Aurora Ice Museum

The Aurora Ice Museum is fascinating experience you need to try if you’re traveling to Fairbanks. The entire structure is made of ice, with beautiful sculptures and incredible details that make the visit feel magical. The atmosphere is unlike anything I had ever seen before. It’s definitely worth experiencing if you’re in the area

Interesting place to see. For us it was a mess. Or group of 5 got merged with a much larger group of 40, and they had ice glasses for only 7 people. So most people didn't get to enjoy the drink. Of course no discounts or refunds were offered. The museum itself is nice for 20 minutes of photos.

My husband and I booked a tour of the ice museum and ordered a martini. You do need to make a reservation. We met at the Chena Hot Springs Activity Center to start the tour and walked to the museum as a group. They do provide parkas if you need them. There is a process for entry and exiting. You all enter the entryway where the parkas are stored at one time. The exterior door is closed. Then, once everyone is ready, the interior door is opened, and the entire group enters. You exit the same way in reverse, but they did allow us to stay and explore as long as we wanted, we just had to let the staff know when we were ready to leave for him to open and close the doors. The experience was cool, although the drink itself was only like 3 oz total.It's not really worth the money. We were there a total of maybe 20 minutes. The drink itself was good. I'm glad our group was small, less than 10 people. If the group were larger I can see it being a pain trying to get photos. It is definitely a nice way to cool off when it's hot outside or warm up a little during winter. It's definitely a unique experience.

The tour itself is short but they you give you ample time to explore on your own. It is a museum with many beautifully crafted pieces. The guide was enthusiastic and helpful. However, the narrative could be much better and informative. They should consider putting writeups next to the statues, at least the massive ones. The two coolest things were the ice bar which is definitely a novelty and fun and the work in progress by an award winning sculptor who was working with ice and an electric saw.

Well worth the drive. I didn't read anywhere that there were time slots ,I don't exactly remember but I know the last 2 are at 5pm and 7 pm ,we killed some time at the restaurant. Good was ok,nothing special. But ,the Ice Bar experience was awesome!

Such a fun and unique experience! The Chena Ice Bar and Museum is entirely sculpted from ice, including the walls, furniture, and even the cocktail glasses. We were prepared in our winter clothes. The ice sculptures are stunning and incredibly detailed. The best part? Enjoying cocktails served in hand-carved ice glasses—definitely a cool highlight. It’s a quick visit, but totally worth it for the photos and the vibe.

This was a very cool experience. It’s a short walk through tour through some amazing ice sculptures and you can even stay overnight in one of the 2 “ice bedrooms”! We stayed for the $20 apple-tini in a glass made out of ice, but that was a bit of a waste - unless you want the full experience and like apple-tini! The tour guide, Carlos, was very pleasant. VictorB

Amazing, unique Ice bar. Nothing I've ever seen before being from the lower 48, more specifically Florida. It's beautiful and the appletini was good. Dress warm, but I think they gave us coats to wear while inside. You also need to make a tour reservation.

I came to the Ice Pub expecting nothing more than an appletini in a frozen glass and maybe a few cheesy snow sculptures. Instead, I somehow ended up in the fastest crash course in Computer Science I could have ever imagined. ( I'm actually Information Systems major.) From the moment our guide started talking, it wasn't about drinks anymore. Suddenly we were diving into the very basics of how computers think: everything broken down into strings of 1s and 0s. He explained how 01, 10, 11, and 00 weren't just random digits but the secret language of the digital world. While sipping my appletini, I started to imagine the ice cubes in my glass were little binary codes -- smooth edges as 0s, sharp corners as 1s secretly storing all the data of the universe. Then came data structures. Ice sculptures? Linked lists, obviously. The way drinks appeared? Definitely a stack, last in, first out. By the time he hit P vs NP, I wasn't sure if I was tipsy or if I had actually started to understand Gödel's incompleteness theorems. Somewhere between sips he explained how the refrigeration system was a real-life analogy for entropy and reversible computation. Honestly, I think my brain needed error correction just to keep up. In the end, the Ice Pub was less about alcohol and more about algorithms, cryptography, and whether Shor's algorithm might one day thaw the frozen defenses of modern security. I walked in expecting a tourist attraction. I walked out feeling like I had survived a semester of computer science lectures wrapped in an arctic theme. By the end of this tour, I've officially graduated college with a degree in Computer. Oh oh also! You need to pre-pay for the drink. Or your name won't be on the list and you gotta pay one buck more than if you had pre-paid the drink. About the ice sculptures. Emm, lower your expectations. It is cool, but not like cooool.

Not worth. The tour guide is amazing and super nice. She makes the drinks and guided people out, shes the only one who makes the experience exciting. I feel like through the advertisement i just expected more, but its a one room warehouse with like one ice sculpture and few rooms. The ice museum is also kept really dark with colored lights so not great for pictures. Its one person's work maintained throughout the year, I just expected more and we had many people leave after the first 10 minutes. Honestly wished more for the wonderful attitude of the tour guide and I know a lot of maintenance comes in cleaning up after the group and making sure no one touches the icen but the experience left a lot to be desired for in contrary to the advertisement.

It was fun to see it in real life, however it did feel a little "ehh okay". Maybe because the surrounding nature itself is so beautiful that manmade creations sometimes fail to compete with it. Go without any expectations and you will enjoy it.

if you go make sure you wear pants and shoes and bring your jacket even tho they provide jackets. Because it was 22 degrees and lemme tell you 35 minutes in that will make anyone cold. However it was pretty awesome to see the structures they built and if you are truly brave and have 600 to spare you can also spend the night in which case you have access to the whole museum. Just no funny business lol. I think this is definitely a place to take the kiddos just bundle them up. Although some of the sculptures are destroyed due to an unfortunate accident problem they had and some destroyed by the public not wearing gloves and melting the sculptures it was still pretty cool. And based off other goers some of the structures that used to be there don't exist anymore. And for the adults for an extra $20 you can also enjoy an apple martini in your very own hand crafted Ice martini glass. Yours to keep lol

The ice museum is nice in concept but doesn't really deliver. Our guide, Heather, was very nice, but the place is small and the tour is short. For the price of entry $20pp it was about 5 minutes. The appletini ($20) in the ice goblet was fun and tasty. The rest of Chena Hot Springs is an absolute DUMP and I cannot recommend staying there. Very run down, super dirty, like a very sad summer camp from 1960's that hasn't had any maintenance or investment since....Not good

The Aurora Ice Museum is really cool. The tour itself was short and fascinating. You get to explore the art solo and take tons of pictures. When you're done the guide will make you an Appletini, which was delish. They're served in ice glasses. Overall, it was a nice little museum. We really enjoyed our visit.

We went on a tour of the museum in September. We were allowed in for $10 because the electricity had been off for 8 hours, and there had been some damage to the ice works. It was still amazingly beautiful! We were told that in the winter, people would go into the museum when it was 30 below zero outside to warm up.

Let me preface this by saying the hot springs are awesome and totally worth your time. The ice museum on the other hand is an absolute scam. I left after 5 minutes feeling absolutely bamboozled. There are only 3 sculptures. One got melted, the other had its arms broken off and the last is in the works and not even there. The audacity to charge people for a tour when there isn't a single complete ice sculpture is mindboggling. Total cash grab!

It's pretty cool (no pun intended). A lot of work backed by a lot of skill went into making the sculptures inside this quonset-hut looking building. And it's bigger inside than you might think. My favorite sculpture was the jousting knights. This is not an all-day or even all-morning activity. For us, it was about 45 minutes, and we took our time.

I got a chance to see the world largest year-round ice environment. It was cool! Our tour guide did a very good job on explaining how the museum is constructed from 1,000 tons of ice and snow and story behind each sculptures. It was fun to see the artist make the ice sculp We also tried their vodka martini ($20) in the aurora ice bar, served in a ice wine cup. Fancy Fancy, good for one time experience. Make sure to wear enough warm clothes. The whole tour is about 45 mins. It could be really cold inside.

The ice museum is fairly small, and they packed way too many people into the tour group. It was hard to see the sculptures through the crowds of people. Many were trying to capture the tour on video, so there were outstretched arms with phones recording from every direction. The tour was only $20, so it might have been okay if there were 10 people to a group, but there were probably around 50. It wasn't worth the hassle of getting there.

Definitely worth it & even better if you can drive yourself if you have rental car. In winter it took about 1.5 hours from Fairbanks, but gorgeous drive. We had lunch after @the Chena Lodge restaurant which had an extensive menu. Skipped the Hot Springs, as it gets dark @3:30om & wanted to drive back. The Ice Museum tour is abt 45min and must be with guide. We shared one appletini as its $20 extra. Really beautiful inside, dress warm.

Architecturally cool. Smaller than expected but the ice bar makes up for that. Buy an apple martini in one of their handmade martini glasses and make a wish as you smash it against the giant ice block outside. Alyssa was our tour guide and she was nice and helpful with taking fun photo shots with our phones.

My mom and I enjoyed pur visit to the Aurora Ice museum while we were visiting Chena Hot Springs! It's impressive how large the space is! The only way you can visit is by going as part of a group tour. After a bit of an introduction about its creation we're free to explore the rooms and/or order an apple martini at the Ice Bar. Highly recommend the apple martini. It's sweet, tasty, and the cup is made entirely of ice! It was fun to break at the end of out tour.

Our group of 6 had been told to go see the Ice Museum & have a martini. It would have been fine but unfortunately they had too many people on our tour - including 2 crying children & a small dog in a stroller. The crowd in the "entryway" was trying to put on the parkas & listen for instructions with the upset kids. Once inside it was still a little too crowded for the exhibits- even after the host let the children & dog back outside. We were rushed through our martinis & pushed on out in about 1/2 an hour. It was a neat place but we didn't feel we got our monies worth. Probably split a ($20) martini would be better & try to go on a less crowded tour.

Indeed a once in a life time experience. Fantastic pregame for the hot springs. It's a 45 minute tour including sitting in the ice bar and have a nicely made martini in your beautiful ice glass. More to see than I had expected - frozen flowers are incredibly beautiful, and the ice sculptures were spectacular. We all enjoyed our delicious Apple martini. Definitely worth a visit, cheers!

This is not child friendly. It can be fun if you like drinking, but it's not child friendly, so if you have kids with you skip this one and do the one in fairbanks.

4.5 stars rounded up. The Aurora Ice Museum was stunning. Some people may say it is a "touristy" destination, but the sculptures are so intricately and beautifully made and literally EVERYTHING is made of ice, it's definitely worth seeing at least once. We came here on a Chena Hot Springs tour with Alaska Wildlife Guide LLC (10/10 recommend, request Lexi as your guide!) We checked in at the Chena Activities Center then our museum guide, Bash led our group over to the ice museum. The ice museum is kept at 25°F, but since it was -30° outside, it was warm and cozy in comparison. At the bar they only serve Appletinis which are $15 each. ***Make sure to buy drink vouchers at the activities center beforehand*** Although the drinks were expensive, they are definitely are worth getting. Getting to sit at the bar and talk to everyone around was the highlight of the tour. Bash, who was also the bartender, was HILARIOUS and we could tell he was a genuinely great guy. He made our experience there so much better and we're glad we got to meet him before his big move. We wish him the BEST of luck in Arizona. Things to keep in mind: - If paying with credit card, buy drink vouchers at Activities Center - There are no restrooms/ATMs in the museum so use the ones in the activities center. - There is no reentry once you leave (to keep the sculptures safe from sublimation), make sure you have everything with you.

I loved the workmanship done on the ice carvings here! It blow your mind when seeing for the first time. They offer drinks here which were extremely costly ($20 per 30 ml) at the time we visited. All different art pieces are beautiful and it surprises you at different places. One great advantage of this location is, you can combine your visit with Chena hot springs and the Aurora viewing (if you're going during the equinox). Also keep in mind that the nearest gas station from this place is about 30 mins - plan your refueling accordingly. I recommend this place for all visitors in general.

What a wonderful and unique place to explore in Alaska! Literally everything is made out of ice, including the walls, the bar, and even the light fixtures. The ice sculptures are simply breathtaking - a great photo op for sure. Located within the Chena Hot Springs Resort, this museum offers tours all year-round for $15 (or $30 if you'd like to have a nice appletini served to you in a martini glass made of ice - which I highly recommend if you'd like the full experience). It's of course freezing inside, so dress appropriately. If not, there are snow jackets you can borrow to keep warm, or you can buy your own at their gift shops nearby. It'd be so cool if it was an actual full bar/club, but for obvious reasons they have to limit the amount of guests and activity within the museum to preserve the integrity of the ice - although there have been a few small weddings hosted here! It's so cute too because the flower bouquets from those weddings were preserved in ice as well, to be added to their collection of display. The tour itself isn't very long - perhaps only 15 minutes and you can use the rest of your time to take pictures. Make it more worth the trip and consider checking out the rest of the resort - bathe in the hot spring pool or grab a bite to eat at their restaurant. We also stumbled across a sled dog kennel towards the entrance, where they also offer tours and you can meet some pups and maybe even adopt a retired sled dog :) *PRO TIP -- Wifi access costs $5 and there is no cell service in the area, so be prepared to make appropriate arrangements ahead of time if you're visiting and don't have a car. (Our Lyft driver was gracious enough to offer waiting for us for a couple hours to explore, as he knew it would be difficult to find a ride later.) Definitely worth the drive, and a staple for your Alaskan vacation.

Our attempt to see the Ice Museum: We we're running a few mins late due to road conditions and tried to call, 18 times according to my iPhones log, to talk w/ the Activities Team but all calls when to VM. When we did arrive there was a young person working named Margi who was outside having a snowball fight with another person. No wonder nobody answered the phone. Her response was no refunds for any reason and she had that " I didn't care leave me alone attitude". We asked the lodge and they were no more help. Not a great experience. We left shortly after. Really looked like the whole facility had seen better days and was in need a MAJOR RENOVATION. The hotels looked cheap and unkept. Don't waste your time or money.

Friday, Nov 25, 2022 I booked them by Expedia. First thing, they address in Expedia shows the other ice museum in Fairbanks. I went to the address that they put in Expedia and It was there when we figured out we weren't only one there who bought their tickets from Expedia and ended up to the other ice museum! We all were trying to call the facility while we were ended up to pay the other museum that was close to airport and It was in the city not the other one where we were supposed to drive 1 hours and half! Nobody answered the phone and Expedia as usual wasnt able to get the refund back and this was they answer! Be aware when you are booking! No one take the responsibility for your loss. The address is not this one 500 2nd Ave, Fairbanks, AK 99701. The address is 17600 Chena Hot Springs Rd, Fairbanks, AK 99712.

Interesting little spot, but it's not something I would go out of my way to see. Overall, the idea of everything being made of ice is very impressive and there are some beautiful sculptures inside. That being said, it only took about 10 minutes to go through and view everything inside (it really isn't that large). It was pretty cool (no pun intended) sitting at the ice bar drinking overpriced apple-tinis. There were a lot of spots that had already started to ruin - with pieces melting or missing. It could definitely use some updates. Maybe it just wasn't my thing?

After seeing all the beautiful photos of the ice museum, we had an unplanned opportunity to visit today due to the cancelling of another tour. Sadly, the museum was not at all like the photos. Very few lights were on. The guide basically used his phone flashlight to provide most of the light. The large sculpture just inside on the right was lit up, but really nothing else. A little disappointing.

Okay. So let me preface this with the fact that after you are allowed inside the museum, you're really on your own to explore the ice sculptures and it's your responsibility to ask questions and make it a museum-like experience. If you're okay with that, this place is actually very legit and interesting. We walked in, and first thing we witnessed was a guy in his workshop working on a piece. Continued on in and you're instantly amazed by the perfectly sculpted pieces, and then you see the bar and the rest doesn't matter much (yet). They offer appletinis on an ice souvenir "glass." Cash only and the guy was limited on cash so try bringing exact cash ($15 per drink) or purchase vouchers ahead of time. Our bartender was very well informed in the history of most pieces and the facts to run this museum year round. After the drinks kicked in, the rest of the place was more enjoyable and you definitely see the attention to detail, patience, SKILL, and time it takes to create these pieces of art. If you're in town, may as well give this place a shot!

I enjoyed my time at the ice museum. It was pretty cool seeing everything made out of ice. It's not a big place, but there's plenty to see. You get a nice little drink at the end in an ice glass that you get to break afterwards. Our bartender was really nice and informative. I wouldn't come again but I'm glad i came here. Especially if you go to the hot springs afterwards. Don't come here just for the ice museum, the long ride is not worth it.

If you plan to stay in the Fairbanks area for more than a couple of days, the venture out here is worth the experience. The sculptures are awesome for picture taking. It's worth the little extra money to try the apple martinis. One of my key words here was venture. If you plan to make this 60-mile drive from Fairbanks during the winter, it is not an easy. The roads are slick, and will easily take over 90 minutes. Plan accordingly, and do yourself a favor and rent an SUV while out here.

This was a fun visit! The sculptures are amazing to look at and the experience is well worth it. Admissions is $15/person and appletinis served in ice glasses were also $15 each. Sounds pretty expensive but the drink was so strong I wouldn't say it wasn't worth the $15. The ice museum was filled with beautiful sculptures and the tour guide provided pretty good descriptions and back-stories is each area. There is a bar made completely of ice, this is where the appletinis are served. In the far back are 4 hotel rooms made of just ice! All 4 had different things going on in them. Even the chandelier crystals were made of ice! Wow! We even got to watch the artists make the martini glasses! Great experience!

This was a bit hyped up. They let in a bunch of people at once and it was kind of squishy putting on huge parkas (that we hung right back on the way out...does it ever get washed??) and everything was in one room. The sculptures themselves were neat and I give those 2 artists total respect, but it was kind expensive at $15 for admission and $15 for the appletini. I feel that their talent deserves a better venue than the resort. Like if they and Fairbanks Ice Museum got together and merged physically and deal-wise, it might make it more worth it for everyone. We were also recommended to come to the Ice Museum before hot springs (so that our wet hair doesn't feel cold), but I read the warnings for hot springs later, and it said people should NOT go into the hot springs after drinking alcohol for risk of a heart attack (they should warn people about getting appletinis right before hot springs)!

This was a very cool place to visit. I don't drink martinis but how could I pass on one when the glasses are literally made out of ice? I highly suggest one just for the experience. The sculptures we super cool as well. Dress warmly because it really is super cold in there.

First of bring gloves or your hands will freeze! Second of all get a martini. You get to drink it out of an ice sculpture. Who would get married inside an ice museum? There's a wedding chappel inside! Awesome! I'd do it! A few different rooms inside Tons of different ice sculptures. I'd go again if I ever visit Alaska again. Ps the resort is great!

A nice place for sightseeing. We only went for the day from Fairbanks. Was worth the trip. The resort looks fun and would maybe stay here to see the northern lights if ever come back. The museum itself has some really cool sculptures. It is small,one room and could basically see it all in 10-15 minutes, so the charge for the family felt steep for the attraction. It was fun to see the sculptors do their sculpting. As I said the sculptures are amazing. Would be fun to just get to hang at the bar awhile and have some drinks- but that's not how it works. . I'm glad we went, but once is all I'll need.

They have coats for you to use, but on the day we visited they were wet. The sculptures are amazing, I had fun taking photos here. You can rent out the place for overnight visits, but we were told no one makes it all night! A tour and a visit to the bar are enough. The Appletini is served in a glass made of ice. I enjoyed sitting on the carabao covered bar stool and drinking. I would have had another if it was an option. There was a wedding scheduled in here the day after our visit.

We were originally going to go to the ice museum in downtown Faribanks, but since we were going to go to the hot springs at Chena anyways, we figured we'd just go to the one there. It was 15 per person, which isn't too bad. It was raining that day, so my toes got pretty cold while we were in the museum, thankfully we decided to do the hot springs afterwards! Don't go in there, wet, you'll regret it. I wore the coat they had and a hood from my hoodie and was pretty comfortable. My husband just had a baseball hat and his own jacket and was comfortable. The tour is 45 minutes, but that basically means you have 45 minutes to show yourself around. Most people were gone after 20. We spent about 35 and by the time we left there were only a few people left. The museum was really neat! It was worth the 15 dollars for me, for sure! I loved it there!

I researched what to do in Fairbanks and saw they have an ice museum. What a cool thing to do in the summer in Alaska and see a real ice museum. When I arrived in Fairbanks to get more information about the ice museum I learned that there are two ice museums and that was a little confusing. There is one downtown Fairbanks in an old theater. We actually stopped in and the lady at the desk said you walk in and there are ice sculptures. This location doesn't have a bar or offer the Appletini's. We decided to drive to the other ice museum located about an hour away at Chena Hot Springs. I'm glad we did. The drive was nice and there are lots of hiking trails the further away from Fairbanks. There are lakes along the roadside and we even saw a moose on our drive to the Hot Springs. We arrived at the Hot Springs and they offer lots of activities from horseback riding, bike rentals, a hot springs pool, ATVs, Dog sledding, plane rides to the Arctic Circle, an Ice Museum, beautiful gardens, hiking trails, and lodging. We had just missed the 3pm tour when we arrived and the next tour was at 5pm. We bought tickets and walked around the area. The pool looked really nice and the gardens and greenhouses were impressive with the flowers, and vegetables they grow. They have a market where you can buy fresh vegetables too. We hiked the nature trail and ended up seeing the sled dogs on the trail. You are not to touch or go near them though. We met our tour at 4:40pm where you buy tickets. They open the doors to the museum and take you to a room with heavy parkas to wear since the museum is 20 degrees inside. Inside the ice museum there are amazing huge ice sculptures. It is the world's largest year round ice environment in the world. These ice sculptures are made by award winning ice carvers Steve and Heather Brice. It's a magical world of ice inside with life-size knights on horses, a real ice bar where they serve $15 Appletini's in ice glasses. There is an igloo with Xylophone you can play. There are 3 private ice rooms with ice beds to sleep on. You can stay in the rooms for $600 a night. Our guide said that no one has actually made it all night due to the cold and no bathrooms. I thought the led colored lights on the ice and the ice chandeliers were really cool. It would be fun to host a short party here as the room is such a unique environment. We stayed longer and were captivated watching the ice carvers make martini glasses. They make it look so easy. Well worth the drive - this place is cool- literally! Tickets are $15 a person- a little spendy since you are only in there for a short time- but how often do you get the opportunity to be in an Ice Museum in the summer?

Not worth to visit this museum. Expensive and boring!! Better to see ice art at North Pole.

Very cool place! Interesting seeing all the different ice sculptures. Tour guide was very friendly. Very cold they provide big coats but better to bring gloves or hat. Fun fact: they have 4 rooms that you can stay in for $500 a night (so you can say you slept in an ice hotel). Recommend it.

Chena hot springs was pretty good overall and was nearly ruined by my trip to the museum. It was late when me and my partner went in and was instantly accosted by the tour guide yelling at us to get out. We were confused on why. Apparently we weren't moving fast enough to get out so he laid his hands on my partner and rudely shoved her aside to open the door and curtly telling us that we needed a ticket to get in and vaguely pointed us to the place to get a ticket before slamming the door on us. He said there was a sign but none was present. We checked to see if we were the jerks there. Honestly I'm sure it's amazing but if it wasn't for the great staff at the dog pen area and the cafe and spring area...this trip would have been tainted. For whatever it's worth...

Aurora Ice Museum is a great diversion while spending the day at Chena Hot Springs. Be advised: you can only go into the museum with the tour which is $15. That's perfectly fine for this little tourist attraction. Try the Appletini, but I'd recommend purchasing them in advance with your tour ticket. Nobody wants to fumble with cold hands and a wallet in the ice museum. The tour is 45 minutes, but the host will be done talking by about 15 minutes in. Wander around and enjoy the "cool" displays that the Br"ICE" family have made. Last tip: do this early in your visit or blow dry your hair. Wet hair after the Hot Springs and and ice museum make a poor combination. Enjoy the ice museum, it's very fascinating!

Is it a museum with an ice bar . . . or . . . an ice bar with some ice sculptures? So-it's relatively small with some well sculpted ice figures. There's an indoor igloo, a couple of rooms with ice beds/we're told you can rent it for a night if you can endure the cold and lack of bathrooms. The ice bar takes center stage and the appletinis are excellent. They're served in an ice glass: Skol ! And then take the glass outside and break it. It's a nice tourist stop-so why not enjoy it?

Interesting museum; however not worth the $15.00 admission. They should charge $5 or $10 at the most. The guide gives about a 5 minute explanation and then you are on your own. Not very big. $15 is too much. I would not do it again and I would not recommend it to others.

we thought this would be silly fun and it was! It was a unique adventure and we loved it. The drink was surprisingly good, the sculptures magnificent, and overall, this is just a fun place to visit!