
You’ll sleep in late the next morning (and that’s easy to do in winter when the sun doesn’t rise until 10 or 11am!). If you’re at a lodge, you can arrange for a wake-up call if you’re not able to stay up. Many tour operators will provide large parkas and bunny boots to keep you warm, as well as warm beverages and light snacks. Most tours focus on the hours between 10pm and 3am. The aurora can be elusive and must be pursued. You are trying to witness one of the grandest spectacles in nature. And it’s easy to reach: You can fly into Fairbanks and be at a world-class aurora–viewing venue in under an an hour.

Go to Fairbanks and the aurora oval.The main auroral band crosses the state in an arc north of the Alaska Range, which makes Fairbanks and the surrounding area Alaska’s sweet spot for northern lights viewing.It can work as a three- or four-day trip centered on a weekend, but then you will need to be more focused. Plan 5 - 7 days for your trip and dedicate at least 3 nights to looking for the lights, so that you, too, will have a 90% chance of seeing them.Fortunately, there are a couple ways to greatly improve your chances of seeing the aurora: There’s no guarantee, of course: Clouds may cover them, or they may simply not show up in your location.

Northern lights anchorage alaska how to#
Jump to our list of recommended tours How to Increase Your Chances of Seeing the Lights? Visitors to Alaska who spend 3 nights looking for the lights from Fairbanks have a 90% chance of spotting them! And if you’re on an aurora quest from mid-August to mid-September, (Fall) there’s still time to enjoy summer activities, like visiting Denali National Park or taking a glacier cruise. From mid-November through March, you can check into a lodge or look for the lights each night as you try a different activity, like ice fishing or dogsledding. hubs (like Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland), so you can get here in just a few hours-no passport required. You can book nonstop flights to Anchorage year-round from major U.S.

They’re all great places, but here are 4 reasons why Alaska tops the list: If you’re browsing northern lights–viewing vacations, you’ve likely seen trips to Norway, Canada, Sweden, Iceland, and Greenland. They're not visible during the middle summer months, because it doesn't get dark enough under the midnight sun! Why Alaska? First things first: When can you see the northern lights? From mid – August to mid-April, it’s possible to see the northern lights in Alaska.
