Amidst the present Halloween season and impending all-you-can-eat holidays, it’s officially Northern Lights season in Fairbanks. Our resident dancing curtains of light have been making green, red and purple appearances in the increasingly dark nights as low as 40 miles above the earth. While clear skies and darkness are essential to see the Aurora Borealis, Fairbanks is in prime geographical positioning in the auroral oval (a ring-shaped region around the North Pole) and rarely fails to deliver. In fact, most Fairbanks locals will attest that if you stay in Fairbanks for three nights, you are practically guaranteed to see the Northern Lights.

Northern Lights Wake-up Call

If you aren’t from Alaska’s Interior or Arctic regions and – cough – have never seen the Northern Lights, or if you just want to rekindle your appreciation for the cosmic phenomena, autumn is the perfect time of year to visit. And we’re here to make sure you don’t go home disappointed. When you check in at the Fairbanks Princess Lodge, let the front desk know you’d like a Northern Lights wake-up call. If we see the Aurora Borealis out, we’ll give your room a call so you can grab your coat and camera and head out by the river for a great view of the sky.

Pick the best nights to visit and see the Northern Lights by checking the Geophysical Institute Online Northern Lights forecast updated each day by 3 p.m. Alaska time.