Last Updated on May 13, 2025 by Tami
Going to Alaska for a Northern Lights bucket list trip is something I’ve always wanted to do. It finally happened, and here’s how it went…
GUEST POST BY KARIN SCHUMACHER
(Great friend and long-time neighbor!)
Getting to Alaska
We left San Diego Thursday, 2/25/22, at 1:30pm and all flights were delayed. Rather than risk missing our connecting flight, we shelled out an additional $400 to fly from San Jose to Fairbanks — and finally landed in Fairbanks at 2:30am. We got to the Springhill Suites Fairbanks on Friday at 3:00am, but check in wasn’t for another 12 hours. They took pity on us and got us in a room at 6:00am.
We were meeting our friends, Dennis & Kim later that day, so we ventured out in the +20F (it can get as cold as -40 in the winter) to explore downtown. With 35,000 people, Fairbanks is the 2nd largest city in Alaska. It is two times the size of Texas with 735,000 people. When Dennis & Kim arrived, we went to Santa’s House at the North Pole, 15 miles south. Other than a gift shop and a creepy 60’ Santa, that was our adventure. Driving in the snow was not as scary as I had thought it would be.
Northern Lights Bucket List
Saturday, 2/27/22—We went on an 18-hour adventure to check off my Northern Lights bucket list and flew to Coldfoot, 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The 2-engine 8-person plane had us soaring over the vast snow-covered trees, tundra and mountains.
Caribou
We saw Caribou and Reindeer. What’s the difference between a Caribou and a Reindeer? Nothing…except Reindeer are domesticated and Caribou are wild. We heard that asked and answered about 10 times during our trip.
We drove back to Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway, a 414-mile stretch from Prudhoe Bay to Deadhorse. It was built in 5 months and completed in April 1974. We stopped at the Arctic Circle. Exact coordinates are 66°33′55″N 136°18′26″W. The Alaska Pipeline, built between 1975 and 1977, zig zags across 800 miles of Alaska. It can pump up to 2 million gallons per day of oil and since 1977, it has shipped over 17 billion gallons. We stopped at the Yukon River and Enchanted Forest. Our last stop was the Arctic Circle Trading Post to see the Northern Lights.
While we saw a very small glimpse of them, it was not enough to endure the snowy, cold (-5F) weather. We got back to Fairbanks at 4:00am.
Kim’s input: Our twin engine plane actually gave us a smooth ride with great views of the snow covered area up into the Brooks Mountain Range. The route followed the Alaskan Pipeline and Dalton Highway. We returned to Fairbanks via a motor coach with stops along the way at the Arctic Circle, Yukon River, Heritage house and trading post with viewing stops looking for the Aurora Borealis. Although the clouds and snow weren’t cooperative with a Northern Lights viewing this night, we returned to the hotel at 4 am happily tired from a great adventurous day with once in a lifetime (for us) experiences. More trip to come and forecasts for viewing the lights are very hopeful for the next couple nights.
Note: Coldfoot Camp was founded in 1898 when thousands of stampeders rushed the area in search of gold. Originally called “Slate Creek,” the village’s name was changed to “Coldfoot” when prospectors got “cold feet” about staying the harsh winter and retreated South. Coldfoot boomed again in the early ’70s during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, though only briefly. Truckers found Coldfoot to be a perfect halfway stop between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay, so they started helping with constructing a more permanent building. Coldfoot Camp is located directly under the Aurora Oval, so every single night that the weather is clear (about 80% of the time), the aurora is visible from camp—that means your chances are (usually) pretty good.
Borealis Basecamp
Sunday, 2/28/22—Our next adventure took us to Borealis Basecamp, where we stayed in a heated igloo, replete with frig, coffee maker, king-sized bed, shower and funky toilet that captured “everything” in a silver package. I will never look at jiffy pop popcorn the same again!
The 16’ clear dome allowed us lie in bed to view the sky, stars and dancing aurora lights. We even had a tracker app that indeed showed we were in the thick of the Aurora Borealis, but unfortunately, only clouds were visible to us. We stayed up until 2:30am waiting for the clouds to lift, but that was not to be. No Aurora Borealis sighting.
Note: Borealis Basecamp is just 25 miles from the city of Fairbanks, Alaska and offers an experience unlike any other. On 100 acres of pristine boreal forest, it is immersed within the Alaskan wilderness. At night, outside and inside blend together in transparent swirls of light and dark. View the dancing lights of the aurora borealis from a modern geodesic igloo, explore the rugged landscape, and understand the allure of the far north.
Is Today the Day?
Monday, 3/1/22—Hope springs eternal as today was crystal clear, sunny and cloud-free. We went dog sledding and took turns standing and sitting on the sled with our musher and a crew of 8 lean, excited, barking Alaskan Huskies. They drove us through the snow for 45 minutes. To keep hydrated, they took a bite out of the snow while running. These dogs were being trained for the Yukon Quest International, a 1003-mile, 10–20-day trek, considered the “most difficult sled dog race in the world”.
The day stayed snow-free, clear and cloudless. We ate at 65 Latitude and celebrated my husband’s birthday, the guests all sang him Happy Birthday. We diligently watched our tracker as the lights came toward us and we still had a clear cloudless sky, but only managed to get some green light activity across the horizon.
Cold as Ice
Tuesday, 3/2/22—Our last day was spent visiting the tiny town and going to an Ice Museum. We ate a wonderful meal at Soba’s of Moldava, a country who gained independence in 1991 from the USSR. Quite apropos in the political climate we are now in. We had a great time with Dennis and Kim. We were even inducted into an elite 1% club, unfortunately not that $$CLUB$$, but only 1% of the world population has ever been to Alaska, so there is that!
Alas, we didn’t get to experience the multi-colored dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis, but it gave me motivation to find them in another country like Norway, Sweden or Iceland. It will be worth it to check off my Northern Lights bucket list.. It will happen.
Kim’s input: Last leg of the trip. Aurora update. So technically, we saw the Aurora 2 nights. Due to cloud cover though, the best view we saw was the glowing green of the Aurora through the clouds. Many hours spent tracking the Aurora in an app, waiting until wee hours of the morning to see them, then having the clouds not fully cooperate. So officially I’m checking it off my bucket list, loving lots of new memories of firsts in a great trip and ready to head home and get some sleep.
Northern Lights Bucket List
There’s never any guarantee of seeing the Northern Lights, but exploring Alaska with that dream in mind is a good thing. No regrets. What we wish we could have seen:
I loved visiting Alaska but it was summer. Time to book a winter visit!