Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
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VISITORS GUIDE
Floating down the Chena River By Sam Friedman
sfriedman@newsminer.com
Canoeing or kayaking through town is a popular way for locals to cool off on a hot day. The Chena River flows east to west through town before spilling into the larger, silty Tanana River south of Fairbanks. The Chena has access points at parks and riverfront bars and restaurants. Floating the Chena is a good way to see the Golden Heart City from
a different angle. For visitors who don’t have boats or transportation there’s Paddler’s Cove, a Pioneer Park business that’s been renting boats and picking up boaters downriver for the last 15 years. On a busy day, hundreds of people rent boats there, owner Larry Catkin said. The most popular float is a one to two-hour float through residential neighborhoods and a campground between the Pioneer
Park docks on Peger Road and The Pump House restaurant. The price for that float starts at $32.50 per person with a minimum of two people per boat and a discount for parties who rent multiple boats. For the more adventurous, the company does a day trip that drops off at Nordale Road in the North Pole area. The return float to Pioneer Park takes five to eight FLOAT » 50
SUMMER
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The kennel usually is available to visit from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check with a ranger about visiting times. Rangers use sled dogs for winter transportation as they patrol the park boundaries. For more information, check in at the park visitors center or visit www.nps.govdena/planyorvisit/kennels.htm. • Sirius Sled Dogs, located in a beautiful setting atop Murphy Dome, 25 miles northwest of Fairbanks, offers summer tours early in the day, 10 a.m.-noon, with transportation available from Pioneer Park. There are varying fees, depending on which tour you book and there is an additional $20 fee for transportation to and from the kennel. For more information, call 687-6656 or go to www.sirius sleddogs.net.
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