Bettles Alaska if you really want to do it right. Chena Hot Springs not far from Fairbanks is probably the #2 spot to see them. Do your homework, your not guaranteed to see it, and even certain years are better than other years. I think this year or the past year was supposed to be terrible, then a good year after that was predicted. The sun goes through 7 year cycles or something like that.

Bettles Alaska if you really want to do it right. Chena Hot Springs not far from Fairbanks is probably the #2 spot to see them. Do your homework, your not guaranteed to see it, and even certain years are better than other years. I think this year or the past year was supposed to be terrible, then a good year after that was predicted. The sun goes through 7 year cycles or something like that.

"Is it worth planning a vacation around the Aurora Borealis being the focal point?"

IMO no. They don't happen on schedule and there is no way to ensure you'd see them. The Northern Lights run generally on a 20+ year cycle -- 10 or 11 years w/ increased activity, followed by 10 or 11 years of less activity.

From what I understand, 2011 is in the slow part of the cycle

I'd say "no" but it's still worth a trip if you want to go and give it a try.

I've been to Alaska twice - both times in winter. Juneau, Haines to Whitehorse in the Yukon in November and Anchorage and Fairbanks in Feb. As much as I wanted to see the AB, there was no activity.

I loved my Thanksgiving trip. The Southeast is warmer than the rest of Alaska (and that winter was warmer than Dallas and Atlanta most of the time). Enjoyed Juneau and then we took the ferry up to Haines. The scenery was spectacular. We drove on up on snowpack to Yellowknife and that was an amazing drive. Beautiful but desolate.

One of my favorite travel memories ever = the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world at the Chilkat River
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/eagleprv.htm
http://www.alaskatrekker.com/haines.htm
The Chilkat doesn't freeze so the bald eagles have their own rendezvous every winter. They were as numerous as oranges on orange trees.

Anyway, a November trip to AK can be memorable but you can't count on seeing the Northern Lights.

I really enjoyed being in Anchorage during Feb. It was the week before the start of the Iditarod and the city was abuzz with excitement. We drove up to Talkeetna and took a flightplane over Denali/ Mt McKinley. That was a blast.

You're getting a bunch of bad information about the aurora - we're almost at the next peak. The past few years have been pretty dead, but this winter has been great and next will be even better. See some photos shot a few days ago on my blog at http://explorenorth.com/wordpress/?p=902

The next peak has been forecast for years to be the winter of 2011-2012 but it's been moved back to the Spring of 2013 - meaning that the best viewing will be Feb-March of 2013 when we still get long nights.

The further north you go the better but keeping costs and other activities in mind, Fairbanks is a good choice - best if you get one of the B&Bs up in the hills away from the city lights.

There are a couple of websites that give aurora forecast. They are able to predict them just a few days in advance.

I agree with explorenorth. This year was good as I saw them down on the Kenai peninsula. I'd go to chena hot springs or fairbanks next late February. Just dress warm