Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Fairbanks International Airport serves as the gateway for supplies and travellers heading into the Brooks Range and Arctic Alaska. The airport is 6km (4mi) southwest of the city, off Airport Way. Alaska Airlines provides numerous daily flights to Anchorage, where there are connections to the rest of the state, and a direct flight from Fairbanks to Seattle. Frontier Flying Service also has flights to Anchorage, and Air North provides service to Dawson City, Yukon, with a connecting flight to Whitehorse. There's a Metropolitan Area Commuter Service (MACS) yellow-line bus that runs to and from the airport. There is no service at nights or on Sundays. Taxis run from the airport downtown. Alpenglow Shuttles provide transportation from the airport. For travel into Arctic Alaska, try one of the flying services with offices/terminals next door to each other off University Ave, on the east side of the airport. There are regularly scheduled flights to more than 30 villages, including Nome, Kotzebue, Bettles and Galena. From Fairbanks, Alaska Direct Bus Line stops at Delta Junction and Tok en route to Whitehorse. Buses travel down the Parks Hwy to Denali Park, Talkeetna and Anchorage. They also go daily to Dawson City, Yukon, via the Taylor Hwy.

The Alaska Railroad has an express train that departs Fairbanks mornings from late May to mid-September. The train reaches Denali National Park around noon and Anchorage at night. The new train station is at the south end of Danby St.

Getting around

MACS provides local bus transportation in the Fairbanks area Monday to Friday, with limited services on Saturday. Transit Park, on the corner of Cushman St and 5th Ave, is the central terminal for the system. All buses pass through here. For two or three travellers, a used-car rental is the cheapest way of getting around the city and into outlying areas such as Chena Hot Springs. What many car rental agencies won't let you do, however, is drive the rough Steese, Elliott or Dalton Hwys to visit such places as the Circle or Manley Hot Springs. If that's your destination, look around for an agency that lists 'gravel road permission'. Like so many other towns, Fairbanks is well on its way to putting together a fine network of bike routes in and around the city. Bike paths begin at 1st Ave and Cushman St and extend all the way past Pioneer Park, across the Chena River and to UAF and Parks Hwy. There are several companies that rent both road and mountain bikes.