![]() Although you can quite happily stay in your room admiring the lights and taking photos while sitting next to your fire, trust me, you WILL (and should!) go outside to the deck and experience this mind-blowing phenomenon among the forest trees and crisp winter air. ![]() It gets ridiculously cold! It reached -30 Celsius on my trip in November! I have certain items I always pack for my epic winter adventures which you can read here (coming soon). The next important point is dressing appropriately. If this is part of your holiday aim, then consider visiting closer to September or April, with longer daylight hours. While this is fantastic for aurora viewing, it’s not much time to jump in your car (or snow shoes) and go exploring. Due to the latitude of Fairbanks, the sun doesn’t rise far above the horizon, which makes for very short days (about 6hrs while I was there in November 2015). The best time to visit if you’re going specifically for the northern lights is the dark half of the year September to April. In saying this though, the aurora were so bright it would not have mattered! As I love photography, I picked dates that coincided with a new moon, so there would be even less light pollution in the sky to compete with the Aurora Borealis. I would therefore highly recommend staying a few nights to give yourself the best possible chance I stayed 4 nights. These solar storms travel along the solar wind paths and interact with different elements, such as oxygen and nitrogen, to create the beautiful colours.īecause of this, it is next to impossible to predict when, or if, the lights will show. The Northern Lights are caused by coronal mass ejections from the sun, which hit our magnetic field and get pulled towards the polar regions. FAIRBANKS ALASKA NORTHERN LIGHTS WINDOWSI sat on my comfortable couch looking through the enormous northern windows of my room to the spectacle outside. FAIRBANKS ALASKA NORTHERN LIGHTS FULLWith two queen beds, a large 3-seater lounge, ensuite, full kitchen, dining table, fire and wifi, it’s quite extravagant for a solo traveller, but I like to spoil myself every now and then! (Perfect for families or friends travelling together).Īrriving at night, I didn’t have to wait long for the marvellous green light beam to wiggle it’s way from the horizon, creating three magnificent arches overhead. No restaurants, no excursions, no TV, few people and not a lot of sun in winter! The perfect getaway from the daily grind if you ask me. There are other places to stay in Chena Hot Springs for example, however, this property would hands-down always be my first pick. I chose this property specifically due to it’s remote location, as I prefer to get away from the crowds. ![]() I landed in Fairbanks and took my transfer with Bob, via the grocery store, right to the door of my self-contained lodge. Located about 1 hour north of Fairbanks, this property is in a fantastic, dare I say perfect, location for viewing the Northern Lights. ![]() It’s very hard to put into words, so I will let the photos and time-lapse video do most of the talking!Īfter doing plenty of research, I chose to stay at the Aurora Borealis Lodge, run by the wonderful host, Mok, and his colleagues. There really is something quite magical about watching the lights dance among the stars on a black sky. I suggest heading towards Chena Hot Springs so you can warm up with a quick soak or a drink after a night out under the stars.Having been lucky enough to witness the amazing Aurora Borealis in Sweden and Iceland over the 2014/15 Christmas/New Years period, I immediately booked flights to Alaska to hopefully see them again. Starting at about 9 or 10pm, drive out of the city a bit to reduce light pollution. The general rule of thumb is that only 4 days in Fairbanks is all it takes to more or less guarantee a night of aurora! ![]() Thankfully, due to Fairbanks' inland location, clear skies during the winter are extremely common. Of course, the other ingredient for an incredible display of northern lights is clear skies. The aurora borealis are visible in Fairbanks from August through April, meaning there's an astounding nine months of aurora viewing! Of course, the aurora are only visible when it's dark out, so the between September and March will offer the most opportunities. Perfectly situated within the aurora-circle, and easily accessible from anywhere in the US, Fairbanks is the absolute perfect place to chase the northern lights.Īs close to magic as you'll ever see on this Earth, the northern lights, or aurora borealis, are an absolute must-see for any nature enthusiast. ![]()
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