Welcome to North Pole Alaska

As one of Alaska's most unique towns and home to famous Santa Claus house, North Pole is still about 1,700 miles south of the Earth's geographic North Pole.

North Pole has events and activities year round including summertime attractions for tourists and residents in town and from nearby Fairbanks. About two miles south of North Pole is the Corps of Engineers Chena River Flood Control Project, which offers tours in the summer. The nearby Chena Lakes recreation area is popular for skiing in the winter and swimming and boating in the summer. North Pole also provides a bus service from Fairbanks on the Green Line.

Probably North Pole's biggest attraction is a gift shop named Santa Claus House, the modern-day incarnation of a trading post established in the town's early days. The Santa Claus House is known for the world's largest fiberglass statue of Santa Claus outside. Prior to Christmas each year, the USPS 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 local mechant named Con Miller moved his store to North Pole and began a tradition that is still going on today. Miller had already developed a reputation for playing Santa Claus to the Native children in the Alaskan Villages, and so he named his new trading post Santa Claus House.

North Pole is always in the Christmas spirit with Santa Claus Lane, St. Nicholas Drive, Snowman Lane, and Kris Kringle Drive. Street lights in the city are decorated in a candy cane motif, and many local businesses have similar decorations. The city's firetrucks and ambulances are all red, while the police cars are green and white.

About 12 miles south of Fairbanks, North Pole encourages it's vendors and business owners to carry out the Christmas theme year round. Since it is about midway between Ft. Wainwright and Eielson A.F.B. on the Richardson Highway, it is a bedroom community for military families who prefer to live off base.

North Pole has a large residential population hidden away. Their first 71 room hotel (North Pole Hotel) was due to open in 2009. There is also Beaver Lake Resort and Jolly Acres Motel as well as darling little bed & breakfasts.

Weather and the Environment

Alaska is known as "Land of the Midnight Sun" because the sun is up 24 hours per day in parts of Northern Alaska where there is no night sky for many weeks. In the Summer the gardens and flowers flurish in the 24 hours of daylight.

North Pole's shortest day of the year is just under 4 hours of daylight on December 21st, while the longest day of the year, June 21st, is almost 22 hours of daylight. Temperatures can dip as low as -78 degrees in the winter, to a high of 95 degrees during our summers and we are prepared for it all.

When you're ready to make the move to North Pole Alaska or anywhere in the Fairbanks real estate area, please contact Cameron Harter. Born and Raised in Fairbanks, Cameron knows the area well including all homes in and around North Pole.
Phone: 907-456-4653
Cell: 907-590-3612
Fax: 907-456-4652
Email: cameronharter@alaska.com

Original post here: http://cameronharter.com/north-pole-alaska_226.html

Lakewood Subdivision - Homes w/ Airstrip Access Fairbanks Alaska

With barely 14,000 miles of road in a state covering 570,000 square miles (more than twice the size of Texas), it's easy to see why Alaskans rely so heavily on air travel. And, with 1 in 53 Alaskans holding a pilots license, we do a lot of flying. While many folks opt to keep their planes at Fairbanks International or Metro Field, there's something to be said for stepping out your front door and into your plane. Whether for convenience or security it's a feature most neighborhoods don't offer.

Lakewood Subdivision in North Pole is an aviation friendly community. Comprised of 54 one-acre (+/-) home sites surrounding a 150' by 1,500' gravel and grass airstrip. At 1,500' the field is large enough for a super cub, 180 or 185 to get in and out of with little effort, if not fully loaded. As of this writing there are still a few undeveloped home sites available. View the Lakewood Subdivision plat or follow the link for directions.

Most are single family homes, but there are a couple of multi-family properties. Several have incorporated a large hanger into the home design while others simply keep their plane parked behind/beside the house, ready to go wheels up at a moments notice. As an added bonus the home sites on the eastern subdivision boundary border Chena Lakes Recreation Area.

Below are a few of the homes in Lakewood Subdivision.
Click the photo for an enlarged view.

If you're a pilot (or aspiring pilot) looking for a place to call home, consider Lakewood Subdivision. It's a short 15 minute drive to Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright or Eielson Air Force Base and minutes from the city of North Pole. Lakewood Subdivision - Homes for pilots and their families!