12 BEST Places to See the Northern Lights in North America (2026/27)

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Dreaming of experiencing the Northern Lights in North America? You don’t have to fly all the way to Iceland or Lapland to see the Aurora Borealis this fall or winter. There are plenty of incredible spots in our own backyard, throughout the US and Canada, where you can catch this midnight spectacle.

From the Great Lakes to the peaks of Denali, these locations offer unforgettable views. No matter if you’re from the East Coast or West Coast, you’ll find that there are northern lights spots within a reasonable distance. If you’re ready for an epic night show, check out these best spots in North America to catch the Northern Lights in 2026.

One thing worth knowing before you book: 2026 is still firmly inside the Solar Cycle 25 maximum window, which means aurora activity is at its strongest in over a decade. The sun officially hit its peak in late 2024, but the declining phase historically delivers some of the cycle’s most dramatic storms (the January 2026 Kp 9- event being a perfect example).

Translation: your odds of catching a serious display from North America are better right now than they’ve been in years, with the March and September equinox windows especially promising.

Don’t have time to read the full guide? Here are my favorite accommodations to see the Northern Lights with availability right now!

My Favorite Aurora Destinations in North America

Dreaming of catching the Northern Lights without hopping a transatlantic flight? If you’re planning a winter adventure in North America, my guide breaks down the absolute best places to see the aurora, from wild Arctic escapes to easy weekend getaways. Tap any destination below to skip straight to the details.

• Most Scenic U.S. National Park: Glacier National Park, Montana
• Most Reliable Aurora Viewing: Fairbanks, Alaska
• Best Aurora Town Infrastructure: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
• Ultimate Arctic Wildlife Combo: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
• Best Hot Springs Experience: Yukon, Canada
• Most Underrated Big City Base: Anchorage, Alaska
• Top Dark Sky Preserve: Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
• Most Remote and Breathtaking: Denali National Park, Alaska
• Best Lower 48 Hidden Gem: Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
• Best Lakefront Photo Spot: Lake Superior, Minnesota
• Most Culturally Immersive Arctic Spot: Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
• Best East Coast Viewing (Rare but Epic): Baxter State Park, Maine

Here’s how I’d do it: anchor in Fairbanks or Yellowknife for a few nights of peak aurora, then mix in wildcards like Denali or Jasper for the full adventure. Keep reading for all the cozy lodges, hot spring escapes, and photography tips you’ll need!

What’s New for 2026

Solar Cycle 25 is past peak but still cranking. The official peak was late 2024, but 2026 has already delivered a Kp 9- storm in January that pushed visible auroras as far south as Texas and the Carolinas. The declining phase historically produces some of the strongest individual events of a cycle, so this is not the year to put off your trip.

The March and September equinox windows are the ones to circle. The Russell-McPherron effect aligns Earth’s magnetic field with the solar wind around the equinoxes, which historically produces the most reliable widespread displays. March 2026 is being called the last “golden” equinox for vivid lower-48 sightings until the mid-2030s.

Denali Park Road status update. The road is still closed at Mile 43 due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. The new bridge is wrapping up summer 2026, with the full 92-mile road expected to reopen in 2027. Wonder Lake Campground at Mile 85 remains unreachable by vehicle, and Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna is fly-in only for the 2026 season.

Aurora forecasting tools have leveled up. NOAA’s OVATION model and apps like My Aurora Forecast Pro now offer 30 to 90 minute short-term predictions that are accurate enough to actually pull you out of bed at the right moment. If you tried aurora chasing five years ago and got skunked, the tooling alone makes it worth another shot.

1. Glacier National Park, Montana

I’ll be honest, Glacier National Park in Montana isn’t going to give you aurora every night like Fairbanks or Yellowknife. But when the lights do appear over the mountain ridges, the scene is absolutely magical. You’ll need a Kp index of 5 or higher (a G1 geomagnetic storm) to see them this far south. I’d recommend checking the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center before you head out.

At this latitude, early-stage aurora often looks like pale gray fog to the naked eye. My tip is to switch your phone to night mode with a 3 to 5 second exposure. Then, you’ll see greens and magentas the camera picks up before your eyes do.

Lake McDonald is one of the best viewing spots in the park. The north shore faces due north across open water, and the reflections off the lake double everything on a good night. For the darkest skies, head to Bowman and Kintla Lakes near Polebridge, where you’ll likely have the shoreline to yourself.

Stay at Apgar Campground if you want to be close to Lake McDonald with year-round access and 190+ sites. If you’d rather have a warm bed and an easy walk to the shoreline, book Lake McDonald Lodge. For help nailing aurora photography, Wild North Guides runs small-group evening workshops at the park’s best northern-facing viewpoints and coaches you through low-light settings while you wait for the lights.

• Read next: Must-See Destinations in Montana

2. Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks sits directly under the Auroral Oval, which makes it one of the most reliable places on Earth to see the Northern Lights. I spent a week there last winter and saw the lights four out of seven nights. The best viewing happens between 10 PM and 2 AM from August through April, though I’ve seen them start as early as 9 PM when solar activity is high.

If you want to chase the aurora rather than wait for it, Fairbanks Aurora Tours monitors real-time satellite imagery and cloud cover to drive you to clear skies outside the city’s light pollution. They’ll help you set up your camera, lend you a tripod, and keep you fueled with warm drinks while you shoot. For somewhere to sleep under the lights, Borealis Basecamp has heated geodesic domes with 16-foot curved glass roofs on 100 acres of boreal forest with zero light pollution.

What I love about Fairbanks is that the infrastructure is built around aurora hunting. You’ve got heated viewing facilities, tour companies that know exactly where to go, and warm clothing rentals everywhere. During the day, head to Chena Hot Springs Resort and soak in 100-degree natural springs after a long night chasing the lights.

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3. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

Yellowknife is the place to go if you want near-guaranteed Northern Lights. The city sits directly under the Auroral Oval with flat terrain and semi-arid weather, which means clear skies on more nights than almost anywhere else in North America. I’ve been twice and caught incredible displays both times. The local tour companies are confident enough to guarantee sightings if you stay three nights.

Aurora Village is an Indigenous-owned viewing resort set around a private lake in the wilderness outside town. You wait for the lights in heated wood-stove teepees and custom 360-degree swivel seats while local guides share cultural stories about the aurora. For a more mobile experience, North Star Adventures is 100% Indigenous-owned and actively tracks cloud cover and solar activity to drive you to the best conditions around Great Slave Lake. They provide live photography help and Dene history along the way.

If you want the full wilderness immersion, Blachford Lake Lodge is a fly-in eco-lodge on a remote private lake about 60 miles east of town, reachable only by bush plane. There’s zero light pollution, outdoor hot tubs, and timber cabins. They’ll even wake you up in the middle of the night when the lights appear overhead!

• Read next: Breathtaking Places in Canada

4. Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Churchill is famous as the Polar Bear Capital of the World, but the Northern Lights here are just as impressive. The town sits directly under the Auroral Oval along the coast of Hudson Bay, with dark skies and aurora visibility on over 300 nights per year. You can combine polar bear viewing in October and November with aurora hunting, or come in winter for the lights with far fewer crowds. There are no roads to Churchill, so you’ll fly in from Winnipeg (about 1.5 hours).

Frontiers North Adventures offers multi-day guided expeditions that take you well outside town to signature viewing spots. The highlight is riding an EV Tundra Buggy across the frozen Churchill River to the Thanadelthur Lounge, a private aurora facility with glass skylights and observation decks. The trip also includes dog sledding and snowshoeing through boreal forests. You can track real-time forecasts through the Churchill Northern Studies Centre before your trip.

I’d stay at Lazy Bear Lodge. It’s a handcrafted timber log lodge in central Churchill with stone-fire lounges and organized nightly aurora shuttles to remote viewing sites. The food is excellent too, with local specialties like arctic char and elk on the menu.

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5. Yukon, Canada

The Yukon is one of the most reliable places in North America for Northern Lights, and Whitehorse gives you a comfortable base camp surrounded by wilderness. The aurora season runs from late August through April, with the winter months from December to March offering the longest, darkest nights. I stayed here in March and caught displays three out of four nights.

Northern Tales Travel Services is a locally owned outfit that takes you to a custom wilderness camp outside Whitehorse with heated wall tents, wood-burning stoves, and outdoor bonfires. Guides help you set up your camera and tripod for night-sky shots, and round-trip hotel pickup is included. It’s a great way to get well outside the city’s light pollution without organizing anything yourself.

For somewhere to sleep under the aurora, I recommend Northern Lights Resort & Spa. It’s 20 minutes south of Whitehorse in the Yukon River valley, with purpose-built glass chalets where you can watch the lights from a heated king bed through floor-to-ceiling glass walls. There’s also an outdoor jacuzzi, Finnish sauna, and spa for warming up between viewing sessions.

• Read next: Spectacular Spots in the Arctic Circle

6. Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage gets overlooked for Northern Lights, and I get why. The city itself often has too much light pollution for aurora viewing. But drive 30 to 45 minutes toward Hatcher Pass, Eklutna Lake, or Turnagain Arm and the skies open up completely. The viewing season runs mid-August through late April, and the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute Aurora Forecast is the best tool I’ve found for checking conditions before heading out.

What makes Anchorage a great base is everything you can do around the aurora hunting. You’ve got easier flights in than Fairbanks, better restaurants, and day trips to Matanuska Glacier or along Turnagain Arm to fill the daylight hours. I recommend staying at Copper Whale Inn, a historic boutique inn right on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail overlooking Knik Arm. You can step onto the private grounds and scan the northern horizon without getting in your car.

For the aurora itself, Alaska Photo Treks runs a 6 to 8 hour guided chasing tour that tracks cloud-cover satellites and real-time solar data to find clear skies for you. They lend you a tripod, walk you through camera settings, and even shoot night portraits of you under the lights. I can’t recommend it enough!

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7. Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Jasper National Park is the second-largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world, and honestly, the darkness here hits different. Step outside after sunset and you’ll notice it immediately. There’s no ambient glow from nearby cities, no light bleed on the horizon…just the Canadian Rockies silhouetted against whatever the sky decides to do that night.

No other spot on this list has the same night-sky infrastructure. The Jasper Planetarium runs hands-on evening sessions right on the grounds of the Fairmont, where astronomy guides teach you to read real-time solar data and photograph the aurora through the largest telescopes in the Rockies. If you time your trip for autumn, the Jasper Dark Sky Festival is incredible. The SkyTram takes you nearly a kilometer up Whistlers Mountain for high-altitude telescope viewings under wide-open alpine sky.

My recommendation for where to stay is the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. It’s a 700-acre lakefront resort on Lac Beauvert. The planetarium is steps away, and the dark shorelines outside the cabins mean you can wander out at midnight to check the sky without starting your car.

• Read next: Enchanting Spots in Alberta

8. Denali National Park, Alaska

Denali National Park sits at roughly 63°N in Alaska’s interior, just south of the main Auroral Oval. The wilderness here is enormous and the light pollution is essentially zero. This is the pick for anyone who wants remoteness and doesn’t mind trading convenience for scale. You won’t find heated viewing lounges or tour buses lined up outside your hotel. You will get some of the most dramatic aurora scenery on the continent.

Before you plan, be aware that the Denali Park Road is still closed at Mile 43 due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. The full 92-mile road expected to reopen in 2027. For now, the entrance area around Healy is where you’ll base yourself.

Denali Aurora Borealis Quest runs guided 3-hour mobile tours from accommodations in the Healy and Denali entrance area. Climate-controlled vans track cloud cover and real-time solar activity to get you away from town lights, and guides walk you through camera settings and tripod placement while you shoot.

For something completely unforgettable, Sheldon Chalet is a fly-in luxury chalet perched on a rocky outcrop in the Don Sheldon Amphitheater of Ruth Glacier, deep inside the park. You get unobstructed 360-degree views of the Alaska Range from observation decks, private suites, and outdoor fire pits. It’s not cheap, but nothing else on this list comes close to that setting.

9. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

Voyageurs National Park is a completely different kind of aurora destination. There are no roads into the park itself. You access everything by boat, canoe, or kayak, which means the interior stays dark and quiet in a way that’s hard to find in the lower 48.

Voyageurs National Park a designated International Dark Sky Park right on the Canadian border. During during active solar periods the aurora is visible up to 200 nights per year. You need a Kp index of 4 or higher for bright displays (which happens more often than you’d expect at this latitude).

If I were planning a trip here, I’d book Voyageurs Outfitters and their StarLite Island experience. They take you by boat to a private dark-sky outpost on Rainy Lake inside the park, where you get expert night-sky guidance and can sleep in a heated geodesic dome surrounded by water reflections of the aurora. Check the Voyageurs Conservancy Dark Sky Guide before you go to time your visit with active conditions.

The other option I’d recommend is renting a houseboat through Rainy Lake Houseboats. You anchor in a north-facing bay on Rainy Lake or Namakan Lake, watch the aurora from the rooftop, and wake up on the water. It’s one of the few places where your accommodation and your viewing spot are the same thing!

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10. Lake Superior, Minnesota

If you don’t want to fly to Alaska or Canada, Lake Superior’s North Shore is one of the most accessible aurora destinations in North America. You can drive up from Minneapolis in about four hours and be standing on a dark shoreline facing north across open water by nightfall. You need a Kp index of 4 to 5 or higher for visible displays at this latitude, and the North Shore Visitor Northern Lights Guide is a great resource for tracking conditions.

I’d head straight to Grand Marais. Artist’s Point extends out into the lake and gives you a wide, dark, north-facing horizon shielded from town lights. Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is the iconic photo spot, with aurora dancing above the historic cliffside lighthouse. For elevated views, the Pincushion Mountain Overlook and Gunflint Trail look north over the wilderness and lake basin.

I recommend staying at East Bay Suites in Grand Marais. It’s right on the beach and steps from Artist’s Point with north-facing lake views. If you want a guided experience, Northern Lights Adventures operates along the North Shore and takes the guesswork out of finding clear skies. This is the aurora trip for anyone who wants to see the lights without a big expedition. Drive up, check in, walk to the water.

11. Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

One of the most remote destinations to see the Northern Lights in North America is Iqaluit. The capital of Nunavut sits on Baffin Island at 63°N along Frobisher Bay, and light pollution drops to zero almost immediately outside town limits. You fly in from Ottawa or Montreal, and what you get in return is raw Arctic wilderness, Inuit cultural immersion, and some of the clearest aurora viewing conditions in North America.

You don’t need to go far to find dark skies. Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park is just a couple of miles outside town, with high tundra ridges overlooking river valleys completely shielded from lights. Apex (Niaqunngut), a historic hamlet 3 miles east of downtown, gives you broad, unobstructed views north across Frobisher Bay. And the locals will point you to the Road to Nowhere, a paved route that leads straight out of the city into pitch-black tundra.

For something truly special, Baffin Safari flies small groups by ski-plane deeper into Baffin Island. You sleep in heated geodesic domes and watch the aurora from bed between guided daytime wildlife expeditions by snowmachine. If you’d rather stay in town, the Frobisher Inn sits elevated on Astro Hill with north-facing upper-floor rooms looking straight across the bay.

• Read next: Spectacular Spots in the Arctic Circle

12. Baxter State Park, Maine

Baxter State Park in Maine occasionally sees Northern Lights when solar activity is really cranking, and honestly, it’s pretty magical when it happens. You need a Kp index of 5 to 7 or higher (a G2 to G3 geomagnetic storm) to see them this far south. The park is rated Bortle Class 2 for darkness, which means faint auroral pillars that would be completely washed out near any city become visible here.

This is a place for people who love being in wild spaces. There’s no electricity, no running water, no paved roads, and no commercial tour operators inside the park. You drive to Millinocket (about a 3.5 hour drive north of Portland), stock up on supplies, and head in self-sufficient. Abol Bridge on the park boundary gives you a famous northern view of Mount Katahdin across the West Branch Penobscot River. Compass Pond and Daicey Pond offer wide water reflections under some of the darkest skies on the East Coast.

I’d recommend this to anyone who lives in the Northeast and wants an aurora trip without flights or major planning. Keep the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center bookmarked, wait for a strong storm forecast, and make the drive. The reality is that Northern Lights sightings in Maine are rare, maybe a few times per year, but having Katahdin and Maine’s pristine forests as your backdrop makes every one of them count.

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