If you are going to Fairbanks Alaska you cannot miss out on the guided reindeer walk with The Chena Outdoor Collective! Located right between Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs Resort is The Missing Moose Cafe (highly reccommed) and The Chena Outdoor Collective Yurt. I’ve been a lot of places and this is officially one of the most unique and amazing things I’ve done!
The owners of this establishment are friendly and knowledgeable and take excellent care of their reindeer. We were a group of 5 adults and we were easily able to book online, but they do have a phone number to call as well. The tour includes education on reindeer and how they came to be in Alaska as well as getting to touch and see antlers and more. It is a fascinating history lesson, our guide was extremely knowledgeable, the stories were engaging and funny, and we learned a lot.
Once you’ve learned about the reindeer you get to go meet the reindeer so you can take them on a walk! You actually get to walk the reindeer on your own with a leash, it is incredible. First, you feed them some lichen and watch them get excited about having a snack. The guide hands out leads and you begin your walk through the snowy wonderland of the Alaskan woods. It feels like you’re in a movie as you walk your own reindeer, getting to pet them and look around at the gorgeous scenery around you.
About halfway through the walk, where our guide was telling us tons of stories and letting us fire away at them with questions, you stop to take photos. There are 5 of us and 3 reindeer so we did a group picture and were offered to do individual photos too. This is part of the tour and the guide just uses your phone to take the photos for you which we really appreciated! Before resuming the walk the people who didn’t have reindeer swapped with some who did so everyone got a chance to walk them.
After you finish the walk you help put the reindeer away and the yurt has a free postcard for you with the reindeer you walked on it! Also, they sell a bunch of locally crafted goods to check out while you’re there.
For the price you pay, this experience is an incredible value. I can’t recommend it enough, I still talk about my walk with Jonesy all the time. They’re a small business so they genuinely enjoy doing this and prize their reindeer’s health and experiences above all else. You can find them to book your time here.
If you want to do a road trip around Alaska but you’re not sure where to start, reach out to me! You can get an overview of how I aim to make your trip easier and full of memories by visiting the Plans & Services page.
-Taysia