This post is different from the others on this website. It’s a summary of our several trips to Alaska from 2024 to 2025. I wrote this per friends’ request.
This can be done as an independent trip or as a post-cruise trip after a North-bound Alaska Cruise.
Places to visit in Fairbanks
Morris Thompson Culture & Visitors Center
It’s recommended that you visit the visitor center first when you arrive at a new place. You will be able to gather maps and useful information about the area.
Morris Thompson Culture & Visitors Center is a fairly new visitor center in downtown Fairbanks. Staff members there are very friendly and helpful. You will be able to get maps and aurora viewing information from them. There are also displays showing Alaska history, fauna and flora. Of course, there’s a gift shop too. After you see northern lights, you can go there to ask for a certificate (not on display, you will have to ask the staff).
Golden Heart Plaza & Moose Antler Arch
Golden Heart Plaza is along the Chena River. It’s a great place for a sightseeing walk (Chena Riverwalk). The photogenic Moose Antler Arch is also nearby.
University of Alaska Museum of the North
Museum of the North is located inside the University of Alaska, Fairbanks campus. The new museum was opened in 2005 with extensive exhibitions of Alaska nature, culture and arts. The aurora movie we saw was interesting and informative. Yes, there’s a museum store too.
Creamers Field
It is said that you will be able to see a lot of migratory birds in Creamers Field. However, the times we went were never right, and we didn’t see any migratory birds. However, there are many easy walking trails.
Creamers Field is also considered an aurora viewing location in Fairbanks, but we were never able to see the lights there.
Pioneer Park
Pioneer Park is also located along the Chena River. It’s a historical theme park with artifacts and buildings. There are a lot of activities in the summer. However, many places are closed off-season, though you can still walk around to see historical buildings from the outside.
Ice Festival
This is the yearly World Ice Art Championship from late February to the end of March (dates vary). It’s held in the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds & Campground.
It’s best to visit around mid-March. If you go too early, there is not much to see, because the ice sculptures are still uncarved ice blocks. If you go too late, then some sculptures may start to melt.
Costco
There’s a Costco in Fairbanks where you can get almost everything you need. On one of our visits, we didn’t plan to go to Chena Hot Spring and therefore didn’t pack our swimming costumes. When we changed our minds, we were able to buy swimming suits at Costco! We also saw Yaktrax once there.
Places surrounding Fairbanks
Chena Hot Spring Resort
Chena Hot Spring Resort is about one hour’s drive from Fairbanks. The road is paved, but it’s narrow and a bit twisty. Overall, it’s not too difficult to drive there. If you don’t wish to drive, they also provide transportation from Fairbank airport ($90 per person one-way as of 2025).
We stayed there twice: once in a room in Moose Lodge and once in a Fox room. Both were comfortable. If you stay there, you get free all-day hot spring passes; otherwise, you can simply buy a hot spring pass ($20 adults, $18 seniors as of 2025). Bring quarters for locker rooms. Rei and I both enjoyed the hot spring very much.
There’s an onsite restaurant that serves excellent food. There is also an activity center that you can book various tours. The Geothermal Energy / Greenhouse Tour is free and quite informative. They also have onsite Aurora Viewing Tour ($110 per person as of 2025).
Rei and I booked the Aurora Viewing Tour once. There’s no need to book way advance. We simply booked for the same day in the early afternoon. The tour left at 10pm from the activity center to Charlie Dome riding in a special snow mobile. There’s a yurt on Charlie Dome for aurora viewing. They provide hot drinks and ramen. There were also outhouses. The guides will help you take aurora photos. We immediately saw northern lights when we arrived at Charlie Dome. The aurora show was good, and we were very satisfied with the tour.
The place also has many trails that you can walk for free. Once Rei and I climbed up to Charlie Dome and the view was spectacular from the top! We also hiked other shorter trails in the area.
North Pole
North Pole is only about 14 miles south of Fairbanks. There’s a famous Santa Claus House, which is basically a giant Christmas store selling everything you will want for the holiday season. There’s a giant Santa statue right outside of the store.
Beaver Springs Slough Nature Trail is an easy hiking trail that’s reachable directly from the parking lot.
Delta Junction
Delta Junction is about 2 hours’ drive south of Fairbanks. It marks the end of the famous Alaska Highway starting from Dawson Creek. There’s a visitor center that’s only open in the summer. There were two giant mosquito statues outside of the visitor center. Mosquitos are joked to be the state birds of Alaska – they are ubiquitous in the summer, and they are huge!
There’s not much to see in Delta Junction; however, there are great lakes and hiking trails in the south. It’s a very quiet area. We only saw several hikers in the area during our last visit.
Denali National Park
Denali National Park is about 2 hours drive away from Fairbanks. Though you can go there on a day trip, it’s better to stay a night or two near Denali NP. We once stayed 2 nights in Denali Totem Inn and did a couple of hikes in Denali. We were also lucky to see an amazing aurora show in the area.
The interior of Denali National Park is only open in the summer. The national park offered bus tours from around mid-May to mid-September. We took a bus tour on our first visit to Alaska. We were riding a school bus into the interior of the national park and saw a lot of moose and caribou.
If you visit outside of summer, there’s a winter visitor center near the entrance, and there are many trails you can hike even in winter. Hiking on the snow and ice can be challenging because the trails would be slippery. We once hiked to Mt. Healy Overlook; the view was magnificent!
Arctic Circle
Rental car companies won’t let you drive a rental car on the Dalton Highway. However, there are many tours available. We booked an Arctic Circle Aurora Drive Adventure tour with Northern Alaska Tour Company.
The tour was on a big bus. We drove north on the Dalton Highway, with pristine scenery all the way. The bus stopped at a Dalton Highway sign for us to take photos. There were many places where we could see the famous Alaska Pipeline.
We had a lunch stop at Yukon River Camp. There were also opportunities for us to walk around and take photos at Yukon River and the Alaska Pipeline.
We finally arrived at the Arctic Circle sign in the evening. It was very quiet, and we were the only group there. It was cold, so we took turns taking pictures in front of the sign before returning to the bus.
Dinner was at the same place. We were driven to a place for aurora viewing at night with another guide. However, the weather was terrible with snow flurries. So, Rei and I didn’t stay. We simply returned to Fairbanks with the first guide. We all received an Arctic Circle crossing certificate after the trip.
Aurora viewing
General
Unless the northern lights are very strong, you will only see milky white color. It’s possible to see green, purple or even red with naked eyes when the lights are bright. It’s recommended to use your cell phone to scan the sky for the lights.
Locations
You will be able to see northern lights in many places in or near Fairbanks such as Cleary Summit, Morphy Dome, Creamers Field, Chena River recreation area, Chena Hot Spring Resort, and North Pole.
From our experience, Cleary Summit is hands-down as the best viewing area you can go to on your own. Aurora viewing on Charlie Dome in Chena Hot Spring is also great, but you will have to join a tour.
Visitor centers will be able to provide information regarding best local aurora viewing locations. It is very important to scout possible aurora viewing locations during daytime. It’s very difficult to find an unfamiliar location in the dark.
Time
In general, aurora seasoning is from mid-August to mid-April. It was said that there were more activities around equinox (late March and late September). There is also region-specific time.
It’s suggested that the best viewing time at night is between 10pm and 2am.
Moon Phase
In general, northern lights were easier to see when the sky was darker. That is, the time around new moon is better than the time around full moon. The time of moonrises and moonsets also matters. If the moon is under the horizon all day, then the moon phase hardly matters. I used timeandtime.com to check moon phases (https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/) and Moonrise and Moonset.
Cloud
It goes without saying that you cannot see aurora in inclement weather. Even in good weather, clouds are a very important factor deciding whether aurora is visible or not. I used windy.com to check cloud movement.
Aurora Forecast
There are many websites providing aurora forecasts. However, I found out that they were not very reliable; moreover, different websites gave conflicting information. I am yet to find a reliable source.
Webcam
It’s convenient to have live webcam to check the current situation. I used the University of Alaska Fairbank webcam (https://explore.org/livecams/UAF/aurora-cam) for aurora chasing in the Fairbanks area.
Aurora Photos
Unless you have a very high-end professional camera, it’s easier to photo aurora using your cell phone. I used Night setting, while Rei used a more professional setting. If you go on an aurora chasing tour, the guide usually will help you with the setting.
Using a tripod will improve your chances of having great photos. It’s especially so if you want to take portraits of people standing in front of northern lights. Use a flashlight or headlight to improve foreground lighting. Point the artificial light on the ground rather than at the people.
Happy Aurora Chasing!
Amy 'n Rei 