Alaska Hot Springs Guide 2026 — Chena, Manley, and the Wild Ones

The northern lights came on at 1 AM and we were the only people in the rock pool at Chena. Steam coming off the surface, sky doing its thing, –12°F air on our faces. That's the soak you're paying for in Alaska. The trick is finding the right hot spring for what you actually want, because they range from drive-up resorts to bushwhack-and-pray.

Six options, sorted from easiest to hardest.

1. Chena Hot Springs (the easy answer)

60 miles east of Fairbanks on a paved road. The most-visited hot springs in Alaska, and for good reason — the natural rock pool is large, hot (105°F average), and surrounded by spruce forest with a north-facing view that lines up perfectly with the aurora oval. There's a resort with cabins, a restaurant, an ice museum, and dog kennels. It's the closest thing Alaska has to a polished hot spring resort.

• Day-use access: $20 adult, $10 child. Includes pool, indoor pools, and locker.
• Cabin rates: $239-$329/night summer, $279-$399/night winter
• Drive from Fairbanks: 1.5 hours each way
• Best time to go: Winter, 11 PM to 2 AM. Aurora visibility is highest then, the day-trippers from Fairbanks have left, and it's the most surreal hour.
• Heads up: Get there before the tour buses arrive (typically 7 PM for the aurora-watching crowd). The pool can hold 50+ people but it's nicer at 8.

The "ice museum" is honestly worth the side trip — ice sculptures kept at a constant 25°F year-round, and they serve appletinis in glasses carved from ice. Cheesy in concept, surprisingly good in execution.

2. Manley Hot Springs (the local favorite)

145 miles west of Fairbanks at the end of the Elliott Highway. Tiny town (population ~70), three private wooden tubs in a greenhouse, run by the owners on a reservation basis. The vibe is opposite of Chena: no resort, no crowds, often you're the only people in the building.

• Reservation: Required, $15/person/hour. Call the Manley Roadhouse to book.
• Tubs: Three concrete tubs in a greenhouse with grapevines overhead (yes, in interior Alaska — the springs heat the building enough to grow grapes year-round).
• Drive from Fairbanks: 3 hours each way on partially-gravel road. Fine in summer, sketchy in winter.
• Where to stay: Manley Roadhouse — the only lodging in town. Old building, lots of character, $130/night.
• Best time: Summer or shoulder season. Winter access is harder and the road is rough.

The drive itself is part of the experience — you cross the Tanana River on a small ferry (free, 5-min ride) and pass through landscape most travelers never see. Bring a sandwich for lunch; the only restaurant is the Roadhouse and they keep limited hours.

3. Tolovana Hot Springs (the cabin trip)

11 miles in via trail or snowmachine from the Elliott Highway, north of Fairbanks. Three primitive cabins ($105-$140/night) and a small wooden tub overlooking the Tanana Valley. You earn this one — there's no road to the springs, just a trail you ski, hike, or snowmachine in on.

• Access: Reserve cabin via tolovana.com. Then either ski/walk in (3-5 hours), snowmachine in (1 hour), or charter a small plane in (~$300/person).
• Tubs: One outdoor wooden tub, kept at 100-105°F by the natural spring flow.
• Stay: Required — there's no day-use. 1-night minimum, 2-night recommended.
• Best time: Late February through early April for the perfect combo of long enough days and aurora season.
• Heads up: Subzero temps, no cell service, no running water in cabins. This is real Alaska wilderness with a hot spring at the end of it.

The reward is real: a wooden tub on a hillside above 50 miles of empty taiga, the closest other humans 20+ miles away, and you've earned the soak in a way you don't from a resort.

4. Pilgrim Hot Springs (the historic ruin)

60 miles north of Nome on the Seward Peninsula. A former Catholic mission/orphanage from the 1900s, now mostly abandoned, with a hot spring and an outdoor wooden tub that locals maintain.

• Access: Drive a partially-graded gravel road from Nome (2-3 hours). Permission required from the current land trust — call ahead.
• Tubs: One outdoor wooden tub fed by the spring, plus the natural spring source.
• Cost: Free, but only because you've already paid $400+ to fly to Nome.
• Best time: Summer only. The road is impassable most of the winter.

Best paired with a Nome visit (Iditarod finish line in March, or wildflower hiking in June). Not a destination in itself unless you have a reason to be on the Seward Peninsula.

5. Goddard Hot Springs (the boat-only soak)

Sixteen miles south of Sitka on Hot Springs Bay, accessible only by boat. Three small cabins (free, first-come-first-served) and a tubhouse with two redwood tubs continuously filled by the natural spring. The best free hot spring in the state.

• Access: Charter boat or your own boat from Sitka. Roughly 1 hour each way. Charter cost: $300-$500 round-trip.
• Tubs: Two redwood tubs in a small wooden cabin.
• Stay: First-come on cabins. In summer, weekends are claimed.
• Best time: Late May through early September.
• Heads up: No road access, no cell, the cabin is heated by woodstove only. Bring everything.

The walk from the dock to the tubhouse is on a wooden boardwalk through old-growth Sitka spruce — that walk alone makes the trip worthwhile.

6. Serpentine Hot Springs (the ultimate)

Inside Bering Land Bridge National Preserve on the Seward Peninsula. The most remote hot spring in Alaska you can realistically visit, in country that 99% of travelers never reach.

• Access: Charter flight from Nome (~$700/person round-trip, 90-min flight each way).
• Lodging: Free first-come bunkhouse at the springs. 12 bunks, no reservations.
• Tubs: Series of natural rock pools below a small bathhouse. Water is too hot in some places, perfect in others — you find your spot.
• Best time: Summer (June-August). The bushwhack hike from the airstrip is short.
• Heads up: This is the actual remote one. No services, no cell, weather can ground you for days. Plan flexible flights.

If you've done Chena and want to know what real Alaska soaking looks like, Serpentine is the answer. Most who go once go back.

Tier list

Must-do: - Chena if you have a Fairbanks visit - Manley if you have an extra day from Fairbanks

Worth the effort: - Tolovana if you want a winter cabin trip - Goddard if you're already in Sitka

Adventure tier: - Pilgrim if you're in Nome anyway - Serpentine if you want bragging rights

What to pack for any of them

• Quick-dry towel. Cotton freezes solid in winter air.
• Wool socks to wear from the cabin to the tub. Bare feet on cold wood = surprise pain.
• Sandals that you don't mind getting wet, for walking between tubs.
• A hat. Counterintuitive but you lose heat through your head while your body's submerged.
• Wide-mouth water bottle for the soak. You'll drink more than you expect.
• No glass containers — tubs always have a no-glass rule, and broken glass in a hot spring is a nightmare.

The right combination

For a first Alaska trip with a hot springs angle, do Chena (one night) + Manley (one night) as a back-to-back from Fairbanks. That gives you the resort experience and the local-favorite experience in 48 hours, both well-paved (Chena) or bearable (Manley). Skip the bush-plane springs unless you've already done the easier ones and want more.

The soak is always better when you've earned it. Even a little.