You don’t need a passport to see the awe-inspiring northern lights. While destinations like Iceland, Norway, and Greenland attract travelers with unparalleled views of the aurora borealis, there are plenty of places where Americans can spot the natural wonder closer to home—including some that definitely haven’t been featured on your For You page.
Icelandair analyzed TikTok data and travel guides to determine which northern lights hot spots in the U.S. have stayed the most under the radar. After compiling a list of the best places to see northern lights around the country, the airline’s researchers examined how often hashtags related to each location were used on TikTok. Those comparisons then revealed which destinations were the most overlooked by astronomy lovers.
Midwestern states made the most appearances of any U.S. region on the least-mentioned list, with Idaho, Minnesota, and Wisconsin collectively making up half of the top 10. Aurora borealis sightings in Pennsylvania, Maine, and New York proved to be well-kept secrets on the East Coast, while Oregon was the only Pacific Northwestern state to make the list.
With only 32 mentions on TikTok as of August 2025, the Idaho Panhandle National Forests was the biggest hidden gem of them all. While Central Idaho is home to the country’s first Dark Sky Reserve, designated by the International Dark Sky Association in 2017, the state’s northern region also offers some spectacular displays. Even Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument Dark Sky Park, which boasts some of the darkest skies in the entire national park system, made the list of obscure destinations for observing the colorful phenomenon.
Your next best bet for getting a private northern lights show is to head to Maine. While Acadia National Park hogs the spotlight—it was the third most-mentioned location, according to the researchers—the state’s northernmost and easternmost park, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, also offers stunning views of the northern lights. The remote Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge, located near the Canadian border, is another under-the-radar aurora zone free of light pollution.
New Yorkers looking to escape the city’s crowds can make the five-hour road trip north to visit the rarely discussed Adirondack Sky Center & Observatory.
One advantage the lower-48 states have over Arctic Circle viewing destinations is year-round visibility of the aurora borealis. While the midnight sun washes out celestial colors during the summer months in places like Alaska and Finland, the Midwest’s summer nights stay dark enough to enjoy the dancing ribbons in your T-shirt and shorts.
As for the best-known places to see the northern lights in the U.S., Montana’s Glacier National Park was clearly the most popular. According to Icelandair’s study, it was mentioned over twice as many times as the list’s runner-up, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
With so many convenient destinations to choose from, there’s really no reason to hesitate to put a northern lights trip on your calendar.
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