CHASING LIGHT AND DARKNESS ON YUKON NORTHERN LIGHTS TRIP
If you want to see the northern lights dance across the sky, Yukon is a great place to be.
On a crisp August night, I sat on a hilltop overlooking Dawson City waiting to see if the aurora borealis would show itself. In the wee hours of the morning, just when I decided to give up, I stood up and saw a burst of green and pink colour directly behind me. Turns out I was a little mixed up about which way was north.
I stayed out for another hour watching and photographing the aurora dance before it disappeared as quickly as it came. It was a magical experience and I made a plan then and there to go back to Yukon with my husband for a winter northern lights trip.
Dark, clear nights make for the best aurora viewing and that makes winter a good time for a northern lights trip.
It was snowing lightly when my husband and I arrived in Whitehorse. The snow and cloud conditions on our first night were not ideal, but we had time for the weather to improve.
We started the trip with two nights at the Northern Lights Resort and Spa, a 160-acre property far enough outside the city to avoid light pollution. The second night of our stay was in an “aurora glass chalet” that has floor to ceiling windows so you can watch the stars and northern lights while you lay in bed. The stars were beautiful and we saw a very faint glow of an aurora, but it wasn’t really dancing.
Aurora or no, sleeping under the stars was incredible and the meals were amazing.
The third night, we moved to a trapper’s cabin at Mount Logan Lodge on the border of Kluane National Park, about two hours outside of Whitehorse. We were told the cabin is the oldest building in the Haines Junction area. It was heated with a wood stove and had no running water or electricity. The upside — our rustic accommodations were perfect for watching northern lights.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any. The food at the lodge was fantastic, though, and we had fun when we joined our host on an evening snowmobile tour that had beautiful views of the mountains. We also enjoyed evening storytelling with James Allen, a First Nations elder.
We stayed in Whitehorse at the Edgewater Hotel for the last two nights of our trip and enjoyed the comfort and convenience of the city. On our last night in Yukon, we joined an Arctic Range aurora tour. Since this was our last night, we figured a little expert help couldn’t hurt.
We were transported outside the city to a spot where the company set up heated yurts and teepees. The skies were clear and just after midnight, the first bursts of green light appeared. By 1 a.m., dramatic dancing waves were cascading from one side of the horizon to the other.
Our guide provided fantastic tips for photographing the show and we finally ticked that experience off our bucket lists.