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Suggest a Feature →Delta Junction & the Alaska Interior
America's missile defense shield. The most isolated Army installation in the country.
Fort Greely is home to the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program — the nation's primary defense against intercontinental ballistic missile attack. The interceptor silos here protect the continental United States. It's a highly classified, mission-critical installation in one of the most remote corners of Alaska.
Delta Junction has a population of about 1,000 people. The Alaska Highway passes through. The Richardson Highway connects south to Fairbanks (100 miles) and north-northwest into the interior. The surrounding landscape is spectacular and genuinely wild: the Alaska Range, the Delta River, boreal forest, bogs, and some of the best hunting and fishing in the world. The climate is extreme: winters regularly reach -40°F to -60°F. Summer is brief but vivid, with 20+ hours of daylight.
Must Eat
The spots worth eating at before you PCS out.
Rika's Roadhouse (Delta Junction)
"A 1909 roadhouse on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The closest "destination restaurant" to Greely."
Rika's Roadhouse at Big Delta State Historical Park preserves a 1909 Tanana Valley roadhouse that served Alaska trail travelers. The historic site has interpretive facilities, a small museum, and seasonal food service. It's the most interesting place to eat near Fort Greely — if only because everything else is far away.
The site is open seasonally. Call ahead. The museum documents the pre-highway Alaska that existed when this roadhouse was critical infrastructure.
Fairbanks Restaurants (Silver Gulch, Pike's Landing)
"Your weekly resupply trip to Fairbanks doubles as a restaurant run."
Most Fort Greely personnel do weekly runs to Fairbanks (100 miles) for commissary, shopping, and dining. Silver Gulch Brewery (North America's northernmost brewery) and Pike's Landing on the Chena River are the dining destinations worth the trip.
Pike's Landing has an extensive outdoor deck over the Chena River — the Midnight Sun dinner experience in June/July with lingering daylight is genuinely memorable.
Outdoor
Get outside. The land around military installations is usually the best reason to be there.
Moose Hunting — Delta Bison Range Area
"Alaska moose and the Delta bison herd. Some of the most significant hunting in the state."
The Delta Junction area is famous for its moose hunting — the Delta River drainage holds a significant Alaskan moose population. The Delta Bison Range (an introduced bison herd that has thrived since 1928) is one of the few free-ranging bison herds in Alaska. Permits are required for bison; moose have standard Alaska regulations.
Alaska hunting licenses and tags are available at ADF&G offices. Moose hunting in the Delta drainage during the September rut is world-class. A successful moose provides 400+ lbs of meat and is an enormous cultural investment in Alaskan life.
Culture & History
Places with stories. Most military towns sit on deep history — dig in.
Fairbanks — Aurora Capital of the U.S.
"Your 100-mile city: the Chena River, the Morris Thompson Cultural Center, and the ice sculpture championship."
Fairbanks is the cultural and logistical hub for Fort Greely personnel. The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center provides an excellent introduction to Alaska Native cultures. The World Ice Art Championships (February-March) are a Fairbanks institution. Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge (in the city) draws thousands of sandhill cranes in fall migration.
The Fairbanks Museum of the North (University of Alaska) has the most comprehensive Alaska natural and cultural history collection in the state. The "UA Museum of the North" Northern Lights show on the aurora in the auditorium is excellent.
Family
Stuff to do with the kids. Rated by people who have brought actual children.
Chena Hot Springs Resort
"Natural hot springs 60 miles from Fairbanks. Aurora viewing in the pool."
Chena Hot Springs Resort is the premier Fairbanks area outdoor experience — natural geothermal hot springs, an ice hotel and ice museum, dog sledding, snowmobiling, and one of the best aurora viewing experiences in Alaska (soaking in a 105-degree outdoor pool while the aurora dances overhead).
Military discount available for day use. The ice hotel and ice bar (inside the resort) is open year-round — they maintain sub-zero conditions artificially in summer. The outdoor rock lake pool is open daily until 2am.
Day Trips
When you need to remember there's a world outside the gate.
"North America's highest peak and the most spectacular wilderness in the country."
Denali National Park is 2.5 hours west — 6 million acres of wilderness, caribou herds, grizzly bears, Dall sheep, and on clear days, 20,310-foot Denali dominating the horizon. Only one road penetrates the park (buses only beyond mile 15). Book bus tours months in advance.
"The Switzerland of Alaska. Columbia Glacier and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline terminus."
Valdez is 200 miles south on the Richardson Highway — glacier calving at Columbia Glacier, the terminal of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, extraordinary mountain scenery, and halibut fishing in Prince William Sound.
"Alaska's largest city. The full Alaskan urban experience."
Anchorage is 5 hours south — Alaska's largest city with legitimate restaurants, the Anchorage Museum, and the gateway to Kenai Peninsula for King Salmon fishing and Kenai Fjords National Park.
Cold weather gear is a survival issue, not a comfort preference. Proper Arctic clothing (layers, balaclava, insulated boots to -70°F) is essential before October. The post clothing issue program covers basics.
Vehicle preparation for extreme cold: block heater (essential), synthetic oil, battery rated for -40°F, and jumper cables in every vehicle. Never park outside overnight without a block heater.
The aurora forecast is your entertainment schedule from September through March. Clear nights with Kp4+ are aurora nights. Get in the habit of checking it daily.
The fishing and hunting opportunities surrounding Fort Greely are extraordinary and available immediately. A successful moose harvest is the defining Alaskan life experience. Pursue it.
Fairbanks is your city. Make the 100-mile run a regular social event — use it for restaurants, the university lectures (often excellent), and the museum. Don't isolate in Delta Junction.
Fort Greely is legitimately one of the most isolated Army installations in the world. Delta Junction is a very small town. Winter darkness (4 hours of daylight in December) and extreme cold (-40°F to -60°F) are psychological and physiological challenges that require active management. Seasonal depression is real and common — light therapy, regular exercise, and intentional social activity are necessary, not optional. The special duty pay, COLA, and extraordinary Alaska wilderness access are genuine compensation. But this is a hardship assignment by any standard, and anyone who isn't mentally prepared for that will struggle.
This guide is built by people who've been stationed here. If there's a spot we got wrong or a gem we missed, tell us.