As the clock strikes 6:42 pm on Friday, June 20, the summer solstice will have arrived. Continuous daylight is already a feature for Alaskans as the days have grown longer since the 2024 winter solstice on Dec. 21 — but no sense in reminding readers that the shortest day is just 185 days away. And yet, there we did it.
Fairbanks has about 22 hours of daylight stretching from the early morning hours to after midnight. Even in Anchorage, more than 19 hours of sunshine illuminates the city, leaving only a faint, dusky twilight to mark the so-called night. Further north, towns above the Arctic Circle like Kotzebue and Utqiagvik are not getting any relief from the sun — and haven’t for weeks on end. There’s just no star-gazing at this time of year, unless you’re staring at the sun.
This unending sunlight is the result of Earth’s 23.5-degree axial tilt. As the planet orbits the sun, that tilt means the Northern Hemisphere leans toward the light in June. On the solstice, the sun reaches its highest and longest path through the sky, delivering maximum daylight and an annual turning point in Earth’s solar rhythm.
But in Alaska, this celestial alignment is more than an astronomical milestone — it’s a reason to party, and there will be parties in every corner of the state.
Tips about things to do, like hiking Flattop, can be found at Alaska.org.
One of the most storied solstice traditions in the state is at a Fairbanks baseball diamond: the Midnight Sun Game. Played since 1906 without artificial lights, the game starts in the late evening and continues under the golden afterglow of the barely setting sun. Around true midnight, players and fans pause to sing the Alaska Flag Song, a nod to tradition, pride, and the surreal beauty of the summer in Fairbanks.
In towns small and large, there will be potlucks, bonfires, dancing — and probably some drinking. Take it easy, if you’re driving.
And while the solstice is the longest day, it is not the hottest. That comes a couple of weeks later, as the land and water slowly warm in the long days that follow.