Three 800-foot lift-served runs on Fort Wainwright, weekends only, with a capped ticket count and base access needed to get in.
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Birch Hill is an Army recreation area on Fort Wainwright, and its tubing operation is small, scheduled and tightly rationed. Three 800-foot runs are served by a lift, so nobody walks back up, and the ski area also offers skiing and snowboarding around it.
Tubing happens on Saturdays and Sundays in two sessions, noon to 2:00pm and 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Tickets are sold same-day at the lodge, and the official page says each session is limited, with the count capped at 60. That makes arrival time matter more here than at a hill with online booking. Listed prices are $25 with a military or DoD ID and $30 without, and you should confirm current rates.
The gate is the other thing to plan for. You have to be able to enter the installation, and the official page points non-DoD visitors to the visitor center at 907-361-6144 about guest passes. Riders must be at least 5 years old and 40 inches tall, and tubes are provided.
Anchorage’s Arctic Valley is about 258 miles away, so it works as a different-region option, not a swap. It offers online-only tickets and evening sessions, while Birch Hill is a weekend, same-day-ticket hill.
Saturday or Sunday only. Arrive when the lodge opens, because tickets are sold the same day and each session has a limited number.
One 2-hour session; the two daily sessions are noon to 2:00pm and 2:30pm to 4:30pm
Each session has a limited number of tickets, capped at 60 per session according to the official page, sold day-of only at the lodge.
Access requires the ability to enter the Fort Wainwright installation. The official page says guest passes may be available for some non-DoD visitors through the visitor center at 907-361-6144.
Skip it if you cannot enter Fort Wainwright, if a child is under 5 or under 40 inches, or if you need to buy tickets ahead: they are sold same-day only at the lodge.
Arctic Valley in Anchorage is about 258 miles straight-line, so it is a different trip, though it has night sessions that Birch Hill does not.
You need to be able to get onto Fort Wainwright. Non-DoD visitors may be able to get a guest pass through the visitor center; confirm before you drive.
Youth must be 5 years old and at least 40 inches tall, per the official page.
No. Tubes are provided, and the official page says no experience or skill is required.
Current-season dates had not been published when we last checked. It has run: Saturday-Sunday. Check with the park before driving out — tubing seasons shift with the weather.
Pricing was not published when we last checked.
Minimum height is 40 inches. Minimum age is 5.
wainwright.armymwr.com
Checked September 2026.