An Updated Guide to Arctic Man Alaska 2025

Arctic Man Alaska is an annual snowmachine event that has taken place every year around April since 1986 near Summit Lake. Although they used to have an incredibly unique ski and snowmobile event, they have sadly discontinued this specific event in recent years. If you plan to visit for your first time, you'll want to check out my tips below on what to expect during the Arctic Man weekend.

My Essential Alaska Travel Resources :
There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. These are my favorite websites and resources to help plan an incredible trip to the 49th State.

For flights, I recommend using WayAway or Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to Alaska.

Car rentals, arguably the best way to see Alaska, are best through Discover Cars!

I always use AGODA for hotels. They have an easy-to-use platform where you can compare the best rates.

To keep cell phone service if you're traveling internationally, I always use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required).

For fun things to do, I recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Klook also does the trick.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.
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Lastly, my Alaska packing list for your travels to the Last Frontier.

Getting to Arctic Man & Parking

Arctic Man is located around the 197/198 mile markers of the Richardson Highway. When you drive from Fairbanks it'll be on your left, and if you're coming from Anchorage it'll be on your right. If this is your first time visiting the event, it's worth knowing that in this area you'll find a dirt road that leads you back a few miles to the actual event area. Currently, parking on event premises for the weekend costs $225 for the weekend and includes one plowed out spot near a snowbank in case you bring any snowmachines with you (most people here bring a few along with their RVs). After paying to reserve your spot, you'll get an email a few weeks before the event in case you want to pre-order firewood or rent a porter-potty for the weekend.

I rented a Campervan with Vanderlust Vans in Anchorage and it worked out perfectly!

My Favorite Tours near Fairbanks : 
- Castner Glacier Ice Cave Tour
- Northern Lights Photography Tour

What to Expect at Arctic Man 2025

The Arctic Man Race
Unfortunately, my husband and I visited in sole hopes of seeing the actual Arctic Man race. Turns out, we're a few years too late. We talked to a few people at the actual festival and turns out they stopped doing this race right around the time of Covid, so if you're hoping to see the incredible ski/snowmachine team race, you might want to reconsider your trip. There isn't much information online about this, so it's hard to know this event has been cancelled.

Other Snowmachine Races
Even though the main event has been cancelled, there are other snowmachine races throughout the Friday & Saturday of the event weekend. You can watch the Ditch Banger on Friday or the Snow Cross & Drag races on Saturday. It's worth noting that most races started much later that the times listed, and according to other event goers you can typically expect a delay of about 2 hours.

Other Weekend Events
Other than snowmachine events, you can find a few other things going on during the weekend. There's a daily auction for products like snowmachine jackets & insulated bibs, oil, and helmets, in addition to a nightly live band. You can find all these events (including awards ceremonies from races) and Arctic Man merchandise for sale inside the beer tent.

Food & Drinks
Luckily there's a couple of options of places to eat on event grounds, which is nice since there really aren't any restaurants nearby this area. This year, my favorites were the Crash Cart (a little hot beverage/caffeine food truck) and Mac It Up (a delicious mac and cheese food stand), but they also had 3 other food stands that served tacos, hot dogs, burgers, and nachos. Inside the beer tent you'll of course find the bar, however the best part was that even though we were way out in the middle of nowhere, prices for the beer tent & stands were fairly resonable!

Watch my Arctic Man Adventures here!

Coming Soon!

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Other Alaska blog posts you might be interested in : 
-> Girdwood's Forest Fair
-> Anchorage's Fur Rondy Event

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Pin this Arctic Man Guide for later!