While many people think of Alaska as having weeks of endless sunlight in the summer, this is not necessarily the case. Only the residents of Barrow in the northernmost part of the state experience continuous daylight or darkness during certain periods of the year. In Barrow, the continuous darkness extends from November through January and the endless daylight arrives in May and lasts through August.

The reason for these periods of continuous light or darkness is due to Barrow’s location and the tilt of the earth’s axis as it rotates around the sun. Although continuous sunlight or darkness can be disturbing to tourists, most residents here are accustomed to these changes and adapt rather easily. In fact, the town boasts that the Northern Lights, an unusual display of light across the atmosphere, are best viewed during the time of winter darkness.

Areas that are a bit south of Barrow may have extremely short days during the winter. The entire arctic region of the state has a continuous 24-hour period of sunlight near the time of the summer solstice which is in mid to late June. This same arctic region will experience extremely long days during the summer even though the light will not be continuous.

Although there is continuous sunlight during the summer, the temperatures are actually very pleasant. During July and August the average high temperature is usually in the 60-70 degree range. Even so, evenings may be chilly so if you plan to visit you should bring a jacket no matter what time of year it is.