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White Mountains National Recreation Area, Alaska. Photo: BLM Alaska, CC BY 2.0 · 10-second exposure at high sensitivity: brighter than the eye sees
Stay in town if you'll tour each night, at Chena Hot Springs for dark skies and a soak, or at Borealis Basecamp if you want the aurora to come to your bed.
Key takeaways
In short You can stay in town, at a lodge or cabin outside town, at Chena Hot Springs Resort or at Borealis Basecamp, and each involves a different trade-off.
| Where | Good for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| In town | Restaurants, museums, short drives; you can manage without a car | Town lights; you go out to see the aurora |
| A lodge or cabin outside town | Watching from your door on clear nights | You'll want a car |
| Chena Hot Springs Resort | A soak, the ice museum, dark skies | About 60 miles from town |
| Borealis Basecamp | Aurora from bed, wake-up calls | Packages only, from $1,990 per party |
In short Pike's Waterfront Lodge suits travellers without a car, Chena Hot Springs Resort gives dark skies and a soak, and Borealis Basecamp lets you watch from bed.
Details are compiled from the properties' own websites and Vio.com's listings as checked on 23 September 2026; we have not stayed at these places.
On the Chena River · 180 rooms, 28 cabins
A big riverside lodge with a free airport and train shuttle, a restaurant next door, and an Aurora Conservatory and evening fires for guests in winter. It has run an Aurora Seeker winter package with breakfast; check it is offered for your dates. A good pick if you're not renting a car.
~60 mi northeast · Open all year
Rooms on Chena Hot Springs Road, next to the outdoor pool and the ice museum. You're far from town lights, and the resort's own 5-hour aurora tour to Charlie Dome ($125) leaves from here. Plan at least one night if you're driving out.
2–4 night packages · from $1,990 per party
Thirty-six igloo-shaped rooms on a ridge outside town, each with a 16-foot curved clear ceiling window facing northeast. Staff call your room when the aurora appears. It sells packages only, from $1,990 per party for two nights to $4,098 for four, and isn't listed on Vio.
Fairbanks has the usual chain hotels. When we searched Vio.com for 15–20 February 2027 it showed 95 properties, including:
Town makes sense if
Keep in mind
Why out of town helps: Fairbanks sits in a valley. Getting up onto a ridge or dome takes you out of the town's light and, on the coldest nights, above the valley's trapped cold air and haze. That's why Chena's aurora tour climbs Charlie Dome. Tours head for hilltops like Murphy Dome and Cleary Summit for the same reason.
Many Fairbanks rentals are sold on their aurora views: a cabin on a hillside with a clear view north, where you can step outside at 1am in your boots and look. If you choose one, you'll want a rental car, and it's worth asking the host two things before booking:
In short Rates vary by date, so check prices for your own nights rather than trusting an average.
95 properties for Feb 2027
Rates vary by date, so check your own nights rather than trusting an average.
Outside town, on a hill with a clear view north, if you have a car. Without one, stay in town and book aurora tours, which take you to dark sky.
On strong nights, sometimes. Town lights wash out fainter displays, so it's worth going out of town to watch.
It sells packages, not nights: from $1,990 per party for two nights up to $4,098 for four, for the 2026–27 season.
Yes. The resort has rooms next to the pool and ice museum, about 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks, and runs its own aurora tour.