2 Best Hotels in Chena Hot Springs, Fairbanks, the Yukon, and the Interior

Soaking in the hot springs of this one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly resort has long been a popular experience for tourists and locals, especially in winter, when a soak is often paired with overhead aurora sightings. Chena's waters are served up in hot tubs, an indoor swimming pool, and an outdoor natural-rock lake. In winter you can go dogsledding, skiing, snowmobiling on quite electric machines, and take a 4½-mile round-trip snow-coach tour to a heated hilltop yurt with 360-degree views. Summer activities include dog-cart rides, guided ATV tours, and horseback riding. Don't miss the charmingly unfinished ice museum, complete with an ice bar that serves appletinis from hand-carved ice glasses, ice bedrooms, and ice sculptures by world-class carvers. In addition to the multiple lodge buildings, the resort offers camping sites and accommodations inside yurts. Eventual plans call for the introduction of overnight stays in repurposed Alaska Railroad train cars. 

Usually reserved by locals and adventurers with extensive backcountry experience, these Alaska State Parks cabins have woodstoves, bunks, and tools for cutting wood; you have to supply everything else—food, bedding, water, cooking utensils, and, at some, firewood. This is basic Alaskan shelter, but it can't be beat for leaving the real world behind.