Explore Fairbanks Announces The Arrival Of Aurora Season

Since natural phenomena are unscathed by viruses, locals are still chasing the aurora and have developed ways to safely assist visitors in this pursuit. Find five brand new real time and time lapse aurora videos on the Explore Fairbanks website and virtually engage in northern lights viewing or embark on a trip to Fairbanks following current travel restrictions and travel responsibly protocols and make all your aurora viewing wishes come true.

FAIRBANKS, Ala. Fairbanks' world-famous northern lights lure aurora chasers from around the world. Such is the case with University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) physics student Andy Witteman. Andy is so passionate about the aurora that he lives to study, photograph and chase the northern lights. When he discovered UAF's Geophysical Institute was the foremost research center for auroral studies in North America he knew that Fairbanks, Alaska, was where he wanted to follow his dreams. This Aurora Season we are partnering with Andy to showcase a few of his brilliant real time and time lapse aurora videos for those who choose to armchair travel until the time is right. Andy says, "For anyone with an adventurous spirit, the northern lights can become an obsession bringing you to the edges of the world! Big auroras can happen on nights which are seemingly quiet, and cloudy nights can break up just enough to let the purples and greens rain down from the stars!" View Andy Witteman's five brand new videos on the Explore Fairbanks website.

Explore Fairbanks has built the Aurora Tracker to assist visiting aurora chasers. The Aurora Tracker correlates three individual streams of data to predict northern lights viewing opportunities for six locations in the Fairbanks region. Data streams include: aurora forecast data from the Geophysical Institute, weather forecast data for specific northern lights viewing locations and the amount of daylight hours. The aurora will be visible in Fairbanks an average of four out of five nights when the sky is clear and dark enough. Visitors who stay a minimum of three nights and are actively out during the late evening hours increase their chance of seeing the aurora to more than 90 percent.

Spanning all four seasons and nine months of the year Aurora Season, August 21 through April 21, has arrived. Due to the fact that natural phenomena are unscathed by viruses, locals are out chasing the aurora and have developed ways to safely assist visitors in this pursuit. Whether you want to virtually engage in northern lights viewing or you want to plan to see them in person, Explore Fairbanks is at your service. On Explore Fairbanks website you will find a current downloadable PDF list of local accommodations, attractions and tours as well as eating and drinking establishments that are "Open for Business."

As you make your travel plans to Fairbanks, find up-to-date information about Alaska's COVID-19 travel restrictions, including testing requirements, pinned to the top of Explore Fairbanks home page. With careful planning and precautions, including mask wearing, social distancing and hand sanitation, we invite you to come "Explore Fairbanks Responsibly" and make your aurora viewing wishes come true.

Find out about the above and more at http://www.explorefairbanks.com. For specific questions, email info@explorefairbanks.com.

                                                                                                                    

About Explore Fairbanks
Explore Fairbanks is a non-profit marketing and management organization whose mission is to be an economic driver in the Fairbanks region by marketing to potential visitors and optimizing the visitor experience. Explore Fairbanks markets Fairbanks as a year-round destination by promoting local events, attractions and activities to independent travelers, group tour operators, travel agents, meeting planners and the media as well as by developing public policy and infrastructure to achieve marketing objectives. Explore Fairbanks encourages travelers to "Explore Fairbanks Responsibly." Find out more at explorefairbanks.com.

SOURCE Explore Fairbanks

When And How To Catch The Northern Lights This Year

 

 The northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, are a sight to behold. They are a natural phenomenon surrounded by mystery and intrigue that should be at the top of any travel bucket list. With solar activity hitting a peak in 2012, the number of northern lights sightings has increased over recent years with the trend expected to continue through 2017. So, now is the time to take advantage of this window, and the travel experts at Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, are here to help with their informational guide on Nature’s light show: Where, when and how to catch the northern lights this year.

As we all know, Mother Nature is unpredictable and so are her northern lights. Therefore, calculating when and where they will appear is not an exact science. However, with Cheapflights.com’s guide, your odds of a sighting will improve. Below is a sneak peek into the guide, which highlights key tips for seeing the northern lights, along with some of the best places to try and catch them.

These four places in North America offer some of the best chances to see Mother Nature’s light extravaganza:

·         Fairbanks, Alaska - Beginning in early September and peaking in the cold, dark nights of winter, the northern lights are most reliably viewed in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks is geographically under the “aurora oval,” and tour operators like Northern Alaska Tour Company and Salmon Berry Tours offer northern lights tours. The best times for viewing are between 12:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. in September and March and between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. during the winter. Consult the University of Alaska Fairbanks Aurora Forecast to determine the best days and times to view the northern lights.

·         Alberta and Yukon, Canada - There are many places to spot the northern lights in Canada. In the western province of Alberta, the sky becomes ablaze with pulsating color from September to April. Head to Jasper National Park or Wood Buffalo National Park for a chance to see the northern lights, as well as the Milky Way. A spectacular show also takes place in Yukon, Canada’s westernmost territory, each fall. From August to April, it is possible to see the neon green aurora borealis on clear nights.

·         Cook County, Minnesota - On clear nights when there is little or no moonlight, it is possible to see the northern lights in Cook County, Minnesota, four-and-a-half hours north of the Twin Cities. The best time to view the streaky, colorful lights is between 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. It’s possible to see the northern lights any time of year on the north shore of Lake Superior, but they are more often seen in winter due to the long nights. Heading outdoors to a location away from the light pollution of the city is all visitors need to see the northern lights, as well as shooting stars and meteor showers, like the Perseid meteor shower from mid-July to mid-August and the Leonid meteor shower in November.

·         Browning, Minnesota - Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana is one of the best spots in the U.S. for viewing the northern lights. After a day of hiking the park’s 700 miles of trails and enjoying views of the Rocky Mountains, head to St. Mary in the summertime to sneak a peek at the phenomenal light show, which tends to appear most often in the early morning hours.

Now that you have an idea of where to go, here are some key tips for improving your chances of seeing the northern lights when you get there:

·         Timing is everything. It’s impossible to know exactly when and where the northern lights will appear. However, they are most visible in autumn, winter and early spring (approximately September to March). Don’t set your heart on seeing them from April through August in most of the places on our list below, as many are lit by the midnight sun at that time.

·         Check the weather and activity. The aurora borealis are best seen on cold, clear nights when there isn’t a full moon. But just standing outside on a cold, clear night in the middle of winter in the middle of nowhere won’t guarantee a sighting. Before heading out, check the auroral forecast. The NOAA Space Prediction Center measures the level of geomagnetic activity as measured by the Estimated Planetary K Index (measured in Kp on a scale of 0 to 9). NOAA’s Space Weather Enthusiasts Dashboard is also a great resource. If the “geophysical activity forecast” is for “storm” levels, then the chances of seeing the northern lights are greater. A more simplified way to determine auroral activity is to check NOAA’s Aurora – 30 Minute Forecast.

·         Stay for a while. For the best chance of seeing the northern lights, it’s best to book a trip that is between three and seven days long in a destination at a high latitude, allowing the best chance for weather conditions and auroral activity to line up with your trip.

Other useful tips included in the guide are: location, location, location; stay up late; patience is key and bring your camera and gear. And, for those planning a more extensive trip to see the aurora borealis, the six overseas destinations to round out Cheapflights’ sighting recommendations are: Lapland, Finland; Outside Reykjavik, Iceland; Lofoten Islands and Trøndelag, Norway; Northern Scotland; Lapland, Sweden; and on a cruise along the Norwegian coast. To access Cheapflights.com’s complete guide on Nature’s light show: Where, when and how to catch the northern lights this year visit www.cheapflights.com/news/natures-light-show-where-when-and-how-to-catch-the-northern-lights-this-year.

Top 10 US Travel Destinations For 2013

• Contributed by Robert Reid
• Lonely Planet 

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Every year our US-based editors team up with Lonely Planet’s expert authors to compile a list of US destinations that are prime for the next year. Best in Travel 2013already covered two places we think the world should be looking at – San Franciscoand the Gulf Coast – but here we wanted to dig deeper and shine a light on 10 places in the US that travelers should add to their wish lists for the coming year. Our 2013 picks are literally all over the map: once-in-a-lifetime northern lights, new top-tier museums, moose trails, Polynesian paradise and barrels of bourbon. Enjoy, and send us a postcard!

1. 

Could it be that the new Portland is in… Kentucky? Louisville has asserted itself as a lively, offbeat cultural mecca on the Ohio River. New Louisville, also known as the East Market District or NuLu, features converted warehouses used as local breweries, antique shops and the city’s coolest restaurants. On Bardstown Rd in the Highlands you’ll find a hipster strip of shops and bars, not to mention many ‘Keep Louisville Weird’ stickers. Bourbon reigns in Louisville. This is the traditional jump-off for theBourbon Trail; with bourbon’s current wave of popularity, new upstart microdistilleries, including some in and around Louisville like the small-batch Angel’s Envy, are giving the old names in bourbon a run for their money. Try for the first Saturday in May to witness the ‘greatest two minutes in sports,’ the Kentucky Derby.

The coolest hotel in town is 21c Museum Hotel, an edgy contemporary hotel with scissor chandeliers and loft-like rooms.

On Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail
Photo by Marty Pearl, courtesy of Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau

2. Fairbanks, Alaska

Have you seen aurora borealis (aka the northern lights)? The sensation of seeing Arctic skies crackle with smoky blues, greens and reds has long drawn off-season travelers way north. 2013 will be big, marking the end of a fiery 11-year-cycle, when sunspots are particularly feisty, making for a big show in the Fairbanks sky 240 nights a year. Go. From May to mid-August daylight is too strong to see much, but by late summer they start to appear, and Fairbanks is the place to be. On the ground, curious foodies can sample traditional Athabascan cuisine at Taste of Alaska (call to book in advance) at the Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center, or take part in a unique pub-crawl, The Great Fairbanks Pub Paddle. Open all year, the 414-mile Dalton Highway plies north of Fairbanks into the Arctic, and air taxis reach the pristine 800-sq-mile Gates of the Arctic National Park, but the light show will be best back in Fairbanks.

A favorite place to stay is Ah, Rose Marie B&B, a homey Dutch-built cottage that takes its breakfasts seriously.

A stunning display of aurora borealis over a cabin near Fairbanks, Alaska
Photo by Todd Paris, courtesy of the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau

3. San Juan Islands, Washington

Lonely Planet guidebook author Brendan Sainsbury has a new name for these dreamy islands north of Seattle: the ‘Gourmet Archipelago’. Proudly home to a decidedly un-Pacific Northwest-like 250 days of sunshine a year, the San Juan Islands have always gone for self-sufficiency. You’ll find fresh, fresh food, with local artichokes and marionberries from farmers markets, seafood plates of oysters, razor clams and freshly caught salmon, and foraged edibles like seaweed and elderflowers at places like the Doe Bay Café on Orcas Island, or Willows Inn on Lummi Island whose head chef is an alumnus of world-renowned Noma. Hop on a bike, explore the beaches and enjoy the scenery, but be sure to eat!

For more options, see Brendan’s article on the Gourmet Archipelago.

Friday Harbor Farmers’ Market, San Juan Island
Photo by Barbara Marrett, courtesy of San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau

4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Forget the cheesesteaks and tri-corner hat, Philadelphia is becoming known as an art capital. In addition to the world renowned Philadelphia Museum of Art, the formerly remote the Barnes Foundation, a once private collection of Matisse, Renoir and Cézanne, has a new central location. And it’s not just the big museums – Philly’s gallery scene is exploding with new venues like the Icebox garnering international attention and turning the Northern Liberties and Fishtown neighborhoods into the new hot arts hub. First Fridays, the monthly gallery open house, long a tradition in Old City, has expanded to the refurbished Loft District, where the party goes on in a host of new bars, clubs and live music venues.

For places to stay, the vintage-boutique inn Rittenhouse 1715 is around the corner from the namesake park.

Barnes Foundation gallery, Philadelphia
Photo by R. Kennedy courtesy of GPTMC

5. American Samoa

Did you know that a US passport can get you to an isolated South Pacific paradise without even leaving US territory? From the US mainland, American Samoa is a longer trek than Hawaii, but the distance rewards the visitor with some of the most stunning, untouched beauty of the Pacific and a national park that even the most ardent park system fans won’t have checked off their list yet. From the US, flights run from Honolulu to Pago Pago on lovely Tutuila, with waterfalls, fishing villages and spectacular beaches nearby. But press on with a quick flight on Inter Island Air to the tiny nearby Manuʻa Islands of Taʻu and Ofu, with shining, palm-fringed white sand beaches flanked by shark-tooth-shaped mountains. The best time to visit is Flag Day, April 17, when there are activities galore. This may be US territory, but it’s some of the purest Polynesia you’ll find anywhere.

It’s simple, but the family-run Vaoto Lodge can get you snorkeling within minutes of arrival.

Ofu Island, American Samoa
Photo courtesy of American Samoa Visitors Bureau

6. Eastern Sierra, California

This year, hop past Yosemite – just beyond lies the secret California dream: theEastern Sierra, the overlooked flank of the Sierra Nevada range, with other-worldly natural attractions and surprises (Basque culture?), not to mention far fewer visitors. Just follow the scenic US Route 395 as it connects wonders like the Travertine hot spring in Bridgeport, the Gold Rush ghost town of Bodie, Mono Lake’s bizarre calcified tufa towers, or the surreal Devils Postpile National Monument’s 60-foot curtain of basalt columns made from rivers of molten lava. Eastward, ho!

In Lee Vining stop at perhaps the greatest wonder of all: fantastic food served out of a gas station at the Whoa Nellie Deli with live music during the warmer months

Tufa towers in Mono Lake, Eastern SierraPhoto by John Lemieux, Creative Commons Attribution license

7. Northern Maine

Moose, white water rafting, epic hiking. No, not the Rockies – we’re talking aboutMaine. Maine isn’t only lobster rolls, lighthouses and rocky shoreline. The woodsy interior, on the top half of the Maine ‘thumb’ reaching north to the Canada border, makes for a wilderness adventure. The Appalachian Trail begins/ends atop Mt Katahdin (which literally means ‘Mt Great Mountain’) in primitive Baxter State Park, with 200,000 acres of lakes and mountains to reach by hiking boot. Nearby is Moosehead Lake, home to a 99-year-old steamboat to ride, and the source of the Kennebec River, with great rafting opportunities at the Forks. To the north in remote Aroostook County, miles of old rail beds have been transformed into bike trails, and multi-day canoe trips can paddle you right up to the Canadian border.

Baxter is camping only. A good B&B nearby is the Greenville Inn on Moosehead Lake, built from a century-old lumber baron’s home.

Near Chimney Pond, Mt. Katahdin
Photo by Jue Wang, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

8. Twin Cities, Minnesota

Lake Wobegon might be ‘the little town that time forgot, and the decades cannot improve,’ but time has been much kinder to the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St Paul. Minneapolis is often called the country’s best bike city and the Nice Ride bike-share system with its web of new bike lanes proves the point. The St Anthony Falls Heritage Trail is a 2-mile path along the banks of the Mississippi River. Plan time for Uptown’sBryant-Lake Bowl, an old bowling alley with seriously good food (think artisanal cheese plates). And pay homage to the epicenter of Twin Cities’ music scene, First Avenue & 7^th St Entry – hometown hero Prince sometimes comes by (seriously). St Paul is quieter, but key to see. Pedal over for a meal at the Hmongtown Marketplace, with authentic Lao dishes, and a show at the Fitzgerald Theater, where Garrison Keillor tapes his Prairie Home Companion.

Wales House is a cheery B&B with a fireplace lounge and frequent scholar guests working at the nearby University of Minnesota. (Go Gophers!)

Twin Cities Jazz Festival, St Paul
Photo by Chris McDuffie, courtesy of Visit Saint Paul.

9. Verde Valley, Arizona

Between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon, the Verde Valley is taking off as Arizona’s go-to destination, and not just among the spa and crystal Sedona-fans of years past. The Verde Valley region is beautiful, with green canyons rimmed by red rocks, and towns like Cottonwood, Jerome and Sedona that have long drawn visitors for good food, art and mining lore. But the Verde boost is all about the wine. The new Verde Valley Wine Trail links four new vineyards clustered around Cornville, near Sedona. Most fun is reaching the Alcantara Vineyards… by kayak. Less fun is being the designated kayaker.

Sedona’s Cozy Cactus is a, well, cozy B&B in an adobe with easy access to local hiking trails.

Kayaking to Alcantara Vineyards, Verde Valley
Photo courtesy of Verde Valley Wine Trail

10. Glacier National Park, Montana

One of the countries wildest, most remote and pristine national parks, Glacier is everyone’s favorite national park who’s been. Its jagged, snow-blanketed ridges and glacier-sculpted horns tower dramatically over aquamarine lakes and meadows blanketed in wildflowers. Most visitors stick to the drive along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, so it’s easy to escape crowds by venturing beyond it. A relatively new shuttle system offers an eco-friendly alternative. But go soon. The park’s 25 glaciers are melting – and could be gone altogether by 2030 if current climate changes continue!

The summer-only Many Glacier Hotel, built like a Swiss chalet, is a once-in-a-lifetimer hotel set on Swiftcurrent Lake like a queen on a throne.

Swiftcurrent Lake from at Many Glacier Hotel
Photo by Bill Weaver, Creative Commons Attribution license