near Princess lodges in Alaska.

The Arctic Circle Air Adventure departs from Fairbanks heading north above the heartland — over the mighty Yukon River, home to Native villages and above Brooks Range where herds of caribou graze on the tundra. The flight traverses gold-mining fields that brought so many people to this land in the first place and continue to operate nearly 100 years later. The stark metal of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline sparkles in the sunlight, clearly amiss in the green and brown landscape, yet striking in its construction; an icon of the fascinating history of Alaska’s Arctic region.

Soon after passing just south of the Gates of the Arctic National Park, the plane crosses the Arctic Circle and makes a ceremonious landing at a wilderness community on the Middle Fork Koyukuk River. You’ll walk away with a large collection of digital photos and an official Arctic Circle certificate, a testament to your adventure to a land where few have traveled.

If you go: You can book this adventure at the Tour Desk of the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge. The Arctic Circle Air Adventure is just under five hours and requires a moderate level of activity. Children are welcome, but those under five must be accompanied by a car seat. Prices start at $375 per person.

“Activity of the Week” is a weekly blog series that profiles adventures, destinations and tour operators from across Alaska.