Chena Hot Springs
$20 day pass · ~60 mi from town · All year
A natural rock pool of hot spring water, outdoors, while your hair freezes white, about an hour and a half's drive northeast. The resort runs its own aurora tour up Charlie Dome.
Go in late February or March, when three nights gives about even odds of a proper display and eight to nine nights about four in five, and sleep or tour away from town lights.
Key takeaways
- Cloud, not the aurora, is what usually decides your trip; the odds come from 26 winters of hourly weather reports at Fairbanks airport.
- Aurora tours from Fairbanks cost from about $130 and take you out of the town's glow to a dark hilltop, heated cabin or glass house.
- The winter drive up the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle is a long day, and its operator is clear it is not an aurora tour.
- Rent a car to reach Chena Hot Springs on your own schedule and chase clear sky; skip it if you tour every night.
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What a winter trip here is like
Fairbanks is a working town, not a resort: a university, a riverfront, chain hotels and a few good museums. The reason to come is what surrounds it: dark spruce forest, frozen rivers, hills with wide views to the north, and a sky that clears far more often in late winter than in autumn.
A typical day
- Start late. In deep winter the sun barely rises.
- Spend the light hours outside: a dog-sled ride, a museum, a drive.
- Eat early, sleep a little.
- Go out around 10pm to a hilltop, a heated cabin or a tour van, and watch the northern sky until 2 or 3am.
It is cold. Read Fairbanks winter weather for what that feels like and what to wear.
3 h 41 minSun on the shortest day of the year
−17°F (−27°C)Average January low at the airport
25°F (−4°C)Average March highWhy March is the month we'd pick
Your chances of seeing the aurora
In short Late February and March are best: three nights gives about even odds of a proper display and eight to nine nights about four in five, with cloud the usual deciding factor.
Cloud, not the aurora, is what usually decides your trip. We counted every hourly weather report from Fairbanks airport for 26 winters. A proper display below means at least one clear hour between 9pm and 3am while the Kp index was 2 or more; how we work out the odds has the details.
45–49%of February and March nights have a clear spell between 9pm and 3amIn September and October it is only about a quarter
Three nightsin February or March gives roughly even odds of a proper display. How many nights you need has every month
Eight to ninenights gets you to about four in five
The university's version
The University of Alaska Fairbanks puts it more simply: if the weather is clear and you stay at least three nights, it is "highly likely (though never certain!)" that you will see it. The month-by-month numbers are on our best time to see the northern lights in Alaska page.
What you'll do by day
In short Most visitors build their days around Chena Hot Springs, the Aurora Ice Museum, dog sledding and the drive to the Arctic Circle.
Four things most visitors build a trip around. There's a longer list in things to do in Fairbanks in winter.
Aurora Ice Museum
$20 adult · 45 min tour
Carved ice rooms kept at 25°F all year, with an ice bar. It's at Chena Hot Springs, so pair it with a soak.
Dog sledding
from $75 · 20 min to 2 h
Fairbanks is a mushing town. Rides run from a 20-minute loop at Chena to a 2-hour mushing school where you learn to drive the team.
Check dates on GetYourGuide
The drive to the Arctic Circle
~15 h · $299–339
A long day up the Dalton Highway, past the pipeline and over the Yukon River, to the Arctic Circle sign. The operator is clear that its winter drive is not an aurora tour.
Getting here, tours, beds, a car and a plan
In short Reach Fairbanks from Anchorage by air, road or train, take a tour or sleep at Chena for dark skies, and rent a car only if you won't tour nightly.
Each of these has its own page; the short version is here.
Getting here
Seattle nonstop ~3 h 50 min
From Anchorage, a 1-hour flight, a 360-mile drive on the Parks Highway, or the Aurora Winter Train ($265 one way).
Aurora tours
From about $130 · 5–6 h
Out of the town's glow to a dark hilltop, a heated cabin or a glass house. Six compared side by side.
Where to sleep
Town, Chena or an igloo
In town for restaurants and tour pickups, at Chena for dark skies, or at Borealis Basecamp, sold as packages from $1,990 per party.
Do you need a car?
Counters in the terminal
Rent one to reach Chena on your own schedule and chase clear sky; skip it if you tour every night.
A 5-night plan
One night at Chena
Dogs, hot springs, the ice museum and the Arctic Circle road, with every evening kept free.
Before you go
Layers, no cotton
A heavy down parka, insulated boots and mitts. If you've prepaid tours or a package, read trip insurance for Alaska.
Fairbanks aurora FAQs
What is the best month to see the northern lights in Fairbanks?
March, closely followed by February. About 49% of March nights and 45% of February nights have a clear spell between 9pm and 3am, against about a quarter in September and October.
How many nights do I need in Fairbanks?
In February or March, three nights gives roughly even odds of a proper display, and eight to nine nights gets you to about four in five. From September to December the same even odds take five or six nights.
Can you see the northern lights from downtown Fairbanks?
Sometimes: Explore Fairbanks lists the downtown visitor center as a viewing spot. But fainter displays are far easier to see from a dark hilltop outside town, which is where aurora tours go.
When is the aurora season in Fairbanks?
Roughly 21 August to 21 April. The rest of the year the sky doesn't get dark enough.
How cold is Fairbanks in winter?
The average January low at the airport is −17°F (−27°C), and it reached −40°F on about 7 days a year from 2005 to 2025.
More Fairbanks planning
Sources (15)
- Cloud odds: our calculation from Fairbanks airport (PAFA) hourly weather reports 2000–2026, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet, joined to the GFZ Kp index
- Temperatures and −40°F days: NOAA / RCC ACIS, Fairbanks International Airport, 1991–2020 normals and 2005–2025 daily minimums
- University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute: aurora forecast and viewing season (checked 2026-09-17)
- Explore Fairbanks: aurora season and viewing spots (checked 2026-09-23)
- Explore Fairbanks: winter solstice daylight (checked 2026-09-23)
- Explore Fairbanks: transportation, Parks Highway distance (checked 2026-09-23)
- Chena Hot Springs Resort: activities and prices (checked 2026-09-23)
- Chena Hot Springs Resort: Aurora Ice Museum (checked 2026-09-17)
- Northern Alaska Tour Company: Arctic Circle Winter Drive Adventure, 2026–27 prices (checked 2026-09-23)
- Borealis Basecamp: packages 2026–27 (checked 2026-09-23)
- Pike's Waterfront Lodge (checked 2026-09-23)
- Alaska Railroad: Aurora Winter Train fares 2026–27 (checked 2026-09-23)
- Alaska Airlines: Seattle–Fairbanks flight time (checked 2026-09-17)
- GetYourGuide Fairbanks listings: ratings and 'from' prices for 15–20 Feb 2027 (observed 2026-09-23)
- Car rental: DiscoverCars location search at Fairbanks International Airport, in-terminal pick-up and AWD/4x4 stock (observed 2026-09-23)