I cant say enough good things about this company. My snowshoe tour was very informative, exciting and great exercise!I arrived at their adorable cabin in the woods and was greeted by Evan and Shannon, the warm and personable couple that run this business. They explained snowshoe 101 to me and my partner and made sure we had adequate clothing, giving us some extra hand warmers just in case.Then we headed out for an hour and a half of exploration. Snowshoeing their trails was one of the best experiences Ive had in Fairbanks. The sun was shining beautifully through birch trees and the snow glistened. I couldnt stop taking pictures, it was so pretty! Evan and Shannon were great guides, pointing out all sorts of tracks and plants that I would have overlooked. Their knowledge of the forest is deep and it adds so much to the experience. They are both scientists so they are ideal companions for this type of trip.By the end of the trip I was ready to head back into the warm cabin and relax with some tea. This was a great way to end this wonderful day. If youre visiting Fairbanks or even if you live there year round, dont miss this hidden gem of a tour!

If you are in Fairbanks and don’t do the Ice Luminary and Snowshoe Walk & Dinner Experience you are really missing out.Shannon and Evan are delightful and interesting. Oh so is Cooper the Golden Retriever! I love their energy and so appreciate their love and knowledge of the Alaskan wilderness. The dinner was fabulous and featured locally grown and foraged foods. Shannon also makes tea and salves made from foraged plants. Really amazing!!Then there is the walk. It was lovely. It was about 20 below, the moon was out, snow in the trees. To say it was magical is an understatement. I really would have liked to walk more, but we needed to give them their house back.Do this. It’s a once in a lifetime experience.

This has to be one of the most unique experiences available in Alaska. The moment we arrived we could tell this was going to be something different.The evening started with dinner in Shannon and Evans cozy cabin. We learned about everything from the forest and nature surrounding us to dry-cabin living. The food was delicious, especially dessert, and we found Shannon and Evan to be extremely interesting people. They live a dream life and have such a unique world around them.After dinner we headed out into the cold for our snowshoe walk. This would be a wonderful walk in the daylight, but adding the luminary lights and the quiet, still of a dark forest created an otherworldy experience. Our conversation jumped around to so many subjects, we learned about everything from lichen to quinzhee building. The view of the stars was incredible.We had a great time trying to capture photos of this beautiful experience, and Shannon and Evan were very patient and never made us feel like we had to hurry along. Of course, the pictures dont even come close to doing it justice.If you find yourself anywhere near Fairbanks, I highly recommend taking this tour. You will remember this forever!!

There is no better option for an activity if youve got a trip planned to Fairbanks. Shannon and Evan are so knowledgeable, helpful and friendly! I would recommend anything they have to offer, you cant go wrong with an excursion with those two. They helped my boyfriend plan an absolutely amazing proposal (unbeknownst to me, of course) and it is a night i will never forget. Highly recommend!!!

Shannon and Evan are very nice people. We felt like we were having a good time with friends when we attended the tour with them. They hosted us with great hospitality .The walking experience under Alaskan snow in the woods was magical and Shannon and Evan are very knowledgeable about the nature around them. We would recommend this activity to everyone who visits Fairbanks.

This was one of our favorite experiences on our trip. Shannon and Evan were so welcoming and incredibly knowledgeable of Alaska and the incredible forest we walked through. We stopped along the way to learn about the different types of trees and how they are unique to the Alaskan climate as well as stopped to talk about the multiple different animal tracks in the snow. We even got to taste some of Shannon’s amazing, homemade herbal tea and meet their adorable companion Cooper. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening snowshoeing through a boreal winter wonderland. Don’t go anywhere but here!

I did a 5-6 hour private snowshoe tour with Evan in the White mountains. Evan was great with his knowledge of the area and created a specialized tour based on my preferences. What a great experience. Highly recommend!! I will be back

The snowshoe tour was one of the best things we did while in Fairbanks! Evan and Shannon are biologists and clearly know their stuff; learning all about the forest - its trees, its wildlife, and how so many plants in it can be sustainably harvested for food and medicinal purposes - was super, super cool. It was an invigorating but not strenuous walk through the forest trail, where we saw a moose (!), fox and snowshoe hare tracks, and a red squirrel. The tour concluded with sampling some nice herbal teas that Shannon had made with ingredients from the forest. Definitely worth your time if youre in town!

I wish we could give them more than 5 stars. Snowshoeing was amazing with lots of stops to learn about tracks and plants. Evan and Shannon are so authentic and kind, and their dog Cooper is super sweet, too! Cannot recommend enough.

Evan and Shannon were amazing hosts and guides. They are very knowledgeable of the area (plantlife, wildlife, etc) like its their own back yard (well...because it basically is) and super accommodating as well. One of my goals was to see the aurora and despite it being fairly cloudy while I was there, Evan and Shannon were determined to make that goal happen. I dont know how they even spotted it, but after a while of searching, they saw something in the night sky...we pulled over...and there it was! Id highly recommend them

This was probably the highlight of Fairbanks for me. My family did the night nature snowshoe tour in the woods and it was fantastic. The trails were great and all of the interesting things along the way were pointed out, from vegetation to animal tracks. No question was left unanswered and their vast knowledge was freely shared. Never once did we feel rushed, and had we asked for a longer trail, Im sure they would have taken us. The joy Evan and Shannon share of their home and business is evident and I would happily take the tour again. Of course their dog was a hit and we might have taken him home with us if we could have. If anyone wants a great time with minimal exertion (for a physical activity) this is it! When everything else in Fairbanks is closed why not hike the forest?

The tour was very fun, not too cold in winter, but with the careful attention of the guides. It was the best tour I had in Alaska. I would recommend to all my friends without hesitation.

This was one of the best experiences we had during our time in Alaska!! Traveling from NYC, we wanted a true Alaskan experience. Evan is so chill from the start and gave us an extensive knowledge of the boreal forest as we explored the trail. The trail itself was so peaceful and magical during winter. Snowshoeing was so fun and a good exercise. After the trail, Shannon treated us to some good homemade chaga and pine tea and shared stories of the Alaskan life. Really great people to spend your time with! Highly recommend to do this when you are in Fairbanks :)

We had the pleasure of joining Evan and Shannon of Leaf Out for a family snowshoeing adventure in their boreal backyard. Their cabin is at the edge of the boreal forest—which was breathtakingly beautiful when we were in AK in March.After we arrived at their cabin, Evan and Shannon outfitted our family—including our 3.5 and 5.5 year olds--with snowshoes that fit us all quite well. None of us had really snowshoed before, so after a couple minutes crunching around the snow getting used to our new gear, we set off. The trail was well groomed, despite an unusually snowy winter. We hiked through the still, silent scenery, keeping an eye out for signs of wildlife. While we didn’t see any actual creatures (thanks mostly to our never-quiet children, most likely), Evan and Shannon pointed out all the SIGNS of life in the woods: moose beds tramped down under trees; snowshoe hare, fox, moose, and squirrel tracks in the snow; food sources animals would look for in the middle of winter. The kids were especially enamored of all the animal information and by the end of the tour, our 3.5 year old was eagerly spotting and trying to identify tracks! The snowshoeing was great, and although we had never been snowshoeing before, our family had no problem walking on top of the snow. It was a surreal experience, as snow actually started lightly falling around us as we made our way through the forest. It felt like a real taste of the frontier but with the comfort of trained professionals nearby.A trained botanist and wildfire responder, respectively, Shannon and Evan pointed out all the types of trees and other plants. We learned about their life cycles, why wildfires are so prevalent in Alaska’s boreal forests, and what types of salves, medicines, and tea can be made from the plants around us. They also pointed out fun snow formations and “tracks” made by falling/melting snow so the kids could compare them to the animal ones.After a good long while hiking around outdoors, we opted to take the “shorter” loop back to the cabin to save the energy of our shorter, less-accustomed-to-snow family members. We enjoyed the warm fire and beverages Evan and Shannon offered, and left thoroughly impressed by the beauty and challenges of life in the boreal forest. Evan and Shannon’s warmth, knowledge and love of the land and its inhabitants (both flora and fauna) made this “walk in the woods” well worth our time and energy. They’re really good with kids, too, which made for a delightful time observing our children’s enthusiasm for learning. Our snowshoe adventure with Leaf Out was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip!

Im giving this place 5 big stars because this was my favorite activity during my weekend in Fairbanks! We signed up for the night time tour. We set out around 7pm and began hiking under the full moon and stars. The snow was glowing and bright, so we turned off our headlamps. It was a very magical and surreal experience! We stopped along the way for Evan and Shannon to impart their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region. It was the perfect combo of hiking and learning. Once the hike came to an end we wend back to their cabin for hot tea. Shannon and Evan are such welcoming people with great stories and warm attitudes. The whole night flew by! It was so amazing and I totally recommend!

A fantastic summer experience in the boreal forest! Evan led us on a lovely nature walk during the early summer along a portion of the Granite Tors trail in the Chena River State Recreation Area just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. As a trained biologist and former high school science teacher, he shared lots of great information about the boreal forest ecosystem to help us learn about this beautiful place we were visiting. He made sure to keep an appropriate, gentle pace that worked out perfectly for us, especially since there was noticeable wildfire smoke in the air. This hike with Evan was probably one of the highlights of our visit to Alaska and we would absolutely recommend to anyone to take a tour with Leaf Out Nature Guides, whether you are visiting in the summer or winter!

Whether a first time visitor or an Alaskan native, this extraordinary opportunity is keystone to the explorers spirit.Whimsical at heart, hosts Evan and Shannon offer a truly authentic local experience. Recommended for all ages and levels of expertise, snowshoers will be enthralled as they toddle through a candlelit Boreal Forest, guided by your hosts. Take advantage of their rich environmental knowledge to enhance your intimate and interactive adventure as you revel in the ethereal solitude of the Alaskan night. For the lucky few, don’t forget to look skyward for a chance to gaze upon that incorporeal wonder: the Aurora Borealis!After working up an appetite, Evan and Shannon invite you into their dry cabin to feast upon a delicious home cooked farm-to-table meal. Defrost by a charming potbelly stove as you engage with your hosts over 4-courses and learn how they’ve embraced Alaska, growing and adapting to live off its land. Their respect for nature, culture, and the earth is remarkable, and their heartfelt hospitality inviting and genuine. For seekers of human connectivity, an evening of companionship with Evan and Shannon alone is reason enough to book this incredible and unparalleled package.In summary, our time spent with Evan and Shannon was the unchallenged highlight of our time in Fairbanks. If you’re hoping for a unique and memorable experience, don’t miss Leaf Out Nature Guide’s Luminary Snowshoe Tour with Dinner. It is, in every sense of the word, magic!

Outstanding!

It was amazing! It was our first time and we werent sure what to expect. Evan & Shannon are such amazing people that they made us feel welcome & comfortable. We went around the Boreal Forest and freed trees from the snow weight (so much fun!) and got some amazing shots and learnt quite a bit about the forest and different plants. Since it was our first time, we did fall with soft landings into the snow a few times but Evan & Shannon helped us out every time! It was simply amazing! Mum & dad loved it so much they keep recounting it to everyone they meet! THANK YOU!!

Evan was an excellent guide. Beautiful snowshoe hike through the Boreal Forest. Views are amazing and he is very knowledgeable about the land and vegetation.