Fairbanks Snowmobile Tours: Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service in North Pole

Do you call it snow machining or snowmobiling? Which should it be, because I’ve heard both. Anyways, we went to Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service (who we’ve done ice fishing with too) and they suited us up for a freezing adventure on snowmobiles. We got some training and then hit the trails with a guide. It was actually a blast and much more fun than I expected. We got up to 50 MPH on the snow machines, cruised across frozen lakes and through the woods, and even got to stop and say hi to a moose right off the path. Snowmobile tours are awesome!

Does this sound like the sort of Alaskan winter adventure you’re interested in? Snowmobile tours with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service were a great addition to our winter trip to Fairbanks, and it may be a great fit for you too. Read on, and if you have any questions about snowmobiling with kids, exploring North Pole and Fairbanks in the winter or anything else, please leave a comment or send us a note. We’re always happy to share more if it means helping somebody plan a great Alaska trip.

Highlights of Snowmobile Tours in Fairbanks

Different activities are great for different people, and snowmobiling is one of those that holds completely different thrills for each person. For our family, half of us were just excited to be on a snowmobile exploring the backwoods of North Pole, seeing moose in the snow and enjoying the beautiful birch forests as we drove through. The other half of us was going 50 mpg and loving the thrill of blasting across the snow and ice. Snow machining/mobiling is different for everyone.

When it comes to bringing kids on the North Pole snowmobile tours, they were all up for it and had a great time. The kids both said that it felt like they were riding a motorcycle, which they’ve never done, and that they wanted to do it again. We did a two hour snowmachine tour with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service and I’m pretty sure that if an all day tour was available and our schedule allowed, the kids would’ve been fine with that. The snowmobiles have hand warmers and we were all dressed so cozy that the negative temperatures weren’t even a problem for us. This was an awesome way to get to explore the wilderness in the winter.

Book your tour: Double Snow Machine Tour — Single Snow Machine Tour

Tips for a Great Snowmobile Tour Experience

Snowmobiling is really fun and it’s not difficult to get into the swing of it. I was a little nervous at first because despite spending lots of time in the snow and living in Alaska, before we did our snow machining tour with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service I had actually never been on one. I’ve used jet skis and Sea Doos before, so I thought that maybe you have to have a bit of that skill where you can read the terrain in front of you to get on a good path, but it’s not like that at all.

Driving a snowmobile is very easy and once you understand how your machine feels as it goes through snow and existing tracks, it’s really easy. The confidence comes pretty quickly, but the crew at Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service (or wherever you’re doing a snowmachine tour) makes sure the drivers and passengers know how to be safe before getting out on the trails. For the drivers on a snowmobile tour you have to focus on driving, so you cannot take photos as you go.

If you have a passenger on the back, they can use a camera to capture the fun, but not the driver. If you see wildlife along the snowmobile route the guide will stop the tour so you can enjoy it, and at THAT point the driver can take photos. Really, snow machining is all about the fun of covering snowy ground quickly and enjoying the thrill of speed mixed with scenery.

Gear for Snow Machine Tours in Alaska

When you’re doing a snow machining tour in North Pole, or most places in Alaska you’ll be outfitted with heavy duty snow gear, from the hardcore boots to down jackets, snow bibs to extreme weather gloves. Basically, you’ll be turned into a cold-proof snowmobiling Alaskan. Wearing regular clothing or snow clothing is fine, and if you need to take off a layer or two of your own to get comfortably into the ultra-low-temp gear, that’s fine. With Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service they fully outfitted us with everything and then provided storage for our own gear that we weren’t going to be using during our snow machining tour.

Check out this great 7 Day Winter Fairbanks Itinerary

When it comes to camera gear, this is going to be different for everyone. As I said, anyone driving a snowmachine won’t be able to take photos while moving, but when you stop you’ll have the opportunity to use your phone or camera for photos and video. If you’re riding on the back during the snowmobile tour you will have the chance, so making sure that your phone or GoPro has a strap for you to secure it, and then being very careful with any larger equipment is important. Oh, and FYI, any selfies you take with your helmet on make your face look squished, red and are very unflattering, but that’s okay cuz it’s awesome.

If you’re bringing a large camera such as a DSLR or mirrorless, you’ll want to keep it secure anytime you’re moving and only bring it out if you’re fully stopped. Snowmobile tours are very safe and not too crazy, but you don’t want to destroy your camera just in case something goes wrong. Our guide with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service made sure that we had plenty of opportunities to stop and get photos and videos with the kids.

The Rod’s Alaskan Guide Snowmachine Experience

You can find snowmachine tours all around Fairbanks and Palmer in the winter months, but for our two hour snowmobile tours we went out from North Pole, just outside of Fairbanks. Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service was really great with us first-timers and our kids. We also went out with them for an ice fishing trip. I really like the company and the people who are putting together each of these experiences. They also have dogsledding tours if you’re interested in spending some time mushing and exploring the backcountry of North Pole on a dogsled. You can have a whole big winter trip with Rod’s if you want!

Things to do in Fairbanks

I feel like when people talk about visiting Alaska, Fairbanks is a last thought, but it shouldn’t be. I love this city, it’s people, it’s dogsled culture and the beautiful nature all around it. Fairbanks is THE winter destination in Alaska with ample dark sky space to watch the Northern Lights and endless outdoor opportunities, whether you’re looking for a mellow snowy escape or hardcore Alaskan adventures. In summer, Fairbanks is a great home base for visiting the Arctic Circle, Denali National Park, spending days kayaking or fishing. It’s beautiful!

Ideas for Fairbanks activities:

Where to Stay in Fairbanks, Alaska

Keep in mind when you’re planning your trip to Fairbanks that it is not a large city. It’s the second largest in Alaska, but it’s not huge. Hotel options are limited and when it comes to booking a luxury hotel stay, that’s not really a thing here. There are nice hotels and really cool lodges and vacation rentals, but white glove luxe ain’t happening. We’ve stayed in all kinds of Fairbanks accommodations, so have solid recommendations (below). I like being based downtown if we have a diverse, busy itinerary, but staying outside of town up in the hills is such a treat, it’s worth planning a night or two away from the city.

You’ll find that the cost of lodging in Fairbanks ranges wildly from season to season. In the summer, standard hotel rooms are not likely available for under $250 per night, with the average being well over $300 per night. In the winter you can get some awesome hotel deals as low as $125 per night. Just keep this in mind as you’re planning your visit to Fairbanks or anywhere in Alaska.

Here are our hotel picks in Fairbanks: