fairbanks

Eight hundred miles, three mountain ranges, permafrost, earthquakes, and 18 billion barrels of oil: the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is one of the great engineering achievements of the 20th century, and it's surprisingly accessible to visitors.

Alaska's interior hub and aurora capital, Fairbanks offers a rawer, more remote version of Alaska than Anchorage — with gold rush history, dog mushing culture, and sky-filling northern lights that make the long winters worth it.