Every day in Alaska feels unreal, as if you're escaping from the real world. The boundless icy landscape offers many one-of-a-kind, fantastical experiences: Watching the aurora dance under the brilliant starry sky, collecting water from perennial glaciers, soaking in steaming hot springs amid the snowy environment... Here's our travel guide to share:
✨Aurora
The main itinerary when visiting Alaska is to chase the auroras. We went to several main 📍 aurora viewing locations in Fairbanks for three consecutive nights: Murphy Dome, Chena Lake Recreation Area, and Cleary Summit. On the first two nights, we saw faint static green auroras, which were much more pronounced in photos than to the naked eye. On the last night, we were extremely lucky to witness a massive aurora burst, resulting in a sky full of intensely twinkling, multi-colored auroras. My friends and I were continuously screaming in excitement whilst taking photos and our hands went numb: the aurora dances and it is indeed red, green, blue, and purple!
⭐️ Comparing the viewing spots: The road to Murphy Dome is very difficult to navigate, as it's rugged and covered with a mixture of ice and snow, plus the wind on the mountain makes the perceived temperature extremely low. Chena Lake offers a wide field of view and light pollution is minimal, but you have to walk a bit from the parking lot to get to the open area. Cleary Summit is suitable for those who are afraid of the cold, as you can see the aurora as soon as you lift your head from the parking lot. You can get back in the car to warm up when you're cold, and the field of view is also great with no obstructions in all directions.
✨Tips for chasing the aurora: In addition to checking the KP index, the weather is also very important! It's hard to see the aurora in cloudy weather. The long-term aurora/ weather forecasts are generally not very accurate, we found the University of Alaska's 30-minute aurora prediction and AllSkyCamera to be quite useful (gialaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast). Particularly AllSkyCamera, as it provides real-time images of the night sky through a fisheye lens, and the green in the lens generally represents the current intensity of the aurora. If you notice a bit of green in the lens, start paying close attention, and when the green gradually fills the lens, don't hesitate, go out and chase the aurora! There's a high probability of seeing a strong aurora~
✨Chena Hot Springs
The natural hot springs, 1.5-hour drive from Fairbanks. You'll never forget the experience of immersing in the hot springs amid the snowy environment, feeling the dramatic temperature difference, and the steam on your eyelashes and hair slowly freezing (running from the changing room to the hot spring takes some courage). The Chena Hot Springs locality experiences no light pollution, making it an excellent place to view the aurora. There's an aurora tour here that ends at around 2-3 in the morning, you might want to consider that if you're staying here. The only restaurant at the hot springs is very popular, it's a good idea to get in line before taking a dip in the hot springs (the halibut is pretty fresh).
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Views: 267
Ideas: The sky, the aurora, the sleigh, the Arctic Circle, the Alaska aurora
Blog ID: 50467
Location: United States / Alaska
Channels: Art, Fun Places, Inspiration, Travel
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