CityBest Late August – April for the aurora

Fairbanks

Interior Alaska's gold-rush city, where the northern lights are seen on more than 200 nights a year on average.

Fairbanks grew from a trading post founded on the Chena River in 1901, and the gold rush that followed. It's the largest city in Alaska's interior, 196 miles by road south of the Arctic Circle.

The aurora is visible on more than 200 days a year on average around Fairbanks, which is why winter tourism here is built around it. In summer the midnight sun means it's never dark enough. February also brings the World Ice Art Championships.

Northern lights over the spruce forest at Fairbanks, Alaska

Photo: Karthik Sridharan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Where to stay in Fairbanks

Stays shown via Stay22 — booking through the map supports the log.

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Northern lights

The Best Places to See the Northern Lights

Seven places under the auroral oval, with the honest odds: far enough north, dark enough, and — the hard part — clear enough.