Want to turn your love for fatbiking into a multi-day adventure? There are a couple of great areas near Fairbanks. Both have rustic public use cabins available for rent. (Rustic, as in no electricity or running water and heat is from firewood you collect or haul in.) You can put together all sorts of itineraries.
The trails in both areas are groomed, but they are not groomed every day or even every week, so plan accordingly for changing conditions. Almost all the trails are motorized, multi-use and do get quite a bit of snowmachine and mushing traffic, especially the closer in trails and especially during the warmer, lighter months of February and March. All that traffic helps pack the trails. But be warned, some trails, like Big Bend and Moose Creek Trail in the White Mountains, often aren’t broken in until later in the season. Make sure to check the trail reports.
White Mountains National Recreation Area
This area, just north of Fairbanks, has about a dozen cabins and shelters and miles and miles of trails that are groomed by trail crews from BLM (Bureau of Land Management). This is where the White Mountains 100 race happens each March. For the most recent trail conditions check their Facebook page or their trail conditions page.
A rider enjoys some magical winter views on Trail Creek Trail in the White Mountains National Recreation Area.
Chena River State Recreation Area
This area, just east of Fairbanks, has about a half-dozen backcountry cabins on trails groomed by State Parks trail crews. Most are motorized, multi-use, but one–the Mastodon Trail–is nonmotorized, multi-use. The Chena River to Ridge race uses several of the motorized, multi-use trails each winter. The rec area also has a few cabins that are road accessible. For the most recent trail conditions see the State Parks newsroom page.
The Mastodon Trail offers some awesome views in the Chena River State Recreation Area.