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Fairbanks -- Golden Heart of Interior Alaska

A statue of Alaska's unknown first family stands along the Chena River near the city's visitors center and old church.

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Alaska Division of Tourism

A statue of Alaska's unknown first family stands along the Chena River near the city's visitors center and old church.

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Fairbanks

A statue of Alaska's unknown first family stands along the Chena River near the city's visitors center and old church.

The Golden Heart of the Interior blends the cosmopolitan and rustic. Both nature and industry are on display here.

Bus service in Fairbanks

Fairbanks has city bus service -- the MACS, or Metropolitan Area Commuter System. It covers the Fairbanks North Star Borough, including Fairbanks International Airport, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the city of North Pole and Fort Wainwright.

Flying to and from Fairbanks

Fairbanks has jet and propeller-plane service to Anchorage and the world beyond.

Trains in Fairbanks

Fairbanks has big and little railroads.

Driving around Fairbanks

Fairbanks sits at the hub of the Interior. Highways leading to the Golden Heart City are the Richardson, Parks, Elliott and Steese highways and Chena Road. The Dalton Highway to the Arctic Coast springs off the Elliott Highway north of town.

Fairbanks sports

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Fairbanks-area fishing

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Winter fun in Fairbanks

Mining town loves its summers, makes the most of its winters

Alaska.com

Fairbanks, Alaska, is both cosmopolitan and rustic -- a perfect example of Last Frontier life in the 21st century.

Fairbanks events calendar
Fairbanks is on the move all year.

Yukon Quest, early February. Race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, starts in Fairbanks in even-numbered years, ends here in odd-numbered years.

Iron Dog snowmobile race, early February. Hard race to Nome and Wasilla.

World Ice Art Championships, early to mid-March.

Open North American Championship Sled Dog Race, mid-March.

Summer Music Festival, mid-June.

Midnight Sun Festival, mid-June close to the solstice. Includes Midnight Sun Baseball Game, 10:30 p.m.

Summer Arts Festival, mid- to late July.

Golden Days, mid-July.

Tanana Valley State Fair, early August.

Athabascan Old time Fiddling Festival, early November.

Top of the World Classic basketball tournament, mid-November.

Fairbanks' location

Fairbanks sits near the center of the state, close to the junction of the Chena and Tanana rivers. It is about 110 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Fairbanks is 357 highway miles north of Anchorage and about 120 miles north of Denali National Park.

Population

The Fairbanks North Star Borough, similar to a county, holds 82,000 residents.

Notable

Fairbanks was founded in 1902 as a trading post for gold miners developing the Interior fields. The city was a stopping place for warplanes traveling to Russian in the World War II Lend-Lease Plan. In the 1970s, Fairbanks boomed with the construction of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, which passes just to the east of town.

Popular Fairbanks-area attractions

Fairbanks and Interior Alaska put nature and industry on display. Expect to see museums, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, riverboats and, if you're lucky, Denali. The 20,320-foot peak is visible from Fairbanks on clear days. The northern lights are not visible in summer.

Fairbanks weather

The Interior Alaska climate is one of extremes. Spring arrives in April and May. Summers may be warm, with highs in the 90s. August and September can be rainy, and snow often starts falling in September. The longest day is 21 hours and 49 minutes, and the shortest is 3 hours and 42 minutes.

Fairbanks activities

Summer in Fairbanks brings midnight baseball and midnight golf, plus long days for fishing, hiking, gold panning, riverboat rides, fairs, industrial tours and train trips.

Transportation around Fairbanks

Visitors to Fairbanks get around by Alaska Railroad, highway and airplane.