Early/Mid October - Northern Lights? Weather? Other things? (Fairbanks: car rental, rental)

[pagetrip29]

Hello,

My wife and I always wanted to see Northern Lights and hence it is the main priority of our trip. We have anniversary coming up in mid October so we are considering a trip to Fairbanks in early/mid October. Ideally we want to travel the second week of October but I noticed that early October has new moon so we are open to travel in early October as well. We are planning to stay for at least a week so we have more chances of catching the lights.

Is early October a good time for northern lights viewing? This is probably our one shot at visiting Alaska so we want to make sure we visit at the right time. If October is not the right time we will postpone our trip to later months.

Is there anything else to do/see in October? Is AWD necessary in October? Generally when does Denali National Park close (based on historic data)? Not being able to visit Denali is not a deal breaker for us and we can work from hotel on days we don't travel. Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks.

[AKStafford]

Denali National Park never closes. However, they don't maintain the road beyond Mile 3, so the road is inaccessible until next spring. https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
To see Northern Lights, you need clear, dark skies and aurora activity. So it's possible in October. March is a popular time, because it's not as cold and you have enough daylight for those activity and enough snow for those activities.
Yes, I would ask the car rental place if the vehicle has all weather or winter tires.

[OurNextAdventure]

March is the best time to see the Aurora Borealis. Fairbanks is the ideal location to see them. There is always a chance for them to occur anytime during the winter, but March is your best bet. As far as Denali. If you've got the money, charter a flight. It's best seen from the air anyhow. Not much to see from the ground even in the summer unless you win the lottery or are on a bus.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by OurNextAdventure

March is the best time to see the Aurora Borealis. Fairbanks is the ideal location to see them. There is always a chance for them to occur anytime during the winter, but March is your best bet. As far as Denali. If you've got the money, charter a flight. It's best seen from the air anyhow. Not much to see from the ground even in the summer unless you win the lottery or are on a bus.

September through March for me. Most times there is lots of open water in September, and if the water is placid the Auroras reflection on the water makes for great photos. What makes March a good time for watching or photographing the Auroras is that warmer temperatures are possible, specially in the Interior of Alaska. But don't forget the sometimes in the middle of the winter we get Chinook winds that bring warm air, too.

It is very difficult to predict when the auroras will show. All depends on solar activity plus weather, since sometimes it can be cloudy for several days. Some photographers who travel to Alaska to photograph the Auroras spend three or four weeks around Fairbanks and vicinity. But since the OP and wife only have one week, just take the chance and hope for the best (can't control mother nature, I guess).

By the way, there are a couple of places around Fairbanks where the hosts monitor the Auroras and drive their clients to specific locations to watch them. These companies usually advertise their businesses as "Northern Lights Tours" and similar.