I am currently planning a weekend trip to Anchorage and Barrow. I have the choice of the last three weekends in Sep. My main aim is to see the lights. I also want some time to drive around Anchorage. I read that late Sep is best for the lights but some of the Barrow tours seem to end by Sep 15.

I would also like to know if there are any places near ANC where I can drive to see bears in the wild and if there are any tour companies locally based in BRW. The reason I ask is that I have been only able to find tour companies that operate day trips from ANC and FAI to BRW. Is it easy to get around in BRW without a car?

Well for bears in ANC... they are all over. Was walking to my friends house two days ago and there was one in the area - some folks around me said they just saw one go in the woods, but I kept walking anyway

But bears and moose are all around. And be sure to let us know when visiting

Have not been to BRW myself yet but FTer maokh seems to be our BRW expert

anyone else?

Barrow is pretty easy to get around without a car, it isn't that big and if you don't mind walking. If you need to travel further distances, the taxis (at least when I was there last, over a year ago) were a flat rate of $5. I think, though I have never used them, the local "tour" companies are generally just residents who take people out to see the bears. They normally have other jobs, and do it as a side business. I would think they would do it anytime of year.

If you do find a local guide/tour, please post. I might try to go up there again either this year or next summer.

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