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Quick and Easy Ice Fishing at Chena Lake

Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Fairbanks, USA
Popular pick
Booked 5+ times last week!
  • 3 hours (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9
·
· Jeanne_K ·
Feb 2026
Tyson was an excellent and knowledgeable guide for our ice fishing. We were pleasantly surprised to find we were overdressed for the heated cabin! We saw a bald eagle up close who was waiting for fish scraps. Tyson cooked up our salmon which was delicious, and our cabin-mates shared some of the trout they caught. Great experience!
· Nicole_J ·
Jan 2026
We had a great time on this excursion! Easy instructions, nice guide and cozy set up. We only caught one tiny fish but it was fun anyway!

Overview

Get a quick introduction to the Alaskan tradition of ice fishing in the Chena Lakes Recreation Area. Your guides provide all the necessary equipment—rod, bait, heated shelters, underwater cameras—and serve a grilled fish dinner once the fishing is done. You can fish from the heated cabins and shelters, or move outside to try your hand in the open elements.
  • Fish in heated ice shelters or out in the elements
  • Grilled fish at the end of the excursion
  • Underwater cameras and special equipment improve chances of catching fish
  • Fishing license available online (own expense)

What's Included

  • Hot beverages (non-alcoholic)
  • Professional guide
  • All fishing gear (rod, bait, seat, other tools)
  • Heated shelters
  • Grilled Fish (light meal)
  • Coffee and/or Tea
  • Fishing license (available online), Tips (gratuity) for Guide (10-20%)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • QQ9G+HW Badger
    QQ9G+HW3 Badger, AK, USA

    Driving Directions: Drive to North Pole, exit "Buzby Rd"; turn left on 1st traffic light, go under overpass. Turn right to Chena Lakes. Go passed toll booth. Follow dam to your right, to sign “Lake Park”, turn left. Go ~1mile to boat ramp & park; Check in at lake fishing cabin #F33 or #F38.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

1

Chena Lake Park Boat Launch

3 hours Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Shondray_L
Tyson demonstrated a high level of expertise and professionalism. He took the time to clearly instruct my wife and son on proper fishing techniques, ensuring a valuable and engaging experience. His overall support and delivery were exceptional.

Reviews

4.9
based on 177 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Tyson is great and...

Gerald_G, Apr 2026
Tyson is great and knowledgeable. Very friendly and approachable. Cooked up nice fishes for us. Highly recommended.

Excellent Service Tyson

Shondray_L, Apr 2026
Tyson demonstrated a high level of expertise and professionalism. He took the time to clearly instruct my wife and son on proper fishing techniques, ensuring a valuable and engaging experience. His overall support and delivery were exceptional.

Wonderful experience!!

Kevin_A, Mar 2026
When visiting Alaska in winter this is a MUST!! Caught plenty of fish and the guide was so knowledgeable and answered every question we had..

A fun and relaxing...

Theresa_G, Mar 2026
A fun and relaxing experience! The cabin on the ice was warm and cozy. Our guide showed us how to catch salmon and rainbow trout, then cooked it on the wood stove and served up lunch. He shared lots of information about local points of interest and how to spot the aurora borealis. Great communication and skills. Go at night! You'll hopefully get a chance to see the beautiful natural light show in a comfortable environment with wide open skies above the frozen lake.

Tyson was an excellent...

Jeanne_K, Feb 2026
Tyson was an excellent and knowledgeable guide for our ice fishing. We were pleasantly surprised to find we were overdressed for the heated cabin! We saw a bald eagle up close who was waiting for fish scraps. Tyson cooked up our salmon which was delicious, and our cabin-mates shared some of the trout they caught. Great experience!

Fun activities

Thanyaporn_T, Jan 2026
what an amazing experience! Not only did we go fishing, but fishing in the icy lake and we also got to enjoy the delicious fish we caught right after. It was a blast and so tasty. Our tour guide was Michael, and he was super friendly and had some really cool stories to share. He even showed us how to make a hole in the lake for fishing and even made us dinner! The only downside was that the place was kinda hard to find at night because it was so dark and had no lights or signs. The directions we got in the email weren’t very accurate.

Fun times!

Nicole_J, Jan 2026
We had a great time on this excursion! Easy instructions, nice guide and cozy set up. We only caught one tiny fish but it was fun anyway!

Amazing experience, will...

Luis_D, Jan 2026
Amazing experience, will be booking again next time we’re in Fairbanks. Also recommend taking a couple of alcoholic beverages to drink while you wait for the fish to bite.

Fun experience, few very...

Harry_M, Dec 2025
Fun experience, few very close calls catching fish. They were definitely down there. Dasha was awesome!

Great tour

Qiwei_C, Dec 2025
Stassia was super warm and helpful. Super great experience!. Caught 11 fish in the afternoon and nice atmosphere.

New experience

Nadeem_J, Nov 2025
Very nice experience Worth it for sure , and recommend for any group of people, they do have heated cabins You can fish inside or out side if you love cold weather, The team was very nice and friendly Highly recommended

Overpriced and need better organization

Ruisong_L, Nov 2025
Normally don’t leave reviews but this one is pretty disappointing and I hope other people can think twice before booking. The cabin is comfy and the guide is friendly but 2 stars for three reasons: 1. Way overpriced, especially the 3PM one, there is essentially no difference between this and other options and it is a $50 extra for nothing. 2. We have 10 people in the cabin and did not catch a single fish in the two hours we were there. I know it is nobody’s fault but still very disappointing. There is no backup plan for the advertised cookout and the guide said if you didn’t catch any fish there is no cookout. I went to a different tour last year and the first thing the guide tell us is “don’t worry we have fish if you can’t catch any”. Such poor organization and false advertising is not ok with a 200/pp trip IMO. 3. False advertising, the underwater camera is broken since the middle of the year and still broken at this time.

10/10 would do it agan

Mikal_B, Nov 2025
The guide Mike was very nice and friendly, he chit chatted with us and made sure we had bait. Absolutely won’t to it agan

Excellent

Karin_W, Mar 2025
Fantastic! Our guide Michael was great, made it very easy and taught us along the way. I definitely recommend booking.

This was so much fun! 3...

Odilia_S, Mar 2025
This was so much fun! 3 hours went by super fast and Tyson cooked our fish perfectly. He was super friendly and helpful. We did both in cabin fishing and we tried it out on the lake also. We had a great time!

Great time on Chena

Stephen_B, Mar 2025
Pay attention to the directions they give, they will get you to the exact spot. Michael was attentive and knowledgeable, he arrived early to have the hut and fishing holes ready. He even helped my wife who was struggling to catch by lowering a camera into her fishing hole to see the action! 10/10 would recommend.

Two thumbs up

Kei_L, Feb 2025
Fun! Fun! Fun! Easy to do and friendly guide that shows you every steps! Thanks Mike! So would do it again!

Awesome Experience

gary_B, Feb 2025
Greg was awesome and very knowledgeable about ice fishing and the northern lights. We caught fish and Greg cleaned and cooked them to perfection. Highly recommend this experience, thanks Greg.

Whole family enjoyed so...

Yan_G, Jan 2025
Whole family enjoyed so much! We caught total 17 fishes in 3hr session in evening. Kept only relatively bigger four and let go rest. Cabin kept us warm and enjoy the process.

The guide was awesome! He...

Sarah_B, Nov 2024
The guide was awesome! He baited the hooks for me and got the hooks out of the fish I caught, gutted them and cooked them for me. I got lots of small rainbow trout and even a little salmon. Super cool experience and the fish were delicious!

First time ice fishing,...

Ed_N, May 2024
First time ice fishing, they have a nice setup with a small heated cabin on the frozen lake, the two guides there were really good guys, very friendly and explaining things and answering our stupid questions :-) We might have gotten lucky since both of us caught fish but of the 6 other people in the cabin, only 1 caught something. They cooked up right there in the cabin what we caught so it was tasty doesn't get any fresher. This was a great experience!

Tyson was fantastic. Made...

Trang_N, Apr 2024
Tyson was fantastic. Made the experience very relaxing and easy. Definitely book this for an easy day

Great tour for tourist

Kaichen_S, Apr 2024
This is a great experience! Hunter used to do profesional Bass fishing and does everything quick. He is nice and passionate and you will love him. For first timers he also prepared underwater cam and poured flavorful broth to attract fish. We caught 5 fish but they were tiny so we let most go. Hunter cooked one for us with salt and pepper, and served with nice hot chocolate. As a tourist, I don't want to be competitive and a bit cheating is ok. We were able to enojy the exictment of catching fish on iced lake within only 3 hours.

Our first ice fishing...

Rhonda_B, Apr 2024
Our first ice fishing expeditions was a success! Thank you to Tyson for making it a memorable experience! He was super helpful and knowledgeable. My family immediately bonded with him.

Amazing guide

Akshat_S, Mar 2024
Trenton is a fantastic guy, he was extremely helpful with everything and made the best salmon that I've ever tasted. The guide is the heart of this experience, so I'd recommend people choose their guide carefully, and you can't do better than Trenton! 💯

Warm, welcoming, WINNING!

Elizabeth_P, Dec 2023
I highly recommend this experience. Tyson was a great guy and helped everyone to feel confident in their abilities. We caught a total of 5 salmon and he cooked them up for us on the spot. It was delicious. We all talked about what a great time we had and not one child (ages 11 and 9) complained about being bored. Three hours flew by.

Awesome time!!!

Debi_O, Dec 2023
If I could give Tyson 10 🌟I would!!! We had an amazing afternoon fishing adventure. We caught fish and he grilled them and they were delicious. I recommend this trip!!

Ice Fishing

Rose_M, Nov 2023
My husband and I tried this and had a blast! Our guide was extremely helpful and knowledge about all things ALASKA. Definitely a unique, must do experience.

Great Fishing experience

Sivaraj_N, Nov 2023
Tyson was very helpful and friendly. It was cold but the kids enjoyed, especially when they got to drill their own fishing holes!

Tyson is the best!!!

piyalap_k, Nov 2023
Tyson was amazing. Ice fishing is a new experience for me. From the start, he taught us and we caught four fish of varying sizes. It was fun and happy to participate in this activity. My friends will receive my recommendations!

From $159.00

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 21 days in advance.

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