Alaska.com: Alaska's Travel Website

The most urban place north of Anchorage, Fairbanks nevertheless has in-town trails and camping.

Here are a couple of town trails. Many boot-clad adventurers head east of town to Chena River State Recreation Area. Survival comes first, so prepare carefully.

Campers will find a half-dozen campgrounds for tents and RVs in town. Camping is popular outside Fairbanks in state parks and RV campgrounds. A popular RV spot is in the Pioneer Park (formerly Alaskaland) parking lot, within sniffing distance of a salmon bake.

• Creamer's Nature Path, 1300 College Road on the north side of town, runs a couple of miles and has an observation platform from which to watch birds, especially sandhill cranes. The refuge offers summer tours.

• Skarland Trails starts behind the ski hut on the West Ridge of the University of Alaska campus and leads to an interconnected set of trails from 3 to 12 miles long. Attractions are birds, wildflowers, berries and pond ecosystems.

• Chena Hot Springs Road heads east from Fairbanks for 56 miles, destined for a resort with a lot of activities. Along the way are several campgrounds in the Chena River State Recreation Area: Rosehip at Mile 27, Tors Trail at Mile 39 and Red Squirrel at Mile 43. Tent and RV camping is available at the resort.

Several trails, some long enough that taking a sleeping bag and tent is a good idea, head off into the park: Angel Rocks, 3.5 miles; Granite Tors, 15 hard miles; and Chena Dome, 29 challenging miles.

The Chena River is popular for canoeing and for catch-and-release grayling fishing.

Denali National Park is a two-hour drive south of Fairbanks.