2 Best Sights in Fairbanks, the Yukon, and the Interior, Alaska

Finders keepers is the name of the game at the Gold Camp, where you can pan for gold and tour a historic dredge. The Pedro Dredge scooped up 55,000 ounces of gold from Chicken Creek between 1959 and 1967, but apparently plenty was left behind in the creek and elsewhere. Guests can stay in the Gold Camp's cabins, campground, or RV park, and schedule a prospecting trip to the site's mining claims. Hungry gold seekers can fill up in the café on wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches, and baked goods, or fuel up with an espresso. Bluegrass lovers appreciate the family-friendly Chickenstock Music Festival, held the second weekend in June.

The landmark Rika's Roadhouse, part of the 10-acre Big Delta State Historical Park, is a good detour for the free tours of the beautifully restored and meticulously maintained grounds, gardens, and historic buildings. In the past, roadhouses were erected at fairly regular intervals in the north, providing everything a traveler might need. Rika's, which operated from 1913 to 1947, is far and away the prettiest and best preserved of the survivors. It's a great place to get out, stretch, and buy homemade sandwiches and pies from the adjacent café.