The northern lights are a bucket-list item that appears on virtually every travelers’ wishlist—but if you’re really lucky, you won’t even need to catch a flight to see them. The dazzling light show is one of nature’s most impressive spectacles, most commonly visible in destinations like Alaska, Iceland, and Norway. While it’s true that the best places to see the northern lights are these far-northern locales, US-based aurora hunters in the Lower 48 can get quite lucky at home, too.
The northern lights occur when charged particles ejected from the sun bombard the Earth, interact with the atmosphere, and glow. While this happens on a daily basis, most auroral displays are too weak to detect, and the northern lights typically stay, well, up north. But especially powerful solar events can occasionally make the northern lights visible in the US—and we’re not just talking about Alaska either. In fact, the May 2024 Gannon storm—the most severe geomagnetic storm in two decades—put on an auroral display in all 50 states. (Yes, even Hawaii.)
Such strong events happen infrequently, but even lesser ones can nudge the northern lights toward the US–Canada border. So the next time the aurora odds are in your favor, make your way to the darkest skies you can find. But first, some ground rules for aurora hunting.
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How to see the northern lights
Simply being in one of the below locations doesn’t guarantee that you’ll see the northern lights. First and foremost, you need clear skies, minimal light pollution, and a wide open view to the north (lakes and hilltops are your friend here). You might have to travel within these locations to find the perfect viewing spot.
Second, in these mid-latitude locations, you need enhanced solar activity, which isn’t easy to forecast. Most of the time, we have to wait until a satellite observes some action on the sun, and that only gives us a few days’ notice of a potential auroral show. Keep an eye out for geomagnetic storm warnings from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center—the stronger the storm, the better your odds of seeing the northern lights.
That said, even with enhanced solar activity, the geomagnetic conditions might not be right for a social-media-worthy northern lights display. You might only be able to catch a faint whitish glow with the naked eye, or perhaps only a slightly green wisp through your camera. Cell phone cameras are more sensitive than our eyes, so hold your camera up to a dark sky to reveal the aurora. (For more expert tips, read our full guide to night sky photography.)
If the forecast looks promising, but you can’t make it all the way up to Alaska, check out these northern lights viewing locations in the contiguous US. And if the northern lights don’t show, these spots are still well worth the journey thanks to plentiful opportunity for outdoor activities, day and night.
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Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine
With a low population density and plenty of rural areas, Maine is an ideal state for aurora viewing. Make your way to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument for especially dark skies—it’s a designated International Dark Sky Place by DarkSky International, an organization dedicated to preserving the night sky.
Where to stay: Just to the north of the national monument, the New England Outdoor Center (NEOC) on Millinocket Lake operates a night-sky webcam that many mid-latitude aurora chasers use as a forecasting tool. Conveniently, it also has comfortable cabins for travelers to the region.
The Adirondacks, New York
Though not a national park, New York’s Adirondack Park is the largest protected area in the contiguous US, spanning about 6 million acres—it’s larger than the entire state of Vermont. As such, there are plenty of dark places within it that are ideal for catching the northern lights. Head as far north as you can within the park, and make for one of its many lakes, such as Saranac Lake or Tupper Lake.