This dataset provides field data and gridded land cover and terrain data for an area north of Big Trail Lake, an active thermokarst lake in Goldstream Valley (near Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). Field samples were collected at 56 locations across the study area in June 2021 and August 2022. Field data include chamber-based methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) flux, soil moisture, soil temperature, soil pH, vegetation communities, meteorological data, and soil samples. The soil samples were used to conduct SIMPER microbial community analysis and soil chemical analyses and to quantify methanogen and methanotroph relative abundance. Land cover classifications (10 cm spatial resolution) were derived from supervised random forest classifications using RedEdge-MX and multiSPEC-4C multispectral drone imagery, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) digital surface model (DSM) data. RedEdge-MX drone imagery was collected in July 2021 and multiSPEC-4C drone imagery was collected in August 2019. Gridded microtopography and slope estimates were derived at 1 m spatial resolution using USGS 3DEP digital terrain model (DTM) data. Gridded products are provided in cloud-optimized GeoTIFF format, field data are provided in comma-separated values format, and sample location photos in JPEG format are contained within a compressed file.