Alaska in Winter: Fun Facts and Observations

From the Northern Lights to extreme temperatures, below are some fun facts about Alaska in winter that might surprise you. Plus, I’m including some observations and anecdotes from my trip to Alaska in early December 2024. Wow is this a state of unique beauty and fascinating experiences!

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Population and size
Time zones and daylight
Weather and temperatures
Denali National Park
The Iditarod and dog kennels
Northern Lights and Kp Index
Alaskan hospitality

Fun Facts about Alaska’s Population and Size

• Alaska comes from the Aleut word “Alyeska,” meaning “great land”
• Alaska is by far the largest state in the United States
• At 663,268 square miles, Alaska is about twice the size of Texas and California combined
• With a population of about 733,400, Alaska’s density is not even 2 people per square mile
• Anchorage boasts 40% of Alaska’s entire population, around 290,000 residents
• Juneau (the state capital) and Fairbanks compete for second largest town, hovering around 30,000 residents each
• In the bigger Alaskan cities, there’s a 50:50 male to female ratio. But looking at the entire population of Alaska, there are 110 men for every 100 women. In the late 1800s, there were 260 men for every 100 women in Alaska. Here’s an interesting report about that.

Observations about Alaska’s Population and Size in Winter

In winter, north of Anchorage, it can feel like only the hardiest (or dumbest?) souls remain in Alaska. However, snowplows travel constantly up and down the most desolate stretches of Highways 1, 2, and 3, making winter driving conditions surprisingly manageable. In fact, the highways are so well maintained that I think it might be nicer to drive them in winter snow and ice rather than the pot-holed filled summers. Not to mention the lack of traffic and mosquitoes. Only smoke stacks from chimneys and the aroma of burning pine remain as proof that you are not alone on the winter roads of Alaska.

Fun Facts about Alaska Time Zones and Daylight

• Today, the vast majority of Alaska uses Alaska Standard Time (UTC-9), one hour behind Pacific Time, and observes Daylight Savings.
• Only the western Aleutian Islands is one hour behind the remainder of the state, on Hawaii–Aleutian Time.
• Until 1983, Alaska observed 4 different time zones, but it got a little too confusing. Here’s an interesting article from the Anchorage Daily News about the Alaska Time Zones history.
• Daylight hours vary drastically across the state of Alaska. For instance, in Barrow (Utqiaġvik), Alaska’s northernmost town, the sun doesn’t rise at all from mid-November to mid-January—this period is called the “Polar Night.” Between April-August, the land as far south as Fairbanks never gets really dark and is referred to as the “Land of the Midnight Sun.” On the other hand, Juneau experiences day and night year-round as one would expect.

Observations about Alaska’s Daylight (or Lack Thereof)

Before embarking on my first trip to Alaska in winter, I checked sunrise and sunset times in Anchorage and Fairbanks. I was told Fairbanks only sees 3-4 hours of daylight in December, so naturally I thought it meant complete and utter darkness for the remaining 20 hours of the day. But what a pleasant surprise, this is not the case! While the sun did rise above the horizon as promised around 10 AM, it was already pretty light outside before 8 AM. And vice versa for the sunset, the sun disappeared around 3 PM, but light persisted until well after 5 PM. Dawn and dusk actually last a couple of hours so daylight is much longer than expected.

Fun Facts about Alaska’s Temperatures

• The coldest temperature ever recorded in the state of Alaska was -80°F at Prospect Creek Camp on January 23, 1971. That’s basically the very center of the state.
• Anchorage recorded its coldest temperature of -38°F on February 3, 1947. For reference, average temp in December is 24°F.
• Fairbanks recorded its coldest temperature of -66°F on January 14, 1934. For reference, average temp in December is 4°F.
• While Alaska’s interior can experience extreme cold, with temperatures dropping as low as -40°F (-40°C), areas along the coast like Southeast Alaska (including Juneau and Ketchikan) can have relatively mild winters due to the moderating effects of the Pacific Ocean. In fact, some coastal towns rarely dip below freezing in winter!

Observations about Alaska’s Temperatures

Indoor temps in Alaska are kept at 70-75°F. Everywhere. Always. I like it.
When we were there in early December 2024, outdoor temps in Anchorage remained around 32°F (0°C) day and night and locals complained about the heat. In Fairbanks, temps dropped to 2°F. The air was mostly still so I didn’t feel cold. I suppose it could feel much colder if the wind was blowing? My observation: Cold isn’t cold without wind.
But I digress. My point is that temps do not fluctuate much between day and night! It makes sense when you think about it since the sun lingers in the horizon for such a long time, keeping the temps fairly consistent.
One day, our hotel thermometer in Healy, at midnight, showed that the temperature actually rose to 48°F! A warm wind was blowing, and the guy at the front desk explained that it was the chinook winds bringing in warm air. I don’t know what that means, but I wanted to tell you that it was nice to feel warm in Alaska in winter.
Afterthought: I looked up chinook winds in Alaska and found this interesting article from 2006. Apparently it’s pretty common and everyone knows about it.

Fun Facts about Denali National Park

• Denali National Park is the biggest national park in the US, at 9,492 square miles, slightly bigger than the state of New Hampshire.
• The visitor center sits at an elevation of 1,746 feet, while Denali is the highest peak in the US at 20,310 feet.
• Denali Peak was known as Mt McKinley until its name change in 2016.
• There are TONS of other very interesting facts about Denali. Check out more stats here.

Observations about Denali National Park in Winter

This park is pretty boring in winter, and the park rangers seem to like it that way. The visitor center is quiet and sees maybe 20 people per day on a busy day. When we walked in, you could see the ambivalence on the face of the introverted park ranger. The less he talks to people during the season, the less he wants to talk to people. If he had it his way, he would just sit behind the desk and read a book all day. After all, that’s the reason he signed up to work in Denali in winter! He probably transfers to Death Valley every summer.
That being said, the park ranger was very nice! He let us borrow snowshoes from the visitor center and suggested a few trails of varying distance and difficulty. I suggest you do the same, just to say you’ve done it. But don’t expect much. The view never really changes. A few snowy evergreen trees, some tall mountains in the background, maybe a frozen stream or lake. That’s about it. You can see all of those things from the road.
By the way, none of those mountains is Denali. First of all, you cannot see Denali from the visitor center ever. It’s blocked by other mountains. In summer, I’m told you can see it from the Parks Highway near Talkeetna. Or you can take a Denali tour bus up the road to a viewpoint of the mountain. But then again, it’s nearly always in the clouds so even in summer you’ll probably miss it.
The highlight of a visit to Denali National Park in winter – on weekend afternoons only – is the dog kennels. The park uses sled dogs in winter to “protect the wilderness of the park as they have since the 1920s.” In contrast to the ranger at the visitor center, the dog kennels ranger is much more animated and eager to share her knowledge.

Fun Facts about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race

• Also known as “The Last Great Race.”
• The Iditarod is the longest dog sled race in the world, at roughly 1,000 miles.
• The race takes place every March and actually has two routes: The “Northern Route” is used in even numbered years, and the “Southern Route” is used in odd numbered years. I think the reason is to give equal patronage to local communities along the way.
• Read more about the Iditarod here.

Observations about the Iditarod Sled Dogs

The Iditarod dogs need something to do for the rest of the year. In a genius business endeavor, dog kennels across the state offer dog sled tours. This is a win-win combo! Tourists get a fun and educational outing, while the dogs and mushers get to release their energy, train, and earn money to sponsor their Iditarod.
You’ll notice a huge difference between the mixed breed tourist sled dogs of the Iditarod and the big muscular Denali pure husky work dogs. The tourist dogs are bred for greater speed over longer distance – perfect for such races as the Iditarod. The Denali dogs, on the other hand, are there to transport heavy materials over shorter distances.

Observations about the Northern Lights

I don’t really have a list of fun facts to share about the northern lights. This subject is too complicated for me. Go watch the movie about the northern lights at the University of Alaska Museum of the North in Fairbanks. But I do have some important observations to share if this is your first attempt to spot the northern lights:

• The northern lights aka aurora borealis are always active, but your ability to see them with the naked eye (measured on a Kp index) cannot be forecasted.
• The long dark nights of winter give the best chance to view the aurora – any time from 7 PM to 7 AM.
• In Fairbanks, the aurora is visible in its recognizable vibrant displays more than 200 nights per year, and a little less in Anchorage.
• When taking pictures of the aurora, set your phone camera to night mode.
• Use the app My Aurora Forecast to alert you when the lights are visible in your area.

There’s something called the Kp Index

The ability to see the aurora with the naked eye is measured on a Kp index. This is a scale of 1-9 that “describes geomagnetic activity.” I don’t know what that means but I can tell you from experience that you should consider yourself incredibly lucky if you’re looking at lights that are 4 and above. The numbers 1-3 on the Kp index mean that your phone camera will pick up the aurora in night mode, but you won’t be able to tell just by looking at the night sky.
The Kp index cannot be forecasted. It’s fun to check the aurora forecast on the Geophysical Institute website in order to see what you missed yesterday. And it might be fairly accurate about what will happen in the next three hours. But unfortunately it is still useless when predicting tomorrow’s forecast. So just cross your fingers and go outside at night.

Observations about Alaskan Hospitality

Alaskan hospitality is real. Whether it’s at the car rental counter at the airport, the coffee shop in Wasilla, the hotel front desk in Healy, or the grocery shop manager in Nenana, everyone seemed super happy that we stepped inside.
The majority of hospitality workers are women. Out of a total of 35 hospitality staff with whom we interacted over a five-day period, only 8 were men. This is a bit odd because one of the fun facts I pointed out earlier shows that there are more men in Alaska than women.
No hot tubs. We didn’t find any hotels or gyms with hot tubs. Anywhere. Ever. I don’t like it. Is that the reason that Chena Hot Springs is so popular?
Pizza, coffee, and ice cream shops are everywhere. Pizza, from what I gather, is a hearty winter food. Ingredients are easier and cheaper to source. So that makes sense. Coffee wakes you up, so I guess that’s helpful when it’s dark and dreary out and you need to drive to work. I suppose that also explains why there are more drive-thru coffee shacks than sit-down coffee shops. Ice cream, we’ve been told, is oftentimes warmer than the air outside, so in theory it helps your body warm up without overloading it. We didn’t try because it was abnormally warm when we were there, but we suspect that it is a similar theory to eating spicy food when it’s very hot out.
7 flavors of chai latte at every coffee shop. I don’t have an explanation for this. Each one of the coffee drive-thru shacks offers these seven varieties of chai latte: Vanilla, Oregon, Pumpkin, Coconut, Black Pepper, Ginger, and Spice chai. As far as I can tell, the most popular is Oregon chai. No one orders spice chai, which is the regular chai that’s served in the rest of the 49 states. It tastes the same as Oregon chai.

Conclusion

We had a nice time in Alaska in the beginning of December 2024. It was warmer than usual, the state of the roads was good, we got to learn new things we didn’t know about Alaska, and we gathered some observations about the local population. The above is just a trip report I wrote for fun. For more serious research about Alaska in winter, read my recommendations for driving between Anchorage and Fairbanks, and things to do along the way.