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Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area, United States

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About Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area

Village 155 m. Facts: verified.

A ski resort with its village at 155 m and its top at 306 m. It has 6 km of runs and 3 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 164 m, from 306 m to 142 m. For beginners and families: 64% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 2 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: an ice rink and childcare. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in February, about 0.5 m at the top (306 m). The town to stay in is Fairbanks.

The ski area

Runs from 142 m to 306 m: 164 m of vertical. 6 km of runs and 3 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area.

Runs
Beginner0.2 km
Easy0.9 km
Intermediate2.6 km
Advanced2.0 km
Not graded0.1 km
Lifts
Chairlifts1
Drag lifts1
Magic carpets1

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area data © OpenSkiMap.org and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

For families

64% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).

Within 5 km of the village:

  • an ice rink: Ft. Wainwright PFC, 3.8 km
  • childcare: Happy Faces Home Daycare, 2.7 km

The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 9 h 05 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to FAI, direct.

    See flights ORD → FAI · Skyscanner from about £300 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 35 min from the airport to Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in FairbanksAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay in Fairbanks (ad) on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire, lessons and lift passes.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

Forecast

The score, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoor

Forecast and score for each day at Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area
DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Mon 19Oct0, poor1 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-4°Cwind, 2 knots
Tue 20Oct0, poor2 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-4°Cwind, 4 knots
Wed 21Oct0, poor3 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-4°Cwind, 3 knots
Thu 22Oct0, poor3 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-8°Cwind, 2 knots
Fri 23Oct0, poor2 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-7°Cwind, 4 knots
Sat 24Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m2°Cwind, 6 knots
Sun 25Oct0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m2°Cwind, 2 knots

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to.

Snow by month

Typical snow on the ground and coldest daytime temperature by month
MonthBase155 mMid231 mTop306 mColdestat the top
Nov0.2 m0.2 m0.2 m-15°C
Dec0.3 m0.3 m0.4 m-19°C
Jan0.4 m0.4 m0.4 m-20°C
Feb0.5 m0.5 m0.5 m-18°C
Mar0.5 m0.5 m0.5 m-13°C
Apr0.3 m0.4 m0.4 m-2°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Tue 20 Oct, leaving from Chicago. Change dates

  1. Tue 20 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to FAI, then 35 min by road. About 9h 05 door to door

  2. Wed 21 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  3. Thu 22 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  4. Fri 23 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  5. Sat 24 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  6. Sun 25 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  7. Mon 26 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to FAI, then 35 min by road. About 9h 05 door to door

Rough cost

About £2,045–£3,275 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to FAI, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£300–£625
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Transfershared airport transfer, return£70–£120
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£215–£360
Food7 days eating out£260–£480
Lift pass5 days£1,000–£1,350
Ski hire5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£165–£275
Total£2,045–£3,275

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.