Abisko · Sweden

Riksgränsen

Ski-resort hamlet on the Norwegian border at the end of the Swedish E10; it gets more than twice Abisko's precipitation, so treat it as a backup rather than a first choice.

See tonight's live score and best time to go for Riksgränsen in Aurora Atlas

Riksgränsen, 2020-05-16
“Riksgränsen, 2020-05-16” by Ojan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

Why it works for the aurora

View
Overhead; mountains limit the low horizon.
Darkness
Dark sky, grade 1 on a scale from 0 (darkest) to 5. Little artificial light; a good place for faint aurora and the Milky Way.
Aurora
Under the auroral oval: aurora can be overhead even on quiet nights.

Getting there

Distance
About 38 km by road from Abisko (estimate), roughly 44 min by car.
Bus or train
Nearest stop: Riksgränsen (train).
Coordinates
68.4289, 18.1176 · Open in OpenStreetMap

Before you go

Mountain weather with heavy snow: check the forecast and road status before driving.

Dress for standing still in the cold, bring a head torch with a red light, and park only where parking is allowed. A forecast is guidance, not a promise: check the road and weather warnings for Sweden before a night drive. See our winter safety note.

Spot information from originaltravel.co.uk.