A Guide to Witnessing Alaska's Magnificent Northern Lights

Even though most people associate seeing the northern lights with a trip to Canada or Scandinavia, you can actually see them without leaving the United States. To see the aurora borealis, Americans should travel to northern Alaska. Even though the inland Alaskan Arctic is one of the coldest places on Earth (with temperatures that can drop to 30 degrees below zero), it is also one of the best places to see the Northern Lights due to its clearer skies.

Following are our best recommendations for experiencing the Alaskan Aurora Borealis.

Since solar activity is responsible for the northern lights, the odds of witnessing a full-fledged auroral storm decrease as the sun approaches solar minimum compared to solar maximum. Even though the sun won't be at its most energetic until 2025, the northern lights will still be visible every night. The true challenge is locating cloudless skies.

During the equinoxes in September and March, the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind are in harmony, resulting in more intense displays of the northern lights. Since there is a greater likelihood of clear skies in Alaska in the spring, the best time and place to see the northern lights is most likely in March at an inland location.

Keep your eyes peeled from dusk onward if you happen to be in a location with dark, clear skies; the aurora may make an appearance. The best time to view the aurora, as determined by the Geophysical Institute, is between midnight and sunrise. On the other hand, they can happen at any time.

The best time to see the northern lights in Alaska is in March, but the season lasts from late August to late April. This time of year is more characterized by long, dark nights than by solar activity. Predicting solar activity, which is required to see the northern lights, is currently impossible with our tools.

However, we do know that the optimal latitude range for viewing the northern lights in Alaska is between 65° N and 70° N. Fairbanks, located 198 miles south of the Arctic Circle, occasionally experiences displays of the northern lights, but visitors should forget about Anchorage and Juneau, which are much further south and therefore see far fewer auroras.

It is recommended that those seeking the best odds travel to the more isolated northern communities of Coldfoot in the Yukon Territory, or to Prudhoe Bay and Utqiavik in the far north. The chances of seeing the northern lights increase as you travel farther north in Alaska.

The northern lights hunting industry in Alaska is centered in Fairbanks, a boomtown founded during the gold rush. Even though this location is just south of the Arctic Circle, auroras can and do be seen quite regularly.

Its convenient location is a big reason why so many people visit there to see the northern lights. There is an abundance of flight times and lodging choices. Cleary Summit, located roughly 20 miles from Fairbanks, is a great place to visit due to its accessibility, ample parking, and breathtaking panoramic vistas.

Haystack Mountain, Ester Domes, Wickersham Domes, and Murphy Domes are some of the other nearby places to observe that have been deemed useful by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. You can park your car close to the jetty at Chena Lake Recreation Area, making it a popular destination for those interested in viewing reflections in the lake. It's not far to the Chena Hot Springs Resort, where you can soak in an outdoor hot tub while taking in the nearby spectacle. During the day, you can go cross-country skiing or ice fishing in holes cut into the frozen ground.

Coldfoot, once a gold mining town and now a truck stop on the famous Dalton Highway between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay in the Alaskan Arctic, is a great place to see the northern lights. That's because it's near the northernmost national park in the United States, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, and features the rustic Coldfoot Camp in the Brooks Mountain Range. S Because of the high probability of seeing the northern lights, many aurora adventure tours visit this area as well as Wiseman, located about 15 miles to the north. The nearby fly-in luxury Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge is another option. Located 248 mi north of Fairbanks and 66 mi above the Arctic Circle is the town of Coldfoot.

Located at 71° N latitude, this small town was formerly known as Barrow and is now home to the Top Of The World Hotel, which hosts culturally immersive outdoor excursions focused on the indigenous Iupiat people of Alaska. Also, the Iupiat Heritage Center is a great place to get educated on bowhead whales and local traditions. From Anchorage, passengers can board an Alaska Airlines flight to the town's Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport. From there, they can choose from a variety of tour packages offered by companies like Tundra Tours and the Northern Alaska Tour Company.

Covering a length of 13 This national park encompasses two million acres, making it the largest conservation area in the United States. For a wild adventure that includes glacier trekking, rafting, fishing in Tebay Lake, and (of course) waiting for the northern lights to flicker across the sky, guests can stay at the 14-person Ultima Thule Lodge.

If you're looking for a short-term prediction of northern lights activity, the NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center is a great place to start. The University of Alaska's Geophysical Institute, whose headquarters are located in Fairbanks, issues a nightly forecast on Aurora viewing as well as a 27-day forecast.

Aurora hunters can use SolarHam for an accurate three-day geomagnetic forecast, and the Aurora Forecast. app can tell them where the auroral oval will be above the Arctic Circle. It also tells you how likely it is to see them (green means not too likely; red means the northern lights are probably happening right above you).

If you fly into Utqiavik, your hotel will double as a local guide and arrange for a tour of Coldfoot for you. In any case, if you're going to be in Fairbanks, you'll need to decide on some possible day trips. If you want to increase your chances of seeing the northern lights, the Northern Alaska Tour Company offers round-trip van tours to the town of Joy, located 60 miles north of Fairbanks. And 1st Alaska Tours offers daily evening excursions to the Chena Hot Springs 60 miles to the north, as well as to Murphy Dome, one of the highest peaks in the Fairbanks area, from which you can see in every direction.