The Interior Places

Fairbanks

Cruising and Canoeing Tours

Alaska Outdoor Rentals and Guides. Alaska Outdoor Rentals and Guides rents gear and arranges pick-ups and drop-offs for the Class I waters of the lower Chena River (the only real challenge for canoeists on the lower river is watching out for powerboats), as well as other local rivers. Pioneer Park Boat Dock, along Chena River next to Peger Rd., Fairbanks, AK, 99708. 907/457-2453. www.akbike.com.

Sternwheeler Tanana Chief. Sternwheeler Tanana Chief provides nightly dinner cruises on the Chena River aboard the stern-wheeler Tanana Chief, a replica of the riverboats that once plied Interior rivers. The dinner cruise costs $49.95 and boards at 6:30 pm. Day cruises run $24.95, with no food. 1020 Hoselton Rd., Fairbanks, AK, 99709. 907/452-8687. www.tananachiefak.com.

Riverboat Discovery. The city's riverboat history and the Interior's cultural heritage are relived each summer aboard the Riverboat Discovery, a 3½-hour narrated trip by stern-wheeler along the Chena and Tanana rivers to a rustic Native village on the Tanana River. The cruise provides a glimpse of the lifestyle of the dog mushers, subsistence fishermen, traders, and Native Alaskans who populate the Yukon River drainage. Sights along the way include operating fish wheels, a bush airfield, floatplanes, a smokehouse and cache, log cabins, and dog kennels once tended by the late Susan Butcher, the first person to win the Iditarod four times. The Binkley family, with four generations of river pilots, has run the great rivers of the north for more than 100 years. Cruises are $54.95 and run twice daily (at 8:45 and 2) mid-May to mid-September. 1975 Discovery Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99709. 907/479-6673 or 866/479-6673. www.riverboatdiscovery.com.