Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation

Recreation activities at forts Greely and Wainwright provide well-rounded recreation programs including arts and crafts, auto crafts, sports and athletics and outdoor recreation. Although there are some variances in programs and facilities, they all have much in common. Soldiers and their families have first priority to a wide variety of facilities and services. DoD-sponsored Armed Forces Entertainment and United Service Organizations shows are also presented periodically. The performers invite the entire military community and public to watch them set the stage with musical performances, fashion and talent shows.

Valdez Glacier Campground
The Valdez Glacier Campground is located in scenic Valdez, Alaska. Operated though Fort Greely's Outdoor Recreation program; the campground is open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Valdez is approximately 260 miles South of Fort Greely. The campground is located at the base of the Chugach Mountains beneath the famous Valdez Glacier. The Glacier run-off provides a beautiful waterfall that cascades into a crystal clear creek. Visitors to the campground will be struck by its beauty and grandeur. Campers can watch mountain goats graze on the steep slopes overlooking the campground. There is also a pair of nesting bald eagles on site. Campsites 102-104 are off limits to give this protected family some space, while still allowing for great photo opportunities.

Amenities at the location include 13 RV pads with electric, hook-ups, and well as 8 Rental Trailers with electrical hook-ups. Shower facilities available. Each site has a picnic table and fire grill. A covered pavilion and 2 day use areas are available to all patrons. 6 primitive outhouses and garbage dumpster are provided. Pets are welcomed in the campground on leashes but are not allowed in the rental trailers. The Family and MWR fishing boat is available for fishing and or sighting seeing with a fee assessed to cover NAF services and is located in Valdez small boat harbor. Valid Alaska fishing licenses are required for all persons above the age of 12 participating in a fishing trip. For all trips, there is a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6 people per trip. Trips are booked only upon the availability of the boat and may not be reserved in advance.

The campground is open to the public, however military, DoD Civilians, and Retirees rates are assessed at a lower rate. Special note -- fishing trips and rental trailers are available only to military, DoD Civilians and Retirees. For reservations at the resort, call (907) 873-4058, or (907) 322-1930.Visit the webite at www.fortgreelymwr.com/glacierview.aspx.

Seward Resort
The Seward Resort is an affordable retreat for military, retirees, National Guard, Reserves, DoD civilian employees, their families and guests. The resort has 56 motel rooms, 12 townhouses, a log cabin, six yurts and 40 RV sites. It's open year-round, seven days a week; reservations can be made one year in advance.

The resort is 125 miles south of the Anchorage metropolitan area on the beautiful Kenai Peninsula, just inside the city limits of Seward, Alaska, and adjacent to Resurrection Bay. It is accessible by car, RV, (approximately a two-and-ahalf hour drive from Anchorage), the Alaska Railroad, cruise ship and charter flights. En route, you'll travel the Seward Highway, a "National Scenic Byway" famous for scenic views along Turnagain Arm. Watch for moose, Dall sheep, beluga whales, bald eagles, black bear and the many glaciers tucked in and around the Chugach Mountains. The magnificent Kenai Fjords National Park and the incredible natural beauty of the Chugach National Forest surround the Seward Resort.

While visiting the resort, tour spectacular Resurrection Bay, gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, on our eighthour wildlife and glacier cruise to Holgate Glacier. Look for majestic bald eagles, colorful tufted and horned puffins, mountain goats and a variety of seabird colonies. Enjoy a deli-style lunch while watching for Alaska's famous marine mammals: killer whales, humpback whales, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and Dall porpoises. Anglers can book our deep-sea charter fishing adventures and experience the thrill of fishing in the Gulf of Alaska while enjoying the unique beauty of the Alaskan coastline. Fishing charters and glacier cruises operate daily from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Discount tickets are also available for a variety of the best activities the area has to offer.

Summer amenities include the Freedom Fighters' Bar & Grill; 40 RV sites with water, electrical, and cable TV hookups, six yurts (12-foot, round-framed tents); a covered picnic pavilion with a large grill, a playground, fish house and freezer, showers and laundry facilities. Winter recreation includes snow machine rentals, back-country tours, ice fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, winter bay cruises and dog mushing. Seabolt Hall is available to rent for conferences, weddings, banquets and holiday parties. The Alaska SeaLife Center is a short drive from the resort in downtown Seward. For resort reservations, call (907) 224-2654/2659, or (800) 770-1858. Visit the website at www.sewardresort.com.

Outdoor Recreation
The Army posts in Alaska are in tune with the needs of avid adventurers. They have a wide variety of equipment for those who want to be outdoors. From fishing, skiing and camping gear, to ice augers (for cutting holes for ice fishing) and trailers, Soldiers and family members can challenge the outdoors at a moderate price.

Fort Greely's Recreation Equipment Issue Office is located at the Outdoor Recreation Center (Building 627). If you want to experience the great outdoors in Alaska, the Family and MWR Equipment Rental is the place to get started. Available for use are: ATVs, snowmachines, campers, boats/motors, tents, skis, snowboards, sleds, snowshoes, along with other sporting goods to meet your needs. For more information, call 873-4058.

Fort Wainwright's Outdoor Recreation Program has its equipment issue center at Glass Park. The Outdoor Recreation Center is home to Glass Park's camping and picnic pavilion. Tent camping and RV spots are available for rent by the night, week or month in the summertime. There is also a boat launch facility on the Chena River. In addition to renting a wide variety of equipment, including riverboats and campers, Outdoor Recreation offers cross-country, and downhill ski and snowboard instruction, boater safety classes, river float trips, tours, fishing excursions and jet boat rides on the Chena River. For more information, call 361-6349 or 361-6350.

Boat Rentals
Each post rents riverboats and canoes, but boaters in Alaska must give special consideration to the water temperature, generally in the 40-degree range, and to the tides, which can have a difference of more than 20 feet. Anyone wanting to rent boats must attend the boating safety course. Fort Wainwright rentals and classes are at the Outdoor Recreation Center; telephone 361-6349. Fort Greely boat rentals are available from Outdoor Recreation; telephone 873-4058. Drownproofing courses are offered seasonally at the Fitness Center's Pool 873-5665.

Fishing
To fish on military installations, in addition to an Alaska sport fishing license, a Recreational Access Permit or RAP card, is necessary and can be obtained at the visitors' centers near the main gates at forts Wainwright and Greely. The cards are also available at the Natural Resources Office at Fort Greely and the Fort Wainwright Outdoor Recreation Office. RAP cards are needed for participants 16 or older who want to participate in any recreational activity on US Army lands. Passes are free and valid for two years from the date of issue. For Fort Wainwright fishing area information and RAP cards, call 361-9686. The Chena River runs through Fort Wainwright. The popular boating and fishing destination freezes over and is traversed by sled dog teams in the winter.

State of Alaska Sport fishing licenses and king salmon stamps can now be purchased online at www.admin.adfg. state.ak.us/buyonline or most sporting goods stores, and at Fish and Game offices. For updates on local fishing news, events and regulations for this fishing season visit www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishing.main. Fort Greely has 16 lakes located on the Donnelly Training Area. All lakes are stocked by Alaska Fish and Game. Depending on the lake, you can fish for rainbow trout, Arctic char, Arctic grayling, landlocked salmon, and lake trout. In addition to your current Alaska sport fishing license, you must obtain a Recreation Access Permit (RAP) before fishing these stocked lakes, because they are in a training area. You can get your RAP card at the Fort Greely front gate Visitor's Center. Permits are also available at the Natural Resources office in the hangar at Allen Army Airfield (873-1614 or 873-1615), or at the Fort Wainwright Visitor's Center.

Bowling Center
Fort Wainwright's Nugget Lanes Bowling Center is a 32- lane, smoke-free facility with a full-service pro shop, Team USA-certified coaches, snack bar and cocktail lounge. The facility provides the opportunity for league play, open bowling, youth programs and a variety of weekend tournaments. It is open to all active duty and retired military, their family members and authorized civilian employees. Saturday nights, the lights go down and the music and fun go up during "Thunder Alley" glow-in-the-dark bowling. Party packages for military units, birthdays and youth outings are available. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings are available for large group outings. The center is open September to May:

Monday and Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday: 11a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday: Noon to 11 pm.
Sunday: 3 to 9 p.m.
During the summer months, the bowling center is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings 6 to 11 p.m., and for special functions. For more information, call 353-2654.

ARTS AND CRAFTS / AUTO SHOPS
The Fort Wainwright Arts and Crafts Center is in Building 3727 on Neely Road next to the Arctic Knights Inn dining facility. The shop has almost any woodworking equipment needed for building anything from a shelf to a stereo cabinet. Multiple crafts include pottery, ceramics, jewelry, stained glass, stamping and a frame shop for custom or self-help matting and framing of pictures. Computer engraving for plaques is also offered. Special classes are offered in several of these skills.

Customers must take a safety class before using the wood shop, matte cutter and ceramics facilities. The Arts and Crafts Center is open Monday through Wednesday noon to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The phone number is 353-7520.

The Auto Crafts Center located in Building. 3730 on Oak Street behind the PX provides assistance to service members and their families. The center features 17 bays for vehicle work, and three car wash bays. Due to extreme temperature ranges in Interior Alaska - from 60 below zero or colder in the winter to highs in the 80's and 90's in the summer - it is important for Soldiers to keep their vehicles in good running condition. Mechanics are on duty to assist you with vehicle problems. There are also tools and equipment for most minor technical work, with some special equipment for major jobs. Inspection and maintenance (emission control) certificates are also available. The phone number is 353-7436.

The Fort Greely Wood Shop is located in Building 650. The Woodshop offers a full line of hand tools and powered instruments to help you make furniture, wood carvings and other decorative items. Classes are offered for beginning, intermediate and advanced woodworking, as well as bowl and goblet turning and picture framing and matting. For more information please call 873-3140. The Auto Crafts Center located in Building 626 The Auto Craft shop has a hydraulic lift available by appointment to do oil changes and other do-it yourself auto maintenance. Tire change services are offered. There is a mechanic on duty to help answer questions and assist with the tools and equipment. For more information please call 873-3139.

ARTS AND CRAFTS / AUTO SHOPS
FAMILY AND MORALE, WELFARE AND RECREATION Skiing/Snowboarding
Fort Wainwright's Birch Hill Ski & Snowboard Area and Lodge are located in Building 1172 on Birch Hill on the north side of the Chena River. Birch Hill's ski and snowboard season runs from Oct through Mar. This is Interior Alaska's finest learn-to-ski facility and features the best snowboard terrain park north of the Alaska Range. The lighted ski hill includes a two-person chair lift with 142 chairs, one paddle lift on the beginner slope and tubing hill lift on the 800-foot tubing run. Tubes are provided with purchase of a tubing pass. Beginner through advanced ski and snowboard lessons are available on the 35-acre slope. For information, call 353-9131. The Terrain Park features a regulation size halfpipe, three progression table jumps, and an assortment of rails including a mail box and fun box. Tournaments are offered throughout the ski season, and military arctic skills championships are conducted annually. Downhill skiing and snowboard equipment are available for rent. The rental shop also sharpens and waxes skis and snowboards. The phone number for equipment rental and lift ticket cost is 353-6795. Early bird season passes can be purchased starting in October. The ski lodge also has a large lounge with fireplace and snack bar service. Lodge rental can be booked by appointment only. Call 353-2706 for fees and availability.

Fort Greely's Fire Tower Hill offers a towrope and separate areas for skiing/snowboarding and sledding. The hill is open seasonally dependant upon snow fall. Sleds, skis, snowshoes and snowboarding equipment are available for rent from Outdoor Recreation's Equipment Rental. Call 873-4058 for more information.

Physical Fitness Centers
The Fort Wainwright Physical Fitness Center, Building 3709, is on south post, adjacent to the PX. The center features an indoor running track, aerobics rooms, basketball and racquetball courts, sauna and steam rooms for men and women, an open exercise area that contains state-of-the-art equipment, and one of the Army's few indoor ice rinks. Free weights and Nautilus machines are available. The center has a multi-purpose room used for broomball and recreational skating throughout the year. Outside, players will find a two-field softball complex, three tennis courts and a soccer practice field.

Melaven Gym, Building 5342, on South Gate Road, offers four racquetball courts, a weight room featuring free weights and Nautilus machines, saunas and steam rooms and an indoor 25-meter pool. Melaven Gym also has two softball fields and tennis courts. The Physical Fitness Center and Melaven Gym operate year-round. Major seasonal sports include basketball, softball, flag football, volleyball, broomball and many others as well as numerous invitational tournaments. For more information, call 353-7274/7275. The Fort Greely Physical Fitness Center is centrally located in Building 503, behind the headquarters building. The gym offers men's and women's locker rooms, with sauna & steam rooms, three racquetball courts, a basketball court, outdoor tennis courts, weight room, rowing machines, treadmills, and a tanning booth. The pool is also located within the fitness center offering an Olympic-sized heated pool with diving boards. Swimming lessons, Aquacise, and Drownproofing courses are offered regularly. Kick boards, goggles and other pool toys are available. For more information please call the gym at 873-2696, or the pool at 873-5665.

Off-Road Trails
Interested in off-road excitement? Whether you're on a guided trip or on your own, Fort Greely has an extensive trail system both on the main post as well as the Donnelly Training area. The surrounding local areas also offer many off road trail riding opportunities that our staff at Outdoor Recreation would be glad to discuss with you according to your activity and skill level. Trail system maps are available at Outdoor Recreation. When recreating within the Donnelly Training Area you must obtain a Recreation Access Permit (RAP) before proceeding. You can get your RAP card at the Fort Greely front gate Visitor's Center. Permits are also available at the Natural Resources office in the hangar at Allen Army Airfield (873-1614 or 873-1615), or at the Fort Wainwright Visitor's Center.

Skeet, Trap and Archery Ranges
Shooting sports in Alaska provide Soldiers and family members a healthy, fun way to stay sharp, enjoy the outdoors and share important time together. Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely both provide intramural and recreational leagues, shoots sponsored by the National Skeet Shooters Association and plain old 'fun' shoots. Our ranges are equipped with outdoor lights to keep the fun happening year-round. Shotgun sales, reloading equipment, gun rentals and shooting supplies are available, as well as a five-stand, sporting-clays range.

Fort Wainwright's Birch Hill Skeet and Trap Range is next to the ski lodge, Building 1172. Special certificates and patches are available for those brave enough to shoot a round at 20 to 40 below zero during the winter months. For more information, call 353-7869.

Fort Greely's Skeet and Trap Range is located in front of Building 649, east of Fire Tower Hill. It is available by appointment only for groups of three or more people. The range master's office has ammunition for sale. There is also a limited number of skeet and trap guns available for use. For more information, call 873-4058.

Fort Greely's Archery Range is located behind Building 649. The archery range offers several 3D animal forms ranging from a sheep to a dinosaur. There is also a shooting stand for accurate hunting and target practice. For more information, call 873-4058.

Ice Rinks
Fort Wainwright has one of the few indoor ice rinks in the Army, which allows for a variety of on-ice activities including hockey, broomball on ice and figure-skating lessons, as well as extended hours for general skating. The indoor ice rink, located in the Physical Fitness Center, is operational mid-September to mid-May. There is also an outdoor rink at Youth Services.

Golf Courses
Fort Wainwright's Chena Bend Golf Course, the "Farthest North Military Course," is a 6,476- yard, par-72, 18-hole course. It is nestled between the east end of the Fort Wainwright airfield and the Chena River, with several holes running along the river. The course, which is the only 18-hole golf course in the Fairbanks area, was rated by "Golf Digest" as Alaska's best for 1999. On select Sundays throughout the summer, there is a Par 3 course set up on the front nine for families. There is a self-serve driving range open 24 hours, a practice putting green and a chipping green with a sand bunker. There is also a practice area for those who have their own golf balls. Electric carts, pull carts and clubs are available for rent, and the clubhouse offers a snack bar and pro shop. The course is open May - September depending on weather conditions. Call 353-6223 during the summer months for more information and tee times. Active duty, retired military and DoD authorized civilians may call five days in advance; non-DoD civilians may call three days in advance of play.

Community Centers
Fort Wainwright's Warrior Zone, Building 3205, is on south post in the heart of "Barracks Country." The Zone is for adults 18 years old and older. Our technology driven facility consists of a Cyber Zone with free Internet access and gaming computers, a pool table/gaming room, arcades, a home theater and a TV gaming zone to support X-Box, Play-Station 2 and X-Box 360 single and multi-player gaming. An extensive library of game titles and movies are available for use in the facility free of charge. This facility is the home of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers' program. A full service snack and sports bar provides food and beverages, to include beer and wine. Enjoy the big game on one of our many televisions throughout the bar, dance floor and lighting system, and live bands often play for your entertainment.

The Last Frontier Community Center (LFCAC), Building 1044, on north post, is within walking distance for many. The LFCC is a "Family Friendly Facility" with a full spectrum of activities and services available. An Internet café located in the northeast corner provides specialty coffee beverages, donuts and a cozy spot for you to meet with friends. An indoor playground for young children, with tables and chairs within sight, provides a healthy indoor park for families to escape winter blues. Parents can work out on elliptical machines and other workout equipment while their children play in the same room, a healthy alternative for all. The LFCAC also boasts the best indoor Laser Tag Arena in Interior Alaska. It features 3,000 square feet of playing area, capacity to handle groups up to 18 players and stateof- the-art weapons and vests. Group and family discounts are available.

The Warrior Zone at Fort Greely is located in the basement of Building 653. The Warrior Zone is run by the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers Program (BOSS). All Family and MWR authorized users 18 years of age and up are welcome in the facility however, activity preference is given to single and unaccompanied Soldiers. This facility features a computer lab with free wireless internet access, printers and computers. For our soldiers gaming needs we offer pool, ping pong, poker and air hockey tables as well as a gaming room supporting an X-Box 360, Play-Station 3 and Wii. Games for all three systems are available. A Full DJ system and dance floor is set up for parties or band practice. 3- 48" LCD TV's with cable make the Zone the place to be for sporting events. A self-service snack area is also located in the Warrior Zone, along with a grill and picnic tables outside the main entrance.

The Indoor Playground is a fantastic family area located in Building 650. This facility offers a full size indoor playground with padded floors as well as a party room with sink and refrigerator. There is an additional room off of the party room with a stair stepper, elliptical machine and stationary bike with full view of the play area for parents that would like to get in a workout while their children play.