North Pole, Alaska
Population: 1,570
Located in Fairbanks North Star Borough
History: In 1944, bon Davis homesteaded this area. Dahl and Gaske Development Company later bought the Davis Homestead, subdivided it and named it North Pole. The name was selected to attract the toy industry to manufacture articles made in "North Pole". This endeavor failed to blossom, but North Pole has continued to grow. There is continued interest to develop North Pole as a theme city, "Where the spirit of Christmas lives year round". Many streets bear holiday names: Santa Claus Lane, Snowman Lane, Kris Kringle, Mistletoe, Holiday Rd., Saint Nicholas Drive, North Star Drive, Blitzen, and Donnor. Street lights are decorated in candy cane motifs and many buildings are painted with Christmas colors and designs. The Santa Claus house, the "official" home of Santa Claus greets all visitors who pass through the city on the Richardson Highway. Live reindeer and Santa Claus himself are available for photographs year round. Each year the community starts the holiday season with a candle lighting ceremony and tree lighting event the first Sunday in December.
Birch Hill Recreation Area
Birch Hill Recreational Area is the largest and most widely used trail system in the Fairbanks area. Located just a few miles northeast of downtown, Birch Hill offers everything from easy novice trails to challenging competition courses. There are 6.5 kilometers of trail with lights for night skiing (up to 9:30 pm) and two loops (a total of 6km) designed for classical skiing only. The 34 kilometers of ski trails at Birch Hill are maintained by the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks using voluntary contrbutions from trail users along with Borough equipment support.
By the time of the 2003 Junior Olympics we hope to have 35km-40km of trails at Birch Hill, of which 12km-15km will be lighted. photo courtesy of ©Wayne C. Grieme, DBA Frontier Foto
Find homes for sale in North Pole Alaska
|
|
