14 Unexpected Places to See This Year’s Supercharged Northern Lights
The northern lights are going rogue. The natural light show occurs when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s magnetic field, and in 2024, aurora sightings have pushed far beyond their typical boundaries, appearing over Rome, Athens and even Texas. This isn’t just a fluke—it’s science. The sun has entered a particularly active phase of its 11-year cycle, and the resulting solar storms are exceeding even the most optimistic scientific predictions from 2019 and 2023.
For aurora borealis chasers, this timing is crucial. The best time of year to see the aurora borealis is typically between the autumn and spring equinoxes, but the period through 2024 to 2025 marks a solar maximum that is already more intense than the last peak in 2014. When these heightened solar winds collide with Earth’s atmosphere, they’re creating displays in the night skies that are both more frequent and more dramatic than we’ve seen in over a decade.
While viral photos of auroras over unexpected locations grab headlines, the most reliable Northern Lights viewing still happens within the “auroral oval,” the ring around Earth’s magnetic pole where these cosmic light shows appear on clear nights with remarkable consistency. But here’s what’s changed: The infrastructure for viewing them has evolved significantly. Instead of rugged expeditions, you can now watch from heated glass domes, luxury wilderness lodges, or even the deck of a cruise ship specifically positioned for optimal viewing. Here are 14 destinations that combine peak aurora conditions with strategic viewing setups, ranked by their likelihood of delivering on the promise of this exceptional solar cycle.
The Most Gorgeous Northern Lights Displays Around the World
Fairbanks, Alaska
About an hour’s flight from Anchorage, Fairbanks’ position under the aurora oval isn’t just good fortune—it’s precisely why the University of Alaska built its Geophysical Institute here. The institute’s aurora forecasts guide viewing across North America, and their research has shaped how we track solar activity. Local operators have built an entire infrastructure around these predictions, from the geothermally heated viewing rooms at Chena Hot Springs to specialized photography platforms near Cleary Summit. The late August-to-April viewing season here is long and remarkably reliable, with successful sightings on 80 percent of clear nights.
Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
Kangerlussuaq’s history as a U.S. military base wasn’t random—its location was chosen partly for the area’s unusually stable weather patterns. Those same conditions now make it Greenland’s most reliable aurora-viewing destination, with about 300 clear nights annually. The former base’s infrastructure provides surprisingly straightforward access to the Greenland ice sheet, where the complete absence of light pollution creates ideal viewing conditions. Local guides have mapped out precise spots where inland winds keep the best viewing areas cloud-free even on otherwise overcast nights.
Arctic Circle Cruise
The evolution of aurora cruising reflects a simple truth: mobility dramatically increases viewing chances. Hurtigruten’s ships, equipped with aurora detection systems, can alter course to find breaks in cloud cover—something land-based viewing can’t match. Their 12-day coastal voyage includes stops at specific ports chosen for optimal viewing angles, with departure times scheduled around statistical peak activity periods as you pass by famous fjords and the Lofoten and Vesterålen islands. The company’s “Northern Lights Promise” isn’t just marketing—it’s based on decades of documented sighting data along Norway’s coast.
Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
Voyageurs earned its Dark Sky certification through careful light management, not just natural isolation. The park maintains specific unlit corridors aligned with typical aurora paths, and rangers track solar activity to adjust park programming. Their Stars Over Namakan cruise routes are plotted using historical aurora data, maximizing viewing potential even during moderate solar activity. The three designated viewing areas—Meadwood Road, Ash River and Rainy Lake—were chosen after years of documentation showing where displays appear most vivid at this latitude.
Shetland, Scotland
The Gulf Stream keeps Shetland surprisingly mild for its latitude, creating clearer viewing conditions than much of mainland Scotland. Local aurora chasers have identified how sea breezes create reliable gaps in cloud cover, particularly along the archipelago’s north coast. The Wild Skies Shetland organization doesn’t just track auroras—they correlate maritime weather patterns with solar activity to predict optimal viewing windows. Time your visit around January’s Up Helly Aa festival, when the islands go dark for traditional fire processions, inadvertently creating perfect viewing conditions.
Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska
At 71 degrees north, Utqiaġvik (Barrow) sits so far inside the aurora oval that displays can appear south of the city—a phenomenon that throws off many first-time visitors. The Top of the World Hotel has specifically configured north-facing rooms with blackout curtains to prevent interior reflections during aurora events. Despite its extreme location, the city’s daily Alaska Airlines service year-round makes it more accessible than many Arctic viewing sites. The Iñupiat Heritage Center offers crucial context about traditional aurora knowledge, including hunting patterns based on aurora activity that are still relevant today.
Yellowknife, Canada
Science put Canada’s Northwest Territories on the map—its capital, Yellowknife, delivers an almost implausible 98 percent success rate for three-night viewing attempts. But the real story runs deeper. The Indigenous Dene people have been reading these skies for generations, calling the lights ya’ke ngas (“sky stirring”). Aurora Village, an Indigenous-owned operation 20 minutes outside the city, has refined the viewing experience. Their heated teepees, positioned based on historical aurora patterns, feature 360-degree swivel seats to follow the lights. Winter guests can pair viewings with Dene cultural programs, while the village’s location on Ingraham Trail ensures dark skies but keeps warmth within reach when temperatures plummet below -40°F.
Svalbard, Norway
Most aurora destinations require waiting until nightfall, but Svalbard, in northern Norway (it’s situated between mainland Norway and the North Pole, and is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited locales) throws out that rulebook entirely. During the polar night period from mid-November through February, this Norwegian archipelago in the far north sits in perpetual darkness, effectively turning every hour into prime viewing time. Base yourself in Longyearbyen, where local operators like Snowfox Travel have mastered the art of aurora hunting with snowcat safaris and snowmobile wildlife expeditions.
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill’s reputation as the polar bear capital often overshadows its status as an aurora powerhouse, but timing your visit to the Arctic town in Canada strategically lets you capitalize on both. The sweet spot is February or March, when winter’s grip starts to loosen but darkness still dominates. The town’s location under the aurora oval delivers reliable displays up to 300 nights per year. Frontiers North has carved out a niche with their Dan’s Diner experience—think fine dining in a specialized Tundra Buggy while parked on the frozen Churchill River. Come in September to catch the overlap of beluga whale season with early aurora viewing.
Westfjords, Iceland
While tourists cluster around Reykjavik hoping for a glimpse of the lights, the Westfjords’ position near the Arctic Circle delivers more reliable viewing opportunities. The 2,086-foot Bolafjall mountain, looming above the fishing town of Ísafjörður, offers what locals consider Iceland’s darkest accessible viewing point. The region’s deep fjords don’t just create stunning photographs—they also help break up cloud cover, improving viewing conditions between September and March. Base yourself at Húsið in Ísafjörður, where the guesthouse’s staff monitors aurora forecasts, or venture to the ultra-remote Holt Inn, where the only light pollution comes from your fellow guests’ camera screens.
Swedish Lapland
Swedish Lapland’s region’s crown jewel is Abisko National Park, where the Aurora Sky Station employs dedicated scientists to monitor solar winds and weather patterns. But the real innovation happens in the smaller settlements in northern Sweden. In Jukkasjärvi, the Ice Hotel‘s architects design rooms with optimal aurora viewing angles, while the tiny village of Porjus has pioneered a system of aurora alerts tied to local weather patterns. Local tour operators like Wild Sweden have mapped out specific locations in Sarek National Park that combine clear sight lines with protection from Arctic winds.
Upper Peninsula, Michigan
Michigan’s “U.P.” has quietly become the go-to spot for aurora chasers who can’t make it to Alaska. The newly minted Keweenaw Dark Sky Park in Copper Harbor offers the darkest skies in the region, with the added benefit of being driveable for much of the eastern U.S. The historic Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, which once catered to copper mining executives, now serves as base camp for photographers and stargazers. Their workshop program focuses specifically on aurora photography techniques that work in mid-latitude locations.
Tromsø, Norway
Most aurora guides tell you to flee city lights, but Tromsø proves there’s another way. The city’s position at 69 degrees north means the lights often appear directly overhead, strong enough to overcome urban glow. Local architects and planners have actually incorporated aurora viewing into recent developments—take the cable car up Mount Storsteinen and you’ll find purpose-built viewing platforms oriented north. The university’s physics department runs a real-time aurora forecast, displayed on screens throughout downtown.
Finnish Lapland
Finnish Lapland has turned aurora viewing into an exact science. The northernmost region of Finland sees roughly 200 clear nights annually, and locals have spent decades perfecting ways to watch the natural phenomenon in comfort. The glass igloos at Kakslauttanen grabbed early headlines, but newer offerings like the Arctic Treehouse Hotel have elevated the concept with better insulation and anti-fog glass. The real insider move is booking at Octola, a 1,000-acre private wilderness reserve where staff tracks aurora activity through multiple forecast systems and alert guests only for the most promising displays.