Northern lights sightings are most likely to occur in high-latitude regions during the hours around midnight.
Photo by Thomas Lipke/Unsplash
You’ll likely be in the high latitudes of the Arctic: perhaps Alaska or Canada, Greenland or Iceland, maybe Scandinavia. At first they appear as a faint smear of color, something you could mistake for moonlit clouds. Then the sky stirs, with silky ribbons of shimmering green light rippling across the atmosphere, and hints of violet and rose pulsing at the edges. It’s the northern lights, one of nature’s most spectacular displays.
The cosmic phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis, occurs when electrically charged solar particles collide with atmospheric gases to produce a dazzling neon light show that illuminates the night sky. In 2026, the sun is at solar maximum, when the aurora is more active and vivid than at any point in the current 11-year cycle.
That means its a banner year for seeing the northern lights. Activity will gradually diminish as we move toward solar minimum around 2030, making now the ideal time to see the celestial dances at their peak.
Even experts can’t always predict exactly when and where the lights can be seen, but your best bet for catching them is during winter (particularly between the fall and spring equinox) in high-latitude polar regions. Here are the best places to see the northern lights—and how to experience them.
The fiberglass igloos at Borealis Basecamp have see-through ceilings for all-night aurora viewings.
Courtesy of Borealis Basecamp
Alaska
In Alaska, Fairbanks is a popular hub for northern lights tourism thanks to the city’s international airport and prime position under the “aurora oval”—a ring-shaped zone that hugs the northernmost climes where aurora activity is concentrated. The tourism board estimates that aurora is visible in Fairbanks four out of five nights, provided the sky is clear.
From the city, you can also catch a bush plane (Northern Alaska Tour Company has daily flights) to Coldfoot, Alaska, an isolated truck-stop-turned-community in the foothills of the Brooks Range.
Perched along the Dalton Highway and north of the Arctic Circle, Coldfoot has virtually no light pollution, piercingly clear winter nights, and a reputation among aurora chasers for its reliable solar shows.
A short drive away lies Arctic Hive, a tiny, off-grid wellness retreat near Wiseman that is tailor-made for watching the northern lights.
How to see the northern lights in Alaska
From Fairbanks, 1st Alaska Tours runs a variety of aurora-viewing trips each evening, including visits to Chena Hot Springs (one of the best hot springs in the United States), to Murphy Dome (a good viewing point just outside of town), and to the Arctic Circle. From $120 per person
Where to stay: Borealis Basecamp
Located in a rural area 45 minutes north of Fairbanks and set within 100 acres of boreal forest, Borealis Basecamp has two types of accommodations: private fiberglass igloos (with see-through ceilings) and cubes, where the north-facing wall is a floor-to-ceiling window. You can view the northern lights in either.
Related: Alaska Has Some of the Best Northern Lights Views. Here’s How to Catch the Celestial Show.
Located beneath the aurora oval, Dawson City in the Yukon offers stunning views of the northern lights.
Photos by Kari Medig
Canada
Many parts of northern Canada witness the aurora borealis regularly, but the extremely remote Yukon and Northwest Territories are some of the top spots to see the natural light show—they’re visible up to 240 nights per year.
In the Yukon, high, wind-scoured plateaus and broad river valleys give you long sight lines in every direction, while communities like Whitehorse and Dawson City offer easy access to dark, open country within minutes of town.
Yellowknife sits directly under the auroral oval and is known for its consistent displays and Indigenous-led tour operators who guide travelers onto frozen lakes or deep into the bush for unobstructed views.
How to see the northern lights in Canada
At Aurora Village—an Indigenous-owned and operated gathering of 21 tepees surrounding a frozen lake—guests can book either an aurora viewing only or a package that includes a hotel in nearby Yellowknife and nightly transportation to Aurora Village for northern lights viewing. From about US$100 per person for aurora viewing only; US$730 for two-night, three-day package for one person or US$540 for double occupancy
Tour operators in Yellowknife say those who book the three-night viewing package have an estimated 98 percent chance of seeing the aurora at least once, according to the tour operator.
Where to stay: Blachford Lake Lodge
Even further into the wilderness is Blachford Lodge, a 25-minute bush plane ride from Yellowknife. It’s a fairly private outpost, with just five individual cabins and five rooms within the lodge for guests. During the day, guests can go snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, hiking, or enjoy the hot tub.
Related: Yellowknife’s Skies Light Up at Night, but the Daytime Is When the City Really Comes Alive
Hurtigruten offers a northern lights promise to cruise passengers—if you don’t see them, you’ll get a free trip.
Photo by Hege Abrahamsen
Norway
Sitting at 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the center of the aurora zone, Tromsø is one of northern Norway’s most popular destinations for aurora viewing. Or for the really daring, the remote Svalbard archipelago (about 600 miles north of mainland Norway) offers the opportunity to see polar bears, Arctic foxes, and reindeer in addition to the northern lights. And because Svalbard sees months of polar night (when the sun never rises above the horizon), the northern lights can appear at any time of day.
How to see the northern lights in Norway
Sail through Arctic fjords while searching for the northern lights on a 15-day cruise with Hurtigruten (from $5,240 per person). Its North Cape Line sails from Oslo to Honningsvåg, stopping at 13 ports along the way, features a northern lights promise (if the aurora doesn’t appear during the voyage, you’ll receive a free six- or seven-day Coastal Express trip), and is often staffed with a chief aurora chaser.
Hurtigruten’s sister company, HX (from $5,428 per person), offers eight-day expedition-style sailings from Tromsø.
Where to stay: Tromsø Ice Domes Hotel
Because Tromsø Ice Domes Hotel is located just outside of Tromsø’s city limits, you won’t need to worry about light pollution—although you should bring an extra set of long underwear, as the accommodations are literal igloos that are remade each winter. Guests are given sleeping bags and reindeer skins to sleep on. There are also cabins for those who’d rather not sleep in down coats.
Greenland experiences some of the darkest skies anywhere in the Arctic.
Photo by Carsten Snejbjerg
Greenland
Most of Greenland lies within the Arctic Circle, making it a prime location for spotting the northern lights. Flights from Copenhagen arrive in the small town of Kangerlussuaq, situated in the middle of the area where the aurora borealis is best experienced. In Greenland, you can generally see the northern lights from late August to April.
Ilulissat, overlooking the iceberg-studded waters of Disko Bay, offers aurora sightings framed by calving glaciers and floating ice giants. Farther north, communities like Uummannaq and Qaanaaq experience some of the darkest skies anywhere in the Arctic, where even faint auroral arcs glow intensely.
How to see the northern lights in Greenland
Each year from February and March, Greenland Tours runs a five-day northern lights and icebergs adventure around Ilulissat in Disko Bay that can include snowshoeing, dog sledding, and aurora viewing along the famous ice fjord. From about $3,050 per person.
Where to stay: Hotel Arctic
Found on the edge of the Ilulissat Ice Fjord (a UNESCO World Heritage site), with views of the bay, Hotel Arctic has 90 rooms ranging from singles to suites (some have private terraces for watching the solar show).
Related: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Greenland (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Santa Claus’s hometown of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland has spectacular northern lights over snowy forest.
Photo by BenBepz/Shutterstock
Finland
In Lapland, Finland’s sparsely populated northern region bordering Sweden, Norway, and Russia, the northern lights are visible roughly 200 nights of the year thanks to very minimal light pollution.
Around Rovaniemi, travelers can step just a few minutes outside the city and find wide, frozen rivers, and snowy forest clearings where the lights commonly arc low over the horizon. Farther north in Levi, ski-friendly mountains double as natural viewing decks. You can often see green bands swirling above the treeline.
How to see the northern lights in Finland
Nordic Adventures offers a slew of northern lights viewing excursions, including photography tours, snowmobile safaris, nighttime reindeer sleigh rides, and aurora hunting from private Lappish tipi tents. From about $145 per person
Where to stay: Arctic TreeHouse Hotel
Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in Rovaniemi has three accommodation options: the Arctic TreeHouse Suites (stilted cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows that can sleep two adults and a child); the ArcticScene Executive Suites (similar but with two bathrooms, a sauna, and terrace with fireplace); and the Arctic GlassHouse Suites (two-bedroom houses that can sleep up to six people and have indoor fireplaces and large decks).
Minimal light pollution ensures that northern lights displays in Sweden’s Abisko National Park are particularly impressive.
Photo by Conny Sjostrom/Shutterstock
Sweden
Abisko National Park in Sweden has developed a reputation for being one of the world’s top aurora-watching destinations due to its particular microclimate, which sees less precipitation (and therefore clearer nights) than other locations within the aurora zone.
Even when neighboring regions are cloudy, Abisko often maintains a patch of clear sky—the famed “blue hole of Abisko”—that consistently reveals the lights. While Abisko may be the region’s star, travelers can also find reliable aurora viewing across Kiruna, along the Torne Valley, and deep into the quiet forests of Swedish Lapland, where long winter nights and minimal light pollution make the displays equally striking.
How to see the northern lights in Sweden
Between October and March, Lights Over Lapland offers specialized, 3.5-hour aurora borealis photo workshops in Abisko National Park. Small groups are provided with high-quality cameras and led by professional photographers who teach basic skills for photographing the northern lights (from $175 per person).
Where to stay in Sweden
Arguably one of the most distinctive hotels in Sweden, if not Europe, Tree Hotel in Swedish Lapland has eight one-of-a-kind cabins. There’s one shaped like a UFO, another that looks like a massive bird’s nest, and one where the outer walls are made of mirrors, so it reflects and blends into its surroundings.
Also in Swedish Lapland is Arctic Bath, a collection of 12 Scandi-minimalist cabins—some floating atop the Lule River, others at the edge of a forest that’s frequented by moose. But the show-stopping centerpiece is undoubtedly the ring-shaped spa, which is designed to look like a logjam; it sits on the river during warmer months and freezes into its surface when winter arrives.
While waiting for the lights to come out, you can go snowshoe-hiking, snowmobiling, ice-fishing, or meet reindeer during a Sámi camp visit.
Related: You Haven’t Seen the Northern Lights Until You’ve Seen Them From a Hot Tub
Jagged mountains and deep fjords make for dramatic natural light shows in Iceland.
Photo by Jonatan Pie/Unsplash
Iceland
Iceland’s dramatic landscapes—among them the Snæfelsnes peninsula, Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, and Reynisfjara black-sand beach—are particularly spectacular spots from which to view the northern lights, with reflections dancing on icebergs and waves crashing beneath green arcs.
Easily reachable by car from Reykjavík, Thingvellir National Park is another crowd favorite. Farther north, the Troll Peninsula (Tröllaskagi), with its jagged mountains and deep fjords, delivers some of Iceland’s most dramatic aurora vantage points.
How to see the northern lights in iceland
Reykjavik Excursions offers three-hour small group tours each night from late August to April in search of the elusive light dance (from $120 per person), which can be paired with the Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon. Or simply book a stay at a rural hotel (ultra easy in Iceland) and follow the Northern Lights Center’s aurora tracker.
Where to stay in Iceland
At the Buubble Lodge (nicknamed the “5 Million Star Hotel”), guests can watch the aurora borealis dance across the sky from within a transparent glamping bubble nestled in the woods outside Reykjavík.
Step back in time at Torfhús Retreat, which seems like it’s in the middle of nowhere but is a very quick drive from the tourist-friendly natural wonders of the Golden Circle. The turf-roofed architecture here is inspired by nearby Stöng, the ruins of an ancient Viking farm that dates to about the 11th century. Gaze up at the northern lights from your cottage’s own heated basalt-stone hot pools.
Related: The Best Months to Visit Iceland: Fewer Crowds, the Northern Lights, and Prime Puffin Spotting
This article was originally published in November 2018 and most recently updated on March 9, 2026, with current information.
