This Natural Phenomenon In Alaska Happens Just Once A Year And It’s Spectacular

There is nothing like the fall colors in Alaska. Most people associate Alaska with huge towering mountains and glistening blue glaciers. As home to Denali, North America's tallest mountain, that is a pretty accurate connection. However many are surprised to learn that nearly half of Alaska's land is actually covered with tundra. Tundra is a treeless ecosystem in which the climate is generally very cold and thus the growing season is too short for trees to mature. If they try to grow, they are usually stunted.

Often times referred to as a "cold desert" - these areas that are lined with thick tundra have permafrost in the wintertime, thick brush in the summertime and brilliant red colors during the fall. The season for experiencing the stunning fiery colors of fall lasts only a short time. The first few weeks of September are the most opportune time-frame for getting an up close and personal look at rural Alaska being painted red. It is mesmerizing!

When this amazing sight happens you will start to see some of the most beautiful places in Alaska be painted with red as Alaska's summer season comes to a close and fall comes storming in like a lightening bolt. It will seem like it happens overnight because the beauty of the vibrant fall colors truly do seem to turn on like a light switch. One day you'll be driving in rural Alaska and you'll look out your window and see nothing but bright, brilliant shades of red. The fall colors in Alaska are something truly amazing to behold!

Denali National Park is one of the most stunning places to experience vast stretches of land colored in flaming red colors. The low land tundra leading up to the huge mountain peaks in Denali offers a special kind of feeling that must be seen in person to fully be appreciated. If you put in for the Denali Road Lottery and have the opportunity to drive part (or the full amount) of the 93-mile road into the park during mid-September, you'll get the show of your life with these stunning colors stretching for miles on end.If you're fortunate enough to experience the bright colors with termination dust in the backdrop, consider yourself one of the lucky ones! The contrast of the bright, fresh white snow lining the mountain tops over a sea of red tundra is seriously stunning. Fall weather in Alaska offers the perfect balance. The sun will still warm you, but the days and nights start to hold a chill.

Serpentine Hot Springs in the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve is another breathtaking place to soak in the brilliant red autumn colors on the low land tundra. Take a hike or camp overnight before the snow starts and you'll feel like you are truly living inside of a coloring book that has mysteriously come to life. Bring a great camera and maybe even a few disposable cameras so that you have plenty of film to capture all of the magic. Denali National Park in the autumn is one of the most beautiful places in Alaska.

Point Hope is another area in Alaska with enormous stretches of wild tundra that turns bright red during this short season lasting only a few weeks (at the most). This another of the gorgeous places to visit in Alaska that you need to see this fall.

Head to Kobuk Valley National Park or Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve for more spectacular views of the low land tundra being lit up by the fierce colors of the season. No matter where you go during this short season, if there is tundra around, we are positive that you will be amazed as your eyes gaze tirelessly at the beautiful countryside surrounding you. The fall colors in Alaska will absolutely astound you!

If you are getting bummed that summer is ending and aren't quite as excited as we are about fall, be sure to check out these 23 Gorgeous Spots To See Fall Foliage That Will Show You Alaska Like Never Before! It will leave you feeling awake, refreshed and totally stoked about the fall colors in Alaska to come!

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