Escapees Midnight Sun Hangout

Escapees Midnight Sun Hangout is coming to Fairbanks/Chena River KOA in North Pole, AK!

Revel in the "midnight sun"!

Fairbanks, Alaska, located at 65 degrees north latitude, is home to the famed “midnight sun” with twilight illuminating the very brief summer night. During the seven-day Midnight Sun Hangout, hosted by Lisa and Jason Reich, SKP# 118627 and co-hosted by Joann and Charlie Kavanagh SKP# 132374, you’ll get to experience the summer solstice–the longest day of the year, when the sun dips barely below the horizon for just over an hour–in Alaska’s northernmost major city.

Your Hangout experience will begin with a visit to the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North. Here, you’ll discover fascinating stories about Alaska’s people, places, cultural traditions, and wildlife in the museum’s award-winning exhibit galleries – your best introduction to this vast and diverse state.

Your three-hour cruise on the Chena River aboard the Riverboat Discovery will take you into the heart of the Last Frontier. During this tour, you’ll learn the vital role of bush pilots and planes in Alaskan transportation, see the champion sled dogs of four-time Iditarod winner Susan Butcher in action, be immersed in the Athabascan Indian culture as a Native Alaskan guide takes you through a Chena Indian Village, and more.

You’ll spend a relaxing day at the Chena Hot Springs Resort, where an indoor pool and outdoor wading lake are fed by hot mineral spring water. In addition to the hot springs, your package includes a guided tour of the Aurora Ice Museum–an indoor museum fashioned from 1,000 tons of ice–and a Geothermal Renewable Energy Tour. Other activities like massages, ATV tours, horseback riding, and dog sled mushing are available at an additional cost.

Interior Alaskans regard the 23+ hours of daylight during the summer solstice as their reward for living through another long, dark winter. You’ll join in the celebration at the Midnight Sun Festival, a 12-hour block party/street fair packed with live music, performances, and hundreds of booths selling food, crafts, and handmade souvenirs.

You’ll also get to attend the world-famous Midnight Sun Baseball Game, a 118-year-old tradition–played entirely without artificial light–with the first pitch at 10:00 pm. On another night, you’ll have the chance to run or walk in the Midnight Sun Run 10K, also starting at 10:00 pm.

On your last night of the Hangout, you’ll enjoy a longstanding Fairbanks tradition, the Alaska Salmon Bake in Pioneer Park. And after dinner, you’ll be entertained by the Palace Theatre’s Golden Heart Review, a hilarious musical comedy that  will give you the historical highlights of Fairbanks through songs and stories.

All of these activities, plus a naturalist-led hike on the Creamer’s Field Trail, a visit to North Pole’s Santa Claus House, a stroll on the Chena Riverwalk, potluck meals in camp, and much more await you at the Midnight Sun Hangout!