Planning a Trip

Visitor Information -- The folks offering visitor information in Fairbanks planned a big change for the 2009 season, which means -- if all went according to plan -- the town's consolidated place for visitor information is the new Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center downtown at the corner of Wendell and Dunkel streets. (If not, the old visitor center is at 550 1st Ave.) The new center houses the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel. 800/327-5774 or 907/456-5774; fax 907/452-2867; www.explorefairbanks.com) and the Alaska Public Lands Information Center , as well as cultural and educational programs by the Tanana Chiefs Conference and Denakkanaaga, two area Native organizations (also below).

The visitors bureau maintains information kiosks in the main lobby of the center, as well as a video nook featuring films about the area and Alaska. The staff and volunteers answer questions and provide useful maps, driving tour pamphlets, and walking tour audio players, and can help you find a room with their daily vacancy listing (weekly in winter). Several computers are set up for free e-mail access or to look up travel information. Visitor bureau hours are May to mid-September daily 8am to 9pm, the rest of the year 8am to 5pm. The organization also has information desks at the airport and train depot, staffed summer only, and at Pioneer Park, closed entirely off season.

The Alaska Public Lands Information Center (tel. 907/456-0527; www.nps.gov/aplic) also has an information counter at the Morris Thompson center, as well as trip planning tables where you can spread out maps. (If the move didn't happen, they're still at 3rd and Cushman sts.) This is an indispensable stop for anyone planning to spend time in the outdoors. The staff is remarkably knowledgeable and can tell you about trips and activities based on first-hand experience. The counter is staffed in summer daily from 9am to 6pm, in winter Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

The Native-owned Morris Thompson center as a whole also will have exhibits about the state and its people, and a theater that features daily free films and naturalist programs. Tanana Chiefs Conference and Denakkanaaga hope to offer classes, workshops, and demonstrations teaching about Athabascan culture. Parking is plentiful.