USA/Alaska: Fairbanks – Cruising Chena River by Sternwheeler Boat

Before highways and rail, most of the travel in Alaska’s interior was by river. In Fairbanks, you can take a ride on a massive sternwheeler boat down and up the Chena River. While crowded and a classic tourist trap for mostly cruise ship people (Holland America delivers bus loads of them), it’s still a nice little adventure if the weather is good – you cruise past various log homes, Iditarod mushing dogs training center, float plane landing and taking off on the river, and spectacular scenery all around especially at the further point of the trip where the Chena River meets the Tanana River (Chena being spring fed and Tanana glacier fed – two completely different colors). The multistory sternwheeler boats are impressive too, being able to cruise in just a few feet of water depth.
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