Alaska Homestead Adventures - Fairbanks, Alaska

Jessica Johnson

My bf and I stayed with Jenna and David from March 22-24, 2023. I'm having trouble even finding the words to describe how incredible it was! Truly life changing, for starters. This is a trip I've dreamed about as long as I can remember and it exceeded all my expectations. Jenna and David are lovely people, knowledgeable, hospitable, and it was a pleasure spending time with them and their daughter Celia.

We are dog lovers, and wanted to do a trip where we could do longer dog sled rides than the traditional 1/2 to 1 hr tours, and really get to spend time with the dogs. This was perfect for that. Jenna & David built the trip around us and our preferences. We got to know all 10 of their dogs, and spent time each day giving all of them love & attention. The dog sledding itself was probably my favorite part of the trip, just absolutely magical and serene, exciting yet peaceful. I have never felt so at one with the universe.

It was great sharing meals with Jenna & David at their cabin, and they cooked some amazing food! It is absolutely incredible what Jenna is able to do with the little that they have available to them there. Everything was flavorful and freshly made, from the turkey zucchini patties, to the pulled moose, to the blueberrry pie, and chocolate lava cakes.

We also loved our cabin. It is so cute, and we were obsessed with that stove. It kept us so cozy! We really enjoyed sitting outside and looking out over the frozen lake. Even the view from the outhouse was incredible.

All in all this trip was a once in a lifetime event. Whether snowshoeing in a birch forest, catching and eating our own fish, getting to witness and love on these super talented, smart, athletic dogs, chatting and laughing with our hosts, or just sitting outside in absolute silence, I was fully present during every moment of this trip, and experiencing pure joy. This is not a feeling I experience very often in my life, and it was just so refreshing.

If you're considering staying with Jenna & David, do yourself a favor and do it!! It is worth every penny, and you may find yourself with a whole new perspective on life after spending time in their remote slice of heaven that they've created for themselves.

Lori Kirkpatrick

In a word - exceptional! What a magical experience. My daughter and I had the time of our lives on this trip, snowshoeing, ice fishing, enjoying daily dogsled trips and reveling in the gorgeous nature on the Tanana River bank. The food is delicious and the hosts are superb in every way.

Cassandra Xia

We had an incredible 4 day/3 night winter camping trip with Jenna and David! Jenna is an amazing cook - moose stew is my new favorite food. David is funny and skillful at all things outdoors. We saw him sleep outside in 0F weather! Winter camping was way more relaxing as I thought it would be - David set up the tents and stoves in advance, and we were free to do anything we liked (e.g. chop firewood, snowshoe, cuddle the sled dogs). Both David and Jenna are kind welcoming people and we learned so much - they took really good care of us 🙂

Pun P

Delightful experience with Jenna and David on our dog mushing tour! My mom and I were extremely pleased that we decided to do our dog mushing tour with Boreal Journeys. Jenna and David are amazing people who take amazing care of their dogs and are passionate about their sustainable lifestyle. We had great conversations and they made us feel very welcomed, like we were friends and had known them for years. The dog mushing itself was great. Loved interacting with the dogs and the warm gear provided was much appreciated!

Christine Kam

We spent two nights/three days with David & Jenna on their Homestead Overnights tour (March 1-3, 2020). To say we had a wonderful experience would be an understatement. We are discerning travelers who have traveled to 40+ countries, many of which are with private guides, and David & Jenna far exceeded our expectations. They kept us safe, made sure we were warm at all times, and catered to our food preferences. They are excellent cooks and there is always plenty to eat. We did as many activities as we wanted, dog sled for as long as we wanted, snow shoed, and ice fished. It was a very authentic experience because David & Jenna are not just running a tour operation. This is their home and way of life. The dogs are amazing and well-trained when they're on duty and ultra affectionate when they're off. They also had a super cute 5-month old puppy who would not miss an outing with us. The whole process starting with booking and answering our bombardment of questions (they are very responsive to e-mails, which is how we communicated), to picking us up at our hotel and dropping us off at the end of our trip, was extremely smooth. I would highly recommend them if a winter active vacation is what you're seeking.

TRISTINA MILLS

Boreal Journeys Alaska is absolutely the best! Jenna and David Jonas are the nicest people we have met on this trip. We did not book a dog sledding trip ahead of time because we didn’t know what the weather would be like. We decided at 1:00 in the afternoon that we wanted to go dog sledding and started calling around. Most places were booked or 45 minutes from Fairbanks down treacherous roads that this Texas girl didn’t want to drive. I called Jenna and she said they were booked but she could check with David about a night tour the next day. I said that would be fine. We just really wanted to do this. She called back and said that they could take us that evening. Jenna had a taxi driver pick us up at our hotel and bring us back after. Trust me it was worth it.
We both love dogs but knew that sometimes working dogs are kennelled and they tend to smell. This is not true at Boreal Journeys!! Their dogs are family and much loved. We played with the dogs and loved on them like our own. The dogs were wonderful! Watching them work together and enjoy what they do was incredible.
Jenna offered over boots, parkas, mittens, and hats while David got the dogs ready. Once they were harnessed to the hand made sleds we were off. The trip was PERFECT! We saw beautiful sunset over permafrost with a slight foggy mist rising from the snow. The sledding trip was about an hour long over beautiful snow. We saw tracks of moose, red fox, lynx, and rabbit. I took lots of pictures and some are pretty good but pictures never match the memories.
When we came back to their cozy cabin in the woods, Jenna had hot tea ready for us. We sat around the wood stove talking about our travels. I can not express how wonderfully friendly and helpful this couple is.
If you are thinking about dog sledding I highly recommend Boreal Journey Alaska!!

Linda Becker

One of the very best trips I have taken – from Jenna & David’s warm hospitality to the unbelievable adventures, amazing food, playful pups, and stunning property – I could not have asked for more. This is a once in a lifetime experience – to see Alaska through the eyes of the people who live there, on their homestead, enjoying truly local experiences.

Jenna & David make planning easy – everything is coordinated through their very informative website and they are extremely responsive to email – answering everything from questions about gear to transportation arrangements. And you don’t need to buy a whole new wardrobe to visit, they provide plenty of warm overboots, coats, hats, mittens and more. Jenna & David will also make sure you can accomplish everything on your to-do list: dog mushing (a must!), ice fishing, snow shoeing, camping, and more. Your days can be as active as you like and there’s always downtime in your beautiful private cabin, relaxing by the woodstove.

The dog mushing was incredible. Jenna & David have a wonderful pack of pups and I got to dogsled every day, each time with a different team of dogs. It was fascinating to watch the different personalities work together on different trails all around their property – and never the same view twice. I even got to borrow a dog (Eowyn ❤️) to come hang out in my cabin one night.

And the food was superb! Jenna & David make all the meals from scratch and are amazing cooks. There was no shortage of delicious meals and desserts (cake, cookies, ice cream, wow!) and on my last day I got to eat a fish that we had caught

I never got over how stunning the views were - sitting outside my cabin, dog mushing by the river, snowshoeing to the bluff. I got to truly see and experience Alaska. I have been fortune to travel to A LOT, and it’s a rare thing that I say I will go back to a specific place, a specific adventure (after all, there’s so much more to see and do). I will absolutely do more Alaska Homestead Adventures – sooner rather than later, and expect it will be more than one return trip. I can’t wait to further explore Alaska, and to get to visit with Jenna, David, Celia & the dogs again. I truly cannot recommend this experience enough!

Sarah Boese

We spent three nights with Jenna, David and their wonderful family of sled dogs and I couldn’t recommend them more! They welcomed us into their homes and were happy to share their lives and stories of living in Alaska with us. Their love for their dogs is authentic and they treat them like family, and were happy to let us spoil them as well! They were knowledgeable and well prepared for the adventures that they led us on. They encouraged us to relax but genuinely enjoyed teaching us the ropes of Alaska living when we wanted to help out! This trip will stand out in my mind forever...it was authentic, relaxing and exciting! I hope Jenna and David will be lifelong friends!