How to see the Northern Lights – best tips for catching auroras in Finland

In northern Finland, the Northern Lights appear on roughly 200 nights a year, and with the right timing and location, your chances of catching them are genuinely good. Here's what experienced aurora hunters know before they head out.

The Northern Lights form at altitudes of over 100 kilometres, when solar winds – streams of charged particles from the sun – collide with the Earth's atmosphere. Auroras are visible from the ground when the sky is dark and clear, which in northern Finland happens on a regular basis throughout the aurora season from August till April.

If you'd like to know about when to visit Finland, read our article Best times to see the Northern Lights.

Article last updated: April 2026

Finland's aurora season runs from late August to early April; the window when nights are dark enough for the lights to be visible. Within that window, autumn and spring are statistically the most active periods, when the geometry between Earth and the sun produces more frequent geomagnetic disturbances, especially around the spring and autumn equinoxes.

Winter is the most popular time to visit, and the darkest nights give you the longest viewing windows. But if flexibility is possible, September-October and February-March offer strong aurora activity alongside more manageable temperatures and less crowds.

Two forecasts matter when chasing auroras: standard weather and space weather.

Clouds are the most common reason people miss the Northern Lights entirely. Follow local forecasts closely for wherever you're staying, and be ready to move – aurora activity can be intense in one spot and invisible just a few kilometres away.

For space weather, the Finnish Meteorological Institute publishes an up-to-date aurora probability map for Finland. The larger the dot on the map, the better the chance of seeing the lights at that location.

The best viewing window on any given night is typically between 9pm and 2am.

Luckily, there are many websites and apps available that alert users when the auroras are visible in your area when visiting Finland.

We have listed some of them for you:

• Aurora Alert Real! time
• Northern Lights Alert
• Space weather in Finland
• Space weather prediction center

Clear nights in northern Finland are cold, often well below freezing. Layer properly: standing still outside for an hour in inadequate clothing will end the experience quickly regardless of what's happening overhead.

We strongly recommend going on a guided tour to see the auroras. Experienced guides know the local terrain, monitor forecasts throughout the day, and can move quickly if clouds roll in. Tours range from snowshoeing and snowmobiling to reindeer safaris and sauna evenings. And for those who prefer to stay warm, glass cabins where you can watch from bed are also an option.