North Pole

Santa Claus towers over North Pole, Alaska

North Pole is a city of 2,100 people (2019) near Fairbanks in Interior Alaska. The city is a summertime attraction for tourists visiting nearby Fairbanks and, due to its location on the Richardson Highway, those traveling to and from the Alaska Highway and Valdez.

Understand

Prior to Christmas each year, the US post office in North Pole receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa Claus, and thousands more from people wanting the town's postmark on their Christmas greeting cards to their families. It advertises the ZIP code 99705 as the ZIP code of Santa. A community program also responds to letters addressed to 1 Santa Claus Lane.

Climate

North Pole (Alaska)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D       0.5     −1 −17       0.5     10 −12       0.3     27 −1       0.4     45 19       0.7     61 35       1.6     71 47       2.3     73 50       2     66 44       1.1     54 33       1     31 15       0.7     9 −7       0.8     3 −14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation+Snow totals in inches    Data from NOAA (1981-2010)
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D       13     −18 −27       13     −12 −24       7.6     −3 −18       10     7 −7       18     16 2       41     22 8       58     23 10       51     19 7       28     12 1       25     −1 −9       18     −13 −22       20     −16 −26 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation+Snow totals in mm

Get in

By bus

• Green. M-Sa. Operates between the transit center in Fairbanks and central North Pole and takes about a half hour. $1.50 or $3/daypass (as of July 2021, it is free due to COVID-19). (updated Jul 2021)

By car

North Pole is on Alaska State Highway 2, about 14 miles east of Fairbanks.

By air

Fairbanks International Airport (FAI ^IATA) is the closest airport with scheduled service.

Recreational pilots can fly to 1 Bradley Sky-Ranch Airport.

Get around

The town is quite small and, weather permitting, can easily be explored on foot.

By taxi

Taxis are available locally from North Pole Taxi (☏ +1 907 488-7433) or King Cab (☏ +1 907 488-8888).

See

• 1 Santa Claus House, 101 St. Nicholas Dr, ☏ +1 907 488-2200, toll-free: +1 800 588-4078. 10AM-6PM. The most obvious sight in the city is the "Santa Claus House," a Christmas-themed gift shop with live reindeer next door and appearances by Santa himself. You can also arrange for anyone you wish to receive a letter from Santa just before Christmas! There is a sweet shop inside and the "World's Largest Santa" statue outside. (updated Jun 2021)
  • Meet Santa. Summer W-Su 10AM-6PM, Winter Sa Su 10AM-6PM. free. (updated Jul 2021)
• Antler Academy (next door to Santa Claus House). M-F 9:45AM-12:30PM & 1:15PM-5:45PM. Meet and feed Santa's reindeer. $13/adult, $8/child. (updated Jul 2021)
• The Knotty Shop, 6565 Richardson Hwy, ☏ +1 907 488-3014. Another gift shop you say? Well, yes and no. It is a gift shop, and has some sculptures made of burled and knotty wood, hence the name. However the real attraction here is the "wildlife museum" in the back room. It is one of the most over-the-rop displays of taxidermy you will ever see. Whoever made it has basically shot at least one of every animal in Alaska and had it mounted, and they are all on display on an indoor "mountainside." If you like finding weird tourist stuff, this is a must-stop.
  
  In summer it is a nice place to stop for ice cream as well. 11 AM–6 PM every day. (updated Dec 2024)

Buy

The city of North Pole has a 5.3% sales tax.

Postage and mail - use the special Santa/North Pole cancellation slot.

Eat

• 1 Pagoda Restaurant, 431 N Santa Claus Ln, ☏ +1 907 488-3338, info@pagodanorthpole.com. Su-Th 11:30AM-9:30PM, F Sa 11:30AM-10PM. Chinese restaurant. Opened in 1990, it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. (updated Sep 2022)
• 2 Fire Wok, 249 N Santa Claus Ln, ☏ +1 907 488-8883. M-Th, Sa 4:30-9PM, F 4:30-10PM (closed Su). Chinese restaurant. (updated Sep 2022)
• The Sweet Shop at Santa Claus House, 101 St. Nicholas Dr. 10AM-6PM. A small cafe inside the Santa Claus House. Has coffee, fudge and other desserts. (updated Jul 2021)

Drink

• 1 Elf's Den Dining and Lounge, 2556 Mistletoe Rd, ☏ +1 907 488-3268. M-F 4-10PM, Su 4-9PM. Was featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. (updated Jun 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Beaver Lake Resort Hotel, 2555 Mission Road #1103, ☏ +1 907-488-9600, fax: +1 907-488-9772. Motel suites with full kitchen and apartments for extended stay. 
• 2 Hotel North Pole, 449 N Santa Claus Ln, ☏ +1 907 488-4800, toll-free: +1-877-488-4801, fax: +1 907-488-4816, reservations@hotelnorthpole.com. Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. Extended-stay hotel beside North Pole Plaza mall. Wi-fi and continental breakfast included. Meeting and banquet facilities. (updated Sep 2022)

Cope

• 1 North Pole Branch Library, 656 NPHS Blvd, ☏ +1 907 488-6101. Tu 11AM-8PM, W-F 11AM-6PM, Sa 11AM-5PM. The new library building opened in 2014 and has public wifi. (updated Sep 2022)

Routes through North Pole

Manley Hot Springs ← Fairbanks ←

N  S

→ Delta Junction → Tok