Ester is located in Fairbanks North Star Borough just west of Fairbanks along Parks Hwy near Fort Wainwright. The turnoff to Ester is located at Mile 351.7 Parks Hwy.
The town was established by the Fairbanks Exploration Co as a mining camp in the early 1900s and operated until 1956.
There are many abandoned gold dredges in the area, including Ester Gold Camp, which is a tourist attraction today. Discovery of gold in the early 1900's drew thousands of miners. Today, Ester is a quiet bedroom community near Fairbanks, with a variety of artists, writers, and Bohemians.