About Pike's Waterfront Lodge

Pike’s Landing is an historic spot in Fairbanks, named for Lloyd Pike. Mr. Pike homesteaded the area under the U.S. Homestead Act a little after World War II, when it was miles and miles out of Fairbanks. He sold part of his homestead to assist in the construction and creation of the Fairbanks International airport. Mr. Pike built Pike’s Landing in 1959, the same year as statehood. The free boat launch is open to the public year round and serves as the host location for the Yukon 800 boat race (800 grueling miles on the Chena, Tanana and Yukon rivers) The boat launch is also the site of the Tired Iron & Iron Dog Races—both of which are snowmobile races. The launch serves as the entrance to the ice bridge that is used from November to March as an ice highway for car and truck traffic across the river. There is always someone who unluckily breaks through the river sometime in early April, a sure sign of spring and heralding the end of the ice bridge. The boat launch is located between the hotel, Pike’s Waterfront Lodge and the restaurant, Pike’s Landing.

The floodwaters of 1967 washed the restaurant down the Chena River. Lloyd Pike rebuilt the log structure you see today in 1969. He sold the restaurant to Don Pruhs 1979 who owned it during the colorful pipeline days. The story always went that Don Pruhs paid the mortgage with the Juke Box and put his kids through college on the pool table money. Guy and Lillian Kasnick purchased Pike’s Landing in 1985. They created the fine dining room and added the 400-seat outdoor patio and atrium, open from spring until the moose-hunting season. The current and fourth owner owner, Jay Ramras, bought the property in 1999 and built the hotel a year later. It has grown to include 28 cabins, the Binkley Room restaurant and meeting room, a greenhouse and a summer park and river walk.

A focal point of Pike’s Waterfront Lodge is the stunning art collection that is unique for a hotel in Alaska. The art collection focuses on Alaska subjects by Alaska artists and is constantly changing. Many of the pieces are museum quality and several have been shown nationally in touring art shows.

Pike’s Waterfront Lodge is family run; we read all customer comments and attempt to incorporate suggestions into the hotel and its operations. Pike’s takes great pride in being dog and people friendly, but not necessarily in that order.

About the ducks
Lucky the duck lived at Pike’s Landing for years and died after a happy duck life. Today, Jay raises Rouen ducks in the greenhouse in the spring. They are bred to be flightless, but still love the water. When it is warm enough outside, the ducks move to the Lucky Duck Hotel with their own swimming pool and facilities. It is rumored they even have wireless duck Internet by the pond but wisely do not use it as they relax, watching the river roll by on those warm summer Fairbanks days and nights.