Bettles Aurora

2025 Iditarod Race Start and Northern Lights Tour .

This tour combines our very popular 6 Day Race Start guided tour with a 5 day tour self-guided tour to Fairbans and the Chena Hot Springs Resort. The aurora borealis has fascinated man for centuries and is truly a natural wonder no one should miss. Bands of green, red, purple and white streaking across the sky are symbolic of winter nights in the arctic. This tour takes you to one of the best places in Alaska for viewing the aurora: Chena Hot Springs Resort . Chena Hot Springs is a rustic resort nestled in the Chena Hills and has a wonderful outdoor pool that is perfect for watching the aurora streak across the sky. Sixty miles away from Fairbanks, the resort is beyond the interference of the city's lights and even has heated viewing huts on a remote mountain to further enhance the viewing pleasure. Staying at the resort for 3 nights gives you the best chance of seeing the aurora. Optional activities such as dogmushing, snowmobiling, skiing, hiking and snowshoeing make it the perfect place for a winter getaway.

11 Day Race Start and Chena Hot Springs Tour Highlights

  • Learn about dog mushing and ride the runners on a 6 mile trail at the Alaska Mushing School
  • Attend the ceremonial Iditarod Race Start in Anchorage
  • Attend the Iditarod Race restart in Willow
  • Attend the Mushers Meet and Greet followed by the Mushers Banquet
  • Visit to the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla
  • Visit to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art
  • Informative guided tour of Anchorage
  • Attend the Iditarod Race restart in Willow
  • Fly out to either the Rainy Pass or Finger Lake Checkpoint
  • 3 night stay at Chena Hot Springs, one of Alaska's premier locations for Aurora displays
  • Tour of the Ice Museum at CHSR
  • Snowcat ride to a remote aurora viewing hut in the Chena Hills
  • Informative geothermal energy tour and Aurora Ice Museum Tour
  • Attend the World Championship Ice Art Comprtiton in Fairbanks
  • Three days to relax and soak in the hot springs lake

Cost and Details

Feb. 26 - March 8, 2025. $6000 pp. shared accommodation, single supplement $1250. Price includes all local taxes.

Tour cost Includes

  • Lodging at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel, Chena Hot Springs and Pikes Resort in Fairbanks
  • Dog Mushing at the Alaska School of Mushing kennel
  • Meals as indicated on the itinerary
  • Musher's Banquet tickets
  • Transportation and admission to all activities and events listed
  • Flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks
  • Ground Transportation between Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs

 

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