There are two seasons worth the trip. Winter (December to March) brings snow, dog-sledding, ice hotels, king-crab safaris on the frozen sea, and the aurora borealis on clear nights; temperatures hover around −10 °C but the air is usually dry and still, so it feels manageable. Summer (late May to late July) brings the midnight sun — the sun never drops below the horizon — and makes the landscape hikeable. The shoulder seasons are grey and uninteresting; skip them.