21 Jan 2023
Our ride to the Hot Springs was a zero. The ride back to Fairbanks was a five. So your experience totally depends on the driver. The winter road is dark and icy, just two lanes and often visited by moose. Our outgoing driver cruised it between 60-70 mph because he was running late and when he called the lodge they apparently told him he had to make up the time. The driver played heavy metal music, the shuttle bounced around roughly, we slid several times and the group felt very unsafe and was quite scared. It didn’t help that the windows were completely frozen up so no one could see anything. On the contrary, our ride back was in a nicely heated SUV and the driver travelled at the recommended safe 45 mph. Such a wonderful trip back to Fairbanks and such a relief after our first experience.