Northern Lights Forecast for Fairbanks

Northern Lights in Fairbanks

Fairbanks sits at 64.8°N in the middle of Alaska, a city of about 32,500 people. It is far from the coast, so the climate is dry, winter nights are often clear, and the aurora often sits overhead rather than low on the northern horizon. The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks puts the local season at roughly August 21 to April 21 and says 9 PM to 3 AM covers most strong displays, with the hours around midnight likeliest. Trips to Chena Hot Springs and Coldfoot both start here.

Murphy Dome, Cleary Summit and Ester Dome

Most people drive 20 to 40 minutes out, and three hills are the usual choices:

• Murphy Dome. 25 miles by road, west-northwest of town, and at about 2,900 ft the highest point close to Fairbanks. The last five miles of Murphy Dome Road are dirt and gravel; four-wheel drive is advised in midwinter.
• Cleary Summit. Mile 20 of the Steese Highway, north past Fox, at 2,233 ft. Plowed pull-outs at miles 16.6 (the Felix Pedro monument), 17, 19 and 20; headlights off once parked, other people are shooting.
• Ester Dome. The 2,364 ft hill just west of town. Park only in plowed pull-outs; the shoulder snow will hold a car until morning.

Creamer’s Field, Chena Lake and Chena Hot Springs Road

On the flat ground, Creamer’s Field is the waterfowl refuge on the north side of town, 2 miles from downtown, with open fields and short winter trails. Chena Lake Recreation Area is 17 miles southeast off the Richardson Highway, just past North Pole, and in early fall the aurora reflects in the lake before it freezes.

Chena Hot Springs Road is paved to the end, with turnouts at miles 25, 35 and 37; from mile 26 it runs through Chena River State Recreation Area. Watch for moose.

Ice fog under the Tanana Valley inversion

The January daily mean is −8°F, it reaches −40 on about seven days in an average year, and the record is −66°F. In the deepest cold, ice fog forms over the city under the inversion and can hide the sky.

The Museum of the North and the World Ice Art Championships

At the University of Alaska Museum of the North on campus, the room The Place Where You Go to Listen, by composer John Luther Adams, turns live Geophysical Institute data, aurora included, into sound and light. The World Ice Art Championships run from mid-February into late March at the Tanana Valley State Fairgrounds.

The Aurora Winter Train and the drive south

By road Fairbanks is 120 miles north of Denali and about 360 miles from Anchorage on the Parks Highway. The Alaska Railroad’s Aurora Winter Train runs on weekends from mid-September to mid-May, north on Saturday and back on Sunday, about 12 hours each way via Talkeetna and Healy.