Aurora Borealis Viewing and Ice Fishing Adventure
5
Aurora Borealis Viewing and Ice Fishing Adventure
By Rod's Alaskan Guide Service
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About
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 5-99, max of 14 per group
Duration: 5h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
- Deluxe fishing cabin with electric and wood stove
- Hot grilled Reindeer Sausage on bun and drink
- Your fresh fish, seasoned and cooked
- Steaming hot cocoa
- Fishing poles and bait
- Local guide
- Entry/Admission - Chena Lake Recreation Area
What's not included- Fishing license--Can be bought at tour start from guide for $15.00 cash.
- Transportation to/from attractions
- Start:
- Chena Lake Park Boat Launch, North Pole, AK 99705, USAPlease contact us the day prior by email or phone for updated meeting location.
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 30637P5- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 30637P5
From
$229.00
per adult
Select date and travelers
Similar experiences
Itinerary
- North Pole, AK 99705, USAPlease contact us the day prior by email or phone for updated meeting location.
- 1At night your guide will help you catch fish through the ice as we wait for the magical aurora dance. Your guide will help you take pictures of the aurora borealis.
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- Sightsee002108330830 contributionsMy wife said it was the highlight of our entire Alask adventureWE had a super time with Tyler and his dogs. Tyler was informative and gave us lots of info on dogs, mushing, racing and the overall experience in Alaska. The ride was great and time with the pups was fun too, Tyler answered any and all questions. We had a terrific experience and would do it again at the drop of a hat.Written September 3, 2024
- Adventure376254180790 contributionsGreat fun on our first dog sledding rideThe dog sledding ride was a one of it's kind experience. We really enjoyed our ride by Joe Weber and he was quite accommodating with us considering it was our first time meeting the dogs. Would highly recommend Rod's Alaskan Guide ServicesWritten August 26, 2024
- robdJ9745HI0 contributionsAccidentThis girl contacted me to share my experience. First, I want to say this was not the only accident that day. This is my experience: I stayed behind to take a picture and saw her trapped under the snowmobile. She was in severe pain for several minutes before I reached her. I'm glad I could help, but told me she still can't walk properly because she was under the machine for too long. The guide wasn't around and only arrived after I had already assisted her. I hope she recovers soon.Written June 25, 2024
- Ginges_revenge0 contributionsOur first experience with dog sledding.We had done a lot of research for our Alaskan holiday and Rods guide service repeatedly came up and with good reviews. We drove out to Rods and checked in for our tour. The team kitted us out withe good cold weather gear they have. We then waited for our tour time to arrive and we were paired up with our dog musher who took us out to the dog team. We got to quickly meet the team and then got on the sled. Rods hire local people with there teams of dogs to do the tours. We got on and we were off. You go out halfway and stop, meet the dogs and get to pat them and have photos, then its back on the sled and back to base. It was a really good hour and we loved the experience. It was just a shame we couldn't get onto a longer tour but we had fun anyway. I would highly recommend it.Written June 9, 2024
- domenicag4190 contributionsI had an accident and the guide left us behind,I had an accident and the guide left us behind, so I was several minutes under the snowmobile machine. After the accident, they did not offer any help, support, information of what hospital attend or first aids. I found this very irresponsible from them.Written June 7, 2024
- Z6897FMmarshab0 contributionsDogsledding in Alaska-Once in a lifetime experienceHad a fantastic time on tour with Luther. Very informative and loved learning about his team. Was an experiment we won’t forget.Written May 4, 2024
- V259ALlaurenf0 contributionsJimmy's Dogs are the best!This is such an excellent and amazing experience. It was so wonderful to find out how much the dogs are cared for and how happy they were to go running. So much fun and great people. Jimmy' Dogs were the best loved spending time with them and Jimmy was so nice and answered all our questions.Written May 2, 2024
- 799danielan0 contributionsFeb 2024 rideNot the best, not the worst. They have all of the winter gears that was needed for the ride ( no need to bring a bunch of stuff like I did). The place was very crowded to check in, and staff was very nice. Musher was nice, and she was caring for the dogs. We paid $140 for private driver to drive us round trip from Fair Bank to this place in North Pole.Written April 27, 2024
- danw0070 contributionsGreat sled experienceWe had a really nice ride with jimmy and his family of dogs. Is was great to learn about the mushing way of life and how the dogs are part of the familyWritten April 15, 2024
- danw0070 contributionsGreat snow machine tripVery nice easy ride. Victoria was excellent. The trails are nice, equipment is all new and the organization is well run.Written April 15, 2024
- KatKhor0 contributionsA must for those visiting in the cold weather months!We had a great time on this tour! It is a must for anyone visiting in the cold months. It was a very cold day, so we really appreciated the heated cabin and warm drinks. Our guide, Trevor, was AMAZING! He was patient, kind, and knowledgeable. He taught us fishing techniques and shared a lot of fun and local knowledge. He was the best! Highly recommend this activity!Written April 12, 2024
- U1747KMnon0 contributions100% Must Do Dog Sledding - the place to go!We cannot recommend our dog sledding with Matt and his dogs. We were a family of three and it was incredible. We went about 10-15min on a ride and took a break to play with the dogs and get some pictures before another 15min returning. 100% you should do this experience through Rod's. Thanks again Matt for a great experience!Written April 12, 2024
- L7410QHkeithb0 contributionsThoroughly enjoyable experience!!Really enjoyed our dog sledding adventure!! Everyone was very professional. Our guide was very knowledgeable and I enjoyed talking with him about the sport. Special thanks to Jimmy's dogs for pulling us around!!!Written April 10, 2024
- Relax359597919580 contributionsIce Fishing at its finest with a great fisherman guide!The tour guide/fisherman Mike was very knowledgeable about ice fishing. He was professional and determined to create a unique experience for us. He was encouraging and provided us with strategies to be the best fisher people possible. Although, I wasn’t successful catching a fish this was a fun and memorable activity. I would highly recommend it.Written April 5, 2024
- KeoneM0 contributionsGo with Rod, you won’t go wrong.Patient, friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable. All words you want to be able to use in describing a guide. And all words you can definitely use to describe our ice fishing guide, Mike. Went with the family (wife and 2 kids, 12 and 11), and although we didn’t do that well snagging fish we had a good time and enjoyed the experience. Terrific time was had by those of us in the cabin and he cooked up a mean king salmon (caught by more fortunate fishermen) for us to share. Recommended and I would definitely not hesitate to utilize Rod’s Service again.Written April 3, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
73 reviews
Excellent
70
Very good
0
Average
2
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Martine P
Wichita, KS25 contributions
Mar 2020 • Solo
Cody made the late night adventure enjoyable and memorable! Between myself and two other guests we caught 9 silver salmon including 2 keepers that Cody cooked up later in the evening; he had grilled delicious reindeer sausage for us earlier. Lots of firsts, from ice fishing, walking on 4’ frozen lake and watching for lights at 3am at -36 degrees. All grrreat!
Written March 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My aurora viewing with ice fishing adventures are a great way to enjoy the late night cold, aurora chasing in a comfortable, relaxing, and warm environment. Thank you for the great review.
Written March 10, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Grady Gunn
Orange Beach, AL10 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
This was suppose to be the highlight of our trip, and in one way it was, but in the other; it was far from it.
We arrived at Chena Lakes at 10pm excited, ready to do some fishing and see the magnificent Northern Lights. After stumbling our way out on to the ice we finally found our shack in the dark (there were 6-10 shacks on the ice and luckily we went to the left first and not to the right) upon opening the door we realized, this was a 'party boat' style ice fishing operation. Inside the shanty were 16 ice fishing holes, 1 potbelly wood burning stove, and solid wood benches to sit on. We were greeted by the guide and given our tackle and brief instruction. In the next 5 hours everyone in the shack would catch a total of 3 fish, with a group of 4 on the other end of the shack leaving a few minutes early as they had came the night before and also caught nothing. I would not recommend coming to fish at night, but rather going in the daylight hours with a private guide or smaller group. 16 people in one shanty on a heavily fished public lake at night is not a recipe for success.
However, the northern lights view was fantastic that night! With Chena Lake being so close to North Pole/Fairbanks, there is some light pollution you will inevitably notice with the naked eye and with long exposure photos. Chena Lake is also a very busy area, and cars were driving on and off the ice causing difficulty taking long exposure pictures and disrupting viewing pleasure.
Overall, I would not recommend. Go fishing in the during the daylight hours and view the lights at night, but not both at night.
We arrived at Chena Lakes at 10pm excited, ready to do some fishing and see the magnificent Northern Lights. After stumbling our way out on to the ice we finally found our shack in the dark (there were 6-10 shacks on the ice and luckily we went to the left first and not to the right) upon opening the door we realized, this was a 'party boat' style ice fishing operation. Inside the shanty were 16 ice fishing holes, 1 potbelly wood burning stove, and solid wood benches to sit on. We were greeted by the guide and given our tackle and brief instruction. In the next 5 hours everyone in the shack would catch a total of 3 fish, with a group of 4 on the other end of the shack leaving a few minutes early as they had came the night before and also caught nothing. I would not recommend coming to fish at night, but rather going in the daylight hours with a private guide or smaller group. 16 people in one shanty on a heavily fished public lake at night is not a recipe for success.
However, the northern lights view was fantastic that night! With Chena Lake being so close to North Pole/Fairbanks, there is some light pollution you will inevitably notice with the naked eye and with long exposure photos. Chena Lake is also a very busy area, and cars were driving on and off the ice causing difficulty taking long exposure pictures and disrupting viewing pleasure.
Overall, I would not recommend. Go fishing in the during the daylight hours and view the lights at night, but not both at night.
Written January 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My fishing cabins are the only ones on the lake with electric. We state in our arrival instruction email, "we'll leave the light on for you". We do turn the outside light off after guests arrive to not hinder aurora viewing. We also provide the cabin number which is displayed in 2 foot letters on the outside of the cabin. The parking area is 50 yards from the fishing cabins.
Our typical group size for our aurora ice fishing trips is 5 people. We do have 16 fishing holes in the cabin, but have never booked 16 people. We book a maximum of 12 people. Guests can book 10 seats for a private trip.
Every lake in Alaska with stocked fish is open to the public by law. We practice sustainable fishing methods-keeping 1 fish per person and returning the rest. This ensures there is plenty of fish for folks to catch.
We did have a few days of slow fishing. I promptly moved the cabins to a spot where the fish were more active and our catch rates have increased significantly.
Typically our spot is extremely quiet at night. An illegal tour operator brought people to the lake for aurora viewing. This problem has been dealt with.
Written January 13, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
tusqq
Los Angeles, CA20 contributions
Mar 2022
Perfect "Alaska" experience for five friends visiting the Fairbanks area to see the Norther Lights (which we did from outside the fishing cabins on the frozen lake -- just glorious). Fun company in the cabin with several other groups made it feel like a low-key late night party. Much of the credit goes to our guide, Cody, who answered all our questions, helped with our very inexperienced fishing knowledge, beautifully cooked the catch on the woodier stove, and was the perfect host. Very easy to find the place in the dark if you follow their very clear directions. Just a great way to spend an Alaska evening. Don't hesitate.
Written April 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We email the updated ice fishing location meeting point the day prior to your adventure. If you don't receive your "reminder email" please call our office. We move locations throughout the season to stay on fish. Thank you for the review.
Written April 2, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
NorthStar445926
6 contributions
Our evening ice fishing excursion with Clarence was the highlight of our trip in Alaska. When we arrived, Clarence greeted us warmly, and it was clear right off the bat that we were going to have an amazing time. Our cabin collectively ended up catching around 30 fish during the course of the night, in between our aurora viewings, reindeer meat, and excellent conversation. At the end of the evening, Clarence seasoned and cooked the fish that we caught exceptionally well, so that we could all enjoy it. Thank you Clarence for making our trip to Alaska such an unforgettable and amazing experience!
Written March 7, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Over the past week mother nature has given us some amazing aurora shows. Even on cloudy nights, the weather has cleared a bit so we could watch the magical aurora dance. Thank you for the review.
Written March 8, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Deedee C
11 contributions
Feb 2022 • Couples
Our guide clarence was amazing so much fun fishing in a heated cabin and they provide everything. Clearence cooked us reindeer saussge and our fresh fish for us to eat.. great sence of humor and he weathers the cold to see if the northern lights are out for you.. best of the best. Defenitely a high light of our trip. Would do it again for sure. Great for all ages. The northern light were beautiful over the lake. Thanks for such great memories
Written February 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My aurora ice fishing location was chosen for the great aurora views and good fishing. Thank you for the review.
Written February 24, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
smilinmo
Prescott, AZ10 contributions
Feb 2021
I went on the fishing and aurora tour with my husband, daughter and her partner. The fishing cabin was easy to find with the directions and we were in the cabin with another family. All of the equipment was provided and the reindeer dogs and cocoa were delicious!! We did not catch any fish but we were able to see the Aurora and all of its beauty. I would highly recommend Rod's Alaskan Guide Service for this tour and all of the other ones he offers!!!
Written March 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My fishing cabin is in a great spot for views of the aurora. Thank you for the review.
Written March 4, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kari J
4 contributions
Mar 2022 • Family
We went out on a fishing adventure with guide Tim and had a really nice time. He set us up and over the 5 hours we caught about 6 fish and had to throw 2 back. Tim prepared them and they were so yummy! He also prepared the reindeer sausages, and he even let us put smart dogs on the grill for the vegetarians in our group. The cabin was warm and he tracked the northern lights as we fished. We could go out side and see the spectacular show across half the sky. I would definitely recommend this trip.
Written March 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My aurora ice fishing location was chosen for the great open view of the sky and the good fishing. Thank you for the review.
Written March 27, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jac S
7 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
Tim was a great fishing guide preparing our lines with bait, giving us suggestions, keeping bait on our line and answering questions about the Aurora and what brought him to Fairbanks. He prepared cooked reindeer sausage in a bun and later cooked the fish that we caught. It was a good experience.
Written March 16, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sonie S
Liberty, United States5 contributions
Mar 2022
Being on the ice fishing and watching for the Aurora was awesome. We had Tony drive us out and back as we didn't care to be on the Alaskan roads at 3:00 AM. He got us there on time and picked us up as expected. CJ was our guide. He made us comfortable, cooked delicious reindeer sausage and cooked up the fish we caught with just the right seasoning.
Wonderful experience!
Wonderful experience!
Written March 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We have had some amazing auroras over the past week. The 10-day forecast is looking great for more amazing aurora shows. Thank you for the review.
Written March 16, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
G'Ma
16 contributions
Mar 2021
Cody was an excellent guide for the fishing! We caught 2 salmon and he cooked one up for us. What a treat. Also enjoyed the reindeer hot dogs. The weather did not allow us to see the Aurora Borealis, but he did keep going out to check to see what the clouds were doing. Very friendly and personable and we totally enjoyed ourselves. We stayed nice and toasty -actually had to open windows :-) A great all around experience!! If our primary goal was fishing we would have opted for morning fishing as they indicated on website that more fish were being caught on the morning fishing times. We chose night so we could keep 10 year old entertained & hopefully see a cool light show. Would absolutely recommend Rod's !!!
Written March 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for aurora viewing & ice fishing with Rod's Alaskan Guide Service. Thank you for the review.
Written March 10, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
What time does the tour start and finish? All I see is the 5-hour duration.
Written February 22, 2019
What is the best way to get to Chena Lake from Fairbanks in March? We will not have a rental car.
Written November 7, 2018
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