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Toolik Field Station is open for field courses year-round. Polar night begins to end in late January, when the sun rises for the first time since early-November. Winter temperatures often drop into the negatives and can get to colder than -40°F. By April days are longer than 12 hours and temperatures rise to near freezing, though colder temperatures are still possible. Hibernating wildlife re-emerges beginning in late April, and migratory birds amass in late May to early June.

Snow melts by mid-June, and plants rapidly green up. Summer temperatures average around 50°F, though can rise to the 70sËšF and drop to the high 30s°F. Days continue to be long until September. A consistent snowpack starts to rebuild in October as lakes and streams freeze. 

Science occurs year-round at the station, though research activity peaks June through August.

Toolik Field Station provides all meals to station residents. On Mondays through Saturdays, we serve hot breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sundays, a cold brunch buffet is made available and leftovers are available from a self-serve chiller. Food, including leftovers, salad and sandwich bar, and snacks, is available in our dining hall 24/7. We cater to a wide variety of dietary needs, including vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and common allergies. Rare is the person who goes hungry at Toolik.

Toolik Field Station is accessible on Alaska’s road system via the Dalton Highway, a rugged, mostly unpaved road stretching from north of Fairbanks to Deadhorse. We are located at mile 284.5 of the Dalton—360 miles north of Fairbanks and 130 miles south of Deadhorse.

Groups typically travel to the station by driving from either Fairbanks or Deadhorse. It is possible to charter a small aircraft approximately 15 miles south of Toolik to Galbraith Lake, where an unmanned airstrip is maintained. Charter flights are expensive and limited in seats. 

Toolik Field Station does not provide transportation for field courses. See our transportation page for more information on renting Dalton Highway-ready vehicles.

Tours
Toolik Field Station staff are available to provide tours of the station facilities, nearby long-term research plots, and our naturalist hiking loop.

Facility
We provide classroom and lab space upon request. Classrooms have a projector, seating, and a chalkboard or whiteboard. Common-use lab and field equipment is also available.

Field Safety
For emergency medical triage, there is an EMT on-site and a medical clinic with basic care.

Additionally, Toolik stocks common field safety supplies, including bear spray, satellite phones, first aid kits, free for all station residents to use.

We recommend (but do not require) that travelers to Toolik have emergency medical evacuation insurance, in the case that they need to be flown out of the station to the nearest hospitals in Fairbanks or Anchorage. 

Toolik Field Station charges a $135 nightly rate per person for room and board. Field courses incur an additional charge of $70 per night per person to cover facility use, tours, and other support. University of Alaska courses receive a reduced internal rate. Please contact us for more information.

Graduate & beyond

• UAF Hibernation Science Workshop

Undergraduate

• UAF Climate Scholars Climate North of the Arctic Circle
• Olivet Nazarene Arctic science
• University of Southern California Arctic Hydrology

Secondary school

• Oregon State University Upward Bound Arctic Field Program
• Riverdale Country School high school course

Lifelong Learning

• UAF Summer Sessions Painting in the Arctic
• UAF Summer Sessions Sketching & Science
• UAF Summer Sessions Science & Sense of Place