I would think you could easily "see" everything there is to see in BRW without hiring a guide. If you can find one cheap, it might be worth it, but there's not much to the tourism aside from the monument at the point. I'm not sure about the bear-watching, though--you may want someone who knows where they hang out to show you, but you should probably make sure they'll even be in the area when you're there (for a portion of the year, they spend their time out on the pack ice).

As for the Northern Lights, take a look at the auroral oval at http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/. The aurora is not a solid cap (yarmukle?) on the top of the world--it's a ring (i.e. you won't see anything over the North Pole). You can see that both BRW and FAI are about equidistant from the centerline of the ring. What that means is that northern lights viewing is not going to be any better from BRW than it is from FAI, and indeed, the weather in FAI is generally a lot clearer than on the gloomy, overcast North Slope. Unless you have a desperate need to see polar bears in BRW and say you've been to the northernmost point in the U.S., save yourself the money and stick to FAI instead. A nice weekend at Chena Hot Springs is the perfect cure for whatever ails you--watch the lights dance above your head as you soak in hot mineral waters. (Well, you might have to get away from the pool to see anything, depending on the artificial lights in the pool area and the amount of steam generated by the water...)

About the best place to see the lights is right on the centerline of the ring in Fort Yukon, but talk about expensive to get to!

Also, you may find information in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...nter-time.html