ARCTIC CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS

Arctic Circle Hot Springs is a rustic resort located 137 northeast of Fairbanks, along the scenic Steese Highway and Circle Hot Springs Road.

It is a long drive on a gravel road, but you will pass through pristine scenery along the Chatanika River and over 3624 ft. high Eagle Summit. Take a right at the mining village of Central and go east for 8 miles more.

CLOSED - UP FOR SALE BY OWNER

Summit Watch
The resort offers a "call-ahead summit watch" service in the winter months. You should call the lodge for current road conditions prior to departure when driving out in the winter. Their number is (907) 520-5113. The route winds through some spectacular scenery and over two impressive mountain passes.

History - with a Ghost
The hotel was built in 1930. Much of the original material for the lodge came down the Yukon river to Circle City, then overland for 60 miles by wagon to the hot springs. The hotel has always been privately owned. It is rumored to have a resident female ghost. Circle Hot Springs must chlorinate their water, due to heavy public use. 

The hot springs themselves were used by area Athabascans long before the gold rush. William Greats was the first non-Native to discover the springs (in 1893) and the springs were probably used by local miners. In 1905, Cassius Monohan homesteaded 106 acres around the springs, and sold it to Franklin Leach in 1909, who developed a resort. 

The current resort bearing the name Arctic Circle Hot Springs Resort was built in the 1930's and is currently operated by Robert "Bobby" and LaVerna Miller who bought the resort in 1980. 

The Resort is named for the large (nearly Olympic size) pool which is fed by a natural hot springs. It is very relaxing and the view is beautiful. The main resort building has several guest rooms (shared bathrooms "down the hall"), a restaurant, bar, and sitting room. It has been called "very quaint," and the accommodations are good. As well as the main lodge building, there are several cabins, which could be described as "rustic," though serviceable, and are a bit more private than the lodge.

Location:

The community is northeast of Fairbanks, and 29 miles southwest of Circle, on the Steese Highway and encompasses 53 sq. miles of land and 1 sq. mile of water. You can either drive to Circle Hot Springs, or take a airplane ride to Fort Yukon (just north of the resort) so you can say you have landed north of the Arctic Circle (most airlines will give you a certificate for it.) You can also make a day-long trip to Point Barrow and Prudhoe Bay from the resort.

The area is beautiful, and you can use Circle Hot Springs as a base camp for viewing much of eastern interior Alaska. A reasonably well-maintained, 3500-foot gravel strip is next to the resort, and if you buzz the resort, they'll come get you in their van. You will need to bring your own tie-downs, etc. No fuel is available at Circle Hot Springs, but if you want a unique Alaskan experience, 

Hop over to Circle City airport for fuel. You have to taxi through the tie down area, down the road, left at the stop sign, and into town. You fuel at the local store! You're sharing the gravel road with the local car/truck traffic, so keep your eyes open.

Report by a visitor to the Resort:
(ed. note - some information in this report may be out-of-date)

On a recent Saturday, we decided to take a short trip and drive from Fairbanks, Alaska to Central, Alaska and the resort at Arctic Circle Hot Springs. We usually take lunch or snacks and a full thermos of hot coffee. If you're going to drive a rental car out there, make sure you have a spare tire and a jack that works before you leave town! There are NO service stations between the towns of Fox and Central. This drive is great for a weekend trip or a long one day trip. It is always a good idea to take along a jacket or sweater. The weather in Central can vary from Fairbanks by several degrees. We always like to take along a camera, extra film, and binoculars, just in case any interesting wildlife jumps up in front of us. As with any outdoors jaunt around this area, it's a good idea to take bug repellent. On this drive you may see moose, fox, caribou, ptarmigan, grouse, ducks, or bears. Film, food, camping supplies, and some souvenirs are available in Central and Circle City, but cost considerably more than in Fairbanks.

The trip is about 135 miles each way (approx. 216 km), mostly on gravel road. The pavement ends about 45 miles from Fairbanks. Heading out the Steese Highway (AK 2 North) the sign says "Circle 153 miles." This refers to Circle City, which is North of Central, AK and on the Yukon River. It is not that much further up the road from Central to Circle City, and you may find it worth the drive. You can go home and tell everyone you went to the Yukon River!

Continuing on the drive from Fairbanks, when you get about eight miles from town, you will find a viewing area on the right at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. This is a good place to take a few pictures. We often see moose along this stretch of road so be sure to keep a sharp lookout. You'll also see the signs for Gold Dredge 8 and the Historic Fox Roadhouse. These are very popular tourist attractions featuring gold mining. The Roadhouse serves lunch and dinner, and the dredge is something else interesting to see and photograph.

As you drive out the Steese Highway, you will see rock piles along both sides of the road. These are the tailing piles left by the gold dredges that the miners worked all up through the beautiful Goldstream Valley. Back in the 1900's the miners, working mostly by hand and with horses and dog teams, took many millions of ounces of gold out of the ground. They were certainly a hardy bunch. When you get to Fox, you turn right -- AK 6 East -- to get to Central.

Just a few miles down the road, you'll see the Felix Pedro monument on the left. There is a nice wide place to pull off the road and get a closer look. Right across the road there is a place you can pan for gold. Might be fun to try your luck. Felix discovered gold in the Tanana Valley in 1902. This initial discovery started a gold stampede and led to the settlement of Fairbanks. We commemorate this event in Fairbanks every year with the "Golden Days" celebration.

A bit further on the road starts climbing uphill to 'Cleary Summit' and Skiland. Get the cameras out. When you get to the pullout at Skiland, you will really have a view. Skiland is a popular winter skiing area. After you drive past and start down the other side, you can see the ski trails all across the side of the hill. This is a major mineralized area being developed by numerous large mining companies which is quite a boost to the local economy.

About 28 miles from Fairbanks, you will pass the Old FE Gold Camp and the Chatanika Lodge. The Lodge serves sandwiches, hamburgers, beer, pop, etc. This is the last restaurant until you get to Central. Might want to check out the Sunday Brunch at the Gold Camp. I've heard it's pretty good. Just past this is the Poker Flat Research Range. This is a NOAA run facility, but is owned by the University. It is the only non-government owned research rocket range. Tours are given and can be arranged by calling the Geophysical Institute (907-474-7243) at the University of Alaska.

The trees along the road are rather short, which is due to the presence of permafrost underground. The ground is frozen a short distance down so the trees cannot put out deep roots, and therefore don't grow very tall. If you look in the little ponds along the road, you are very likely to see various ducks. In late September they may already be gone.

About 42 miles out is the Upper Chatanika State Recreation Area. This is a really nice place to camp, fish, hike, etc. The road follows the Chatanika River and if you watch through the trees you may see people canoeing or kayaking. If you are interested in something like this, the Wood Center Student Activities Office (907-474-5862) at the University of Alaska and numerous local rental agencies rent canoes and other equipment. There is another camp ground about 60 miles out, the Cripple Creek State campground, and at about 80 miles is the Montana Creek Station, State campground. Keep in mind, you have to take your own water, there isn't any drinking water available at these campsites. There is a natural springs with a pipe outflow at a road turnout at about 80 miles out where you can fill your water bottles. Water is very cold and wonderful.

At about 82 miles out, the road starts climbing uphill again. You drive up to a peak called Twelve Mile summit. What a view! There will probably be snow on the peaks surrounding you, and might even be snow on the summit. Twelve Mile Summit is above the tree line so the scenery has changed quite a bit since leaving Fairbanks.

Down in the valleys at about 99 miles from Fairbanks you will see active mining operations off the right side. Just past these the road climbs again to Eagle Summit. During the summer solstice this is a very popular viewing area to watch the sun track across the northern sky without setting. A few years ago on one of our drives we spotted a wolverine crossing the road close to the summit. We felt quite lucky as these animals are very reclusive and seldom seen.

Central, Alaska is approximately 126 miles from Fairbanks. They have two restaurants, a museum, a post office, service stations, a landing strip for small planes, and lodging. Keep in mind that everything will probably cost a bit more than what you may pay in Fairbanks. At the crossroads at "Crabb's Corner" (owned by Jim and Sandy Crabb) restaurant/bar, you turn right to go to Arctic Circle Hot Springs, or go straight to get to Circle City.

The Hot Springs is 8 miles from Central. There is a very large swimming pool filled with warm natural springs water, and there is a Jacuzzi in the lodge for guests. They usually serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, but check at the desk for the times. There is a bar, but it isn't open very much. Lodging is available but you have to call ahead for reservations. Rooms in the lodge are very pleasantly decorated and run about $75.00 to $80.00 for a double. They also have some small cabins that will sleep 6, but you might want to know these people pretty well beforehand. Cabins are $110.00 night with cooking. This includes 2 people, each additional person is $15.00. They also have hostel rooms upstairs in the lodge that are $20.00 for the first person and $15.00 for each additional person. (phone: 907-520-5113)

The Hot Springs area is a scenic, quiet, relaxing place, lots of room to take a walk, or hike over the hills, or just sit around the pool

Enjoy the trip!

(ed. note - some information in this report may be out-of-date)

And in fact, we got an update in late August 2002. According to our correspondent:

"Circle Hot Springs Resort is no longer being managed by Susan Knapman and instead is being run by the owners, Bobby & Laverna Miller.  They serve 3 great meals a day and the overall business is much improved after several years of poor management.  Folks still need to call ahead for reservations just to make sure there is an opening, but they never have to worry about getting a meal anymore! "

Other Activities
In addition to relaxing in the hot springs, you can go on a boat ride or pan for gold. The area has good hiking, skiing and snowmobiling trails as well (bring your own equipment). But if you pan for gold in this largest gold mining district in Alaska (Circle Mining District), the hotel will give you bottles to carry your nuggets (or flakes) home in. You can also get a tour of a working gold mine.

Swimming - of Course!
As for the hot springs, the Olympic-sized pool is fed by a natural constant flow of hot water from the springs were the temperature is 139 degrees. The natural flow provides a complete turnover of water every 18 hours. There are on-site massage therapists available, along with additional services and a new exercise facility adjacent to the pool.

A day-use permit costs $5, and the pool is open from 8 a.m. until midnight. Call (907) 520-5113 for more information.

Special Note about Circle:
Do not confuse the resort with the town of Circle, on the Yukon River, which is a 34 mile drive over rough roads from Central. Circle, founded in 1893, was the largest gold mining town on the river, at least until gold was discovered in Dawson City. Over 1,000 people lived in the town, which was named in the mistaken belief that it was located on the Arctic Circle, which was really 40 miles to the north. (If you want to visit the Arctic Circle while you are in Fairbanks, well that is a different trip altogether!)

Early Circle even had an opera house! Today, Circle supports a population of about 80 and boasts a grocery store, two gas stations, motel and trading post, post office, cafe, campground, boat launch and general store. Circle is a starting point for travel on the Yukon River. Circle City Charters offers river transportation and tours in a covered and heated aluminum inboard jet boat. Visitors can travel upriver from Circle to the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.

Contact Information:

Their phone number is 907-520-5113.

Back to Top