This is not strictly an RV issue, but maybe my RV friends will be able to help me.About 20 or 30 of my family members and I wish to see the northern lights. We were thinking about a trip to Fairbanks around Christmas next year (2021). Being in the wintertime, RVing is out of the question. We will fly from Nashville to Fairbanks.Has any of you made such a trip and can make recommendation on a travel agent that can plan the trip for us. Any and all input no matter how remote about the subject is welcome.

Not "alot" to do in Fbanks in the middle of winter unless you really like the cold weather. And at that, any "activites" would likely be better searched out yourself or by a local agent? IE ice fishing, sno machining, doglsledding. I'd just hit Expedia, book tickets, rental car and stay at the Chena Hot Springs. AMAZING in the winter!

I have seen great Northern Lights around Fairbanks in September. It is already fall by then and it can snow any time. There is still plenty of daylight. I flew to Anchorage and rented a pick up with a TC which is a rig that can go anywhere in Alaska. Winter in the INterior is not only cold, often well below zero, but really dark with little daylight at all.

Not sure if you need a travel agent...maybe a travel coordinator for 30 people, but I suspect any of the major airlines would be happy to help out. For Northern Lights, one needs electromagnetic activity, clear skies, and absence of light pollution. I'm not sure of any source that can predict electromagnetic activity much more than a month or so in advance, but it may be out there. Fairbanks has lots of cold, clear, dark nights in the winter, but, anecdotally only, not sure if the Christmas timeframe is typically the best for clear skies and/or aurora activity. There are several companies that offer aurora tours out of Fairbanks (google ...) as well as various resorts (i.e. Chena Hot Springs) that offer lodging and tour activities. Aurora can also be regularly viewed in the Knik area (outside of Anchorage) and the Eureka area on the Glenn Highway. Might consider a couple of days in the Anchorage area to mitigate the risk of weather and/or electromagnetic cycles. FWIW, I'm sure you know, but Fairbanks is cold in the winter. Was up there this January for a kids hockey tournament: Several public displays (i.e. bank signs, etc) showed close to -40 for a couple of days. Not the coldest I've seen, but cold enough that a broken down car or improper clothing will lead to bad results.

In past week we were in Jasper, Alberta, Canada at their annual night sky event...we were told that they can now predict the northern lights 3 days in advance..... I have not verified this, but feel the instructor certainly seemed to know what he was talking about so I have a tendency to believe him. The trip you have planned is certainly on our bucket list.....Enjoy

I flew to Fairbanks around Christmastime a couple decades ago to visit a friend who was attending UAF there then (and still lives in the area, but that's irrelevant). There's no guarantee that you'll have northern lights, or that the sky will be cloudless, but it's a better chance than many other areas and times. During those weeks around the solstice, Fairbanks has about twenty hours of full-on night and four hours of twilight per day; and, as mentioned, it can be very very cold outside. Don't expect to see much of the scenery or enjoy the outdoors too much.If you do go and decide to get a rental vehicle, make sure you plug it in when you park for very long...and remember to unplug it before driving off.

Fairbank AK -- Northern Lights ???? | Good Sam Community

dkilley
Explorer
Oct 20, 2020
In past week we were in Jasper, Alberta, Canada at their annual night sky event...we were told that they can now predict the northern lights 3 days in advance..... I have not verified this, but feel the instructor certainly seemed to know what he was talking about so I have a tendency to believe him.

The trip you have planned is certainly on our bucket list.....Enjoy
PA12DRVR
Explorer
Oct 20, 2020
Not sure if you need a travel agent...maybe a travel coordinator for 30 people, but I suspect any of the major airlines would be happy to help out.

For Northern Lights, one needs electromagnetic activity, clear skies, and absence of light pollution. I'm not sure of any source that can predict electromagnetic activity much more than a month or so in advance, but it may be out there. Fairbanks has lots of cold, clear, dark nights in the winter, but, anecdotally only, not sure if the Christmas timeframe is typically the best for clear skies and/or aurora activity.

There are several companies that offer aurora tours out of Fairbanks (google ...) as well as various resorts (i.e. Chena Hot Springs) that offer lodging and tour activities.

Aurora can also be regularly viewed in the Knik area (outside of Anchorage) and the Eureka area on the Glenn Highway. Might consider a couple of days in the Anchorage area to mitigate the risk of weather and/or electromagnetic cycles.

FWIW, I'm sure you know, but Fairbanks is cold in the winter. Was up there this January for a kids hockey tournament: Several public displays (i.e. bank signs, etc) showed close to -40 for a couple of days. Not the coldest I've seen, but cold enough that a broken down car or improper clothing will lead to bad results.
ppine
Explorer II
Oct 20, 2020
I have seen great Northern Lights around Fairbanks in September. It is already fall by then and it can snow any time. There is still plenty of daylight.

I flew to Anchorage and rented a pick up with a TC which is a rig that can go anywhere in Alaska.

Winter in the INterior is not only cold, often well below zero, but really dark with little daylight at all.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Oct 20, 2020
Not "alot" to do in Fbanks in the middle of winter unless you really like the cold weather. And at that, any "activites" would likely be better searched out yourself or by a local agent? IE ice fishing, sno machining, doglsledding.

I'd just hit Expedia, book tickets, rental car and stay at the Chena Hot Springs. AMAZING in the winter!

Forum Discussion

Fairbank AK -- Northern Lights ????

About Bucket List Trips

Related Content

northern lights

89* in Fairbanks

Northern Lights

Fairbanks RV Parks - Fail

northern lights in canada