
Tonglen Lake Lodge now has five rooms available for winter bookings. For adventures, the lodge is partnering with Traverse Alaska, offering small-group aurora photography and dog mushing trips this winter. Photo by Mollie Foster/traversealaska.com
Travel Weekly story by Renee Brincks
After many Alaska destinations saw an increase in traffic last winter, operators are gearing up for this year’s aurora viewers, skiers, dogsledders and snow machine riders with a full slate of seasonal options.
The Alaska Railroad is expanding its winter-season train service for the fifth year in a row, adding new Thanksgiving-week departures in 2018 and increasing service to six days a week in March 2019.
South of Fairbanks, about seven miles from the Denali National Park and Preserve entrance, Tonglen Lake Lodge now has five rooms available for winter bookings. The shared-bath accommodations are outfitted with down comforters, 600-thread count sheets, robes, towels and bath amenities, and include internet access, use of kitchen facilities and two living rooms, and access to a large deck for nighttime aurora viewing.
To make winter-weather travel easier for out-of-state guests, Tonglen Lake Lodge has also partnered with Traverse Alaska to offer guided three- or four-night stays.