Alaska has two reputations that most people keep separate in their minds: Alaska summer, with wildlife and the Midnight Sun; and Alaska winter, with northern lights and snow-covered mountains. What most visitors don't realize is that for about eight weeks each fall, you don't have to choose. September and October in Alaska sit in a rare overlap where aurora season is open and most of the summer's best activities are available to enjoy. It's the most underrated window on the Alaska travel calendar, and if you time it right, it delivers something neither summer nor winter can on their own. | 
