Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Alaska Residents--Northern Lights Viewing Question

I've been to Alaska and Kodiak a few times mostly for fishing, wife has been with me on a couple trips as have my sons, so I know my way around for that activity. Something my wife and I have been wanting to do is visit Alaska in late winter or early spring to see the northern lights for 2-3 days. Thinking about sometime Jan through March of next year for a trip. Rather than going through a travel broker, I'd like to plan it myself, make my own flights and reservations (I've got lots of miles on Alaska Air). Can any of you AK's send me some info on best places to go and stay, or maybe some contacts to talk with? It would me much appreciated.
Thanks
Mark

Try here:

https://chenahotsprings.com/aurora-borealis/

Beat me to the punch 'o' the button you did

👍👍👍

Thousands of Asians come through Fairbanks in February and March to see the Aurora. Many consider it good luck to conceive a child under the lights so keep that in mind.

I'd suggest March as a bit warmer with a good mix of day/night for any other sight seeing. Many folks drive down through my area to visit the Castner Glacier Ice Cave as a side trip. Usually a caribou herd can be spotted in Donnelly Flats.

And Chena Hot Springs is often busy and dominated with Japanese so much so that you don't hear much English spoken.

They don't get the best of reviews anymore either.

In Japanese folklore, it is believed that if a woman becomes pregnant under the Northern Lights, her child will be blessed with good luck and fortune. According to the legend, the Northern Lights are the spirits of unborn children who are waiting to be born. When a child is conceived under the lights, the spirit of the child is said to join the other spirits, bringing good luck to the family.

The legend has its roots in the Ainu, an indigenous group in Japan who live in the northernmost island of Hokkaido. The Ainu believe that the Northern Lights are the spirits of their ancestors, and that they have the power to bring good luck and prosperity to those who see them. They also believe that the lights are a sign of the changing seasons and the arrival of the spring.

The legend of conceiving a child under the Northern Lights is not unique to Japan. In some Scandinavian cultures, it is also believed that if a child is conceived under the lights, they will be blessed with good luck and fortune. However, the Japanese legend adds an extra layer of magic and spirituality to the Northern Lights, emphasizing the connection between nature and human life.

While there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that conceiving under the Northern Lights will bring good luck and fortune, the legend remains a popular and beloved part of Japanese folklore.

We laugh about an incident at Chena Hot Springs Resort. Christmas time, 40 below, place over-run with Japanese. Bus loads of them roaded up from Fairbanks.

My Columbian niece in law hung her distinctive towel up out in the dressing room. On leaving the pool, she found a Japanese lady using it- one she had heard speaking English earlier. Nippon claimed the towel was hers.

Confronted, the Japanese lady suddenly lost all her English and went into a tirade in Japanese.

Let's just say that was the wrong tact to take with a red-headed Columbian woman, because Japanese is just no match for female pissed-off Spanish!

The towel was reclaimed....

If the social scene is what suits you best Chena HS resort could suit you.

I like a little slower pace and more private of location myself.

CAREFULLY read the most current of the following reviews.

Chena Hot Springs reviews

Aurora Borealis Lodge reviews

The Aurora Borealis Lodge is far smaller, it sits on a ridge offering a unobstructed view of the expansive northern horizon.

They have a small 1000sf Chalet there they call Logans Chalet that you can book and have to yourselves.


Logan’s Chalet is a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom, 1000 square ft log house. It’s perfect for families, groups of friends, or even two-person parties who like to have more privacy.

Your view can be either from your own private viewing platform or from the huge windows in your living room.

I've been there numerous times, even as it was being built by the now deceased, long time outfitter, guide and dear friend Logan Rickitts, the place absolutely rocks.


Aurora Borealis Lodge

PO Box 72422
Fairbanks, Alaska 99707

infoauroracabin.com

(907) 389-2812

https://auroracabin.com/

I'll tell ya why she snached the towel, if you're at their pool and need a towel it costs you $5 bucks!

Absolutely nothing is inclusive with the room rate at that place.

If you insist on Alaska, I'm sure you can get what you want. Lots of great info on this forum.

Here's another option: Iceland.

Why Iceland? High percentage chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis, and flights and tours are plentiful from North America and reasonable. Here's the forecast: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast

I just saw the Aurora Borealis coming into Reykjavik the capital (Keflavik Airport) last month. It glowed from horizon to horizon, and that was in a plane coming in to land. (Keflavik was a transit airport for me).

And the Icelandic women are not too hard on the eyes either.

Just a thought!

If you go to the Fairbanks area this guy is awesome.

https://www.fairbanksauroratours.com/


We stayed here, and it was excellent.

https://www.fountainheadhotels.com/wedgewood-resort

Good info guys, Keep it coming..................I'll be looking at what's been suggested and pick one.
Thanks

We stayed at Borealis Basecamp (borealisbasecamp.net) a few miles north of Fairbanks in late March, and the light show was unbelievable, the have several packages with different activities that are available. We enjoyed our stay at BB and in Fairbanks!!

Chena Hot Springs is the one stop shop for this kind of thing, but they’ll be a lot of other people there…and a lot of them won’t be very courteous especially from an American viewpoint.

I sometimes have breakfast there if hunting in the area but that is about it.

I have been out there for dinner, if I was from out of town It would be worth considering spending a night.
Aurora activity can vary, seems like they can predict it to some degree these days.
I live in town so rarely see them these days. I use to see them a lot more when i was single.

If you rent a vehicle, take a ride ip Ullerhaven or Murphy dome. 360 degree view.

Helped out black rapids lodge with a father/son combo last year. Cool guys, they liked drinking beer. If your fit and want to do active things in the winter, check them out sometime.

Day 1 was hiking to the glaciers/northern lights viewing.

Day 2 was running a couple teams of dogs for training.

Day 3 was supposed to be the running their own teams to a glacier less traveled. BUT, they backed out. I think the size of the malamutes was too intimidating, so they went and visited tiny race dogs instead.

I didn't take the pics, a young mountaineer did the photography:

Hope you enjoy your adventure.

It'd be real nifty of ya to pull this thread back up after your trip and post a little review of you experience.

I've did great out my bedroom window... notice the 2 trees on the lower left.
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Northern lights are on my wife's bucket list. I've been thinking Fairbanks; she has been looking at Iceland or Norway. If a person shows up in Fairbanks during the winter/spring for 5-7 days, what would you guys guess that the odds are of seeing a light show? Assuming clear weather, of course. Thanks, Al.