Fairbanks serves as interior Alaska’s hub, gateway, supply centre, and de facto capital. But despite being the state’s second largest city, Fairbanks has a population of only 30,000. Fairbanks hosts the region’s main university, major shopping centres, big festivals, and lion’s share of cultural institutions.

The coolest spot downtown is the Fairbanks Ice Museum, which centres on a -7^o C exhibition space filled with creative ice sculptures. Venture inside or admire pieces form the heated viewing area. Every March, the city hosts the World Ice Art Championships, during which sculptors from around the globe fashion bots realistic and abstract pieces, some more tan 6 metres tall.

In the midst of Fairbanks, flanked by subdivisions and malls, sprawls an almost 648 ha oasis called Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. During the spring and fall migrations, ducks, geese, and swans rest and eat here before continuing their long flights.