Canada

At a Glance

The Northern Lights in the Canadian Yukon – A friend of mine had recently gone to Iceland to see the northern lights and this had me researching the northern lights extensively. I found a wonderful lodge on a frozen lake near White Horse where you can view the northern lights on site. This is how my mom and I ended up spending 3 nights in the Canadian Yukon during February 2018. We went snow shoeing, drove dog sleds, drank spiked coffee, and yes, we saw the northern lights on the last night.

Itinerary & Story

We flew into White Horse airport and were picked-up by the Southern Lakes Resort, our home away from home. The resort had a package that included 3 nights in one of their lake cabins, transportation to and from the airport, and a bag of winter gear to use. The gear was a great bonus as I live in southern California and don’t own heavy duty snow clothes.

It was about an hour and half drive from the airport to our destination on Tagish Lake, which is in the Southern Lakes Region. It was a white wonderland of mountains, forest, and frozen snow-covered lakes. The resort is remotely located, and the only close neighbors are a couple who raise and train sled dogs. It’s their dogs that will take us on our dog sled adventure. Everyone we encountered (who wasn’t a guest) either worked for the resort or with the sled dogs. The resort is small, and we were 2 of 6 guests. A dozen cabins ring the frozen lake front, and when you want a meal, drink, or Wi-Fi, it’s just a quick walk up to the lodge.

One night, everyone who lived even remotely close was tucked into the lodge’s restaurant/bar watching a very contentious hockey game. Most had arrived on snow mobiles. Another night, these same people got together for ice hockey on the lake. It’s a close community, and we got to be a part of it for a few nights.

On our first full day, we went snow shoeing. On the second day, we dog sledded. And, the nights? They were dedicated to trying to see the northern lights.

Highlights

I’m a dog sledder! – I was super excited about this activity. What was so great about this opportunity was that we wouldn’t be sitting in a basket, but driving our own team – albeit a small team – of 4 dogs. Bundled up in our winter clothing, we waddled down onto the frozen lake. After a short lesson in steering and breaking, we were then assigned a sled and dog team. The dogs were generally either retired from or training for the Iditarod and similar events. This was a short run for them. I would also like to note that the dogs appeared to be well loved and well treated. We were out for about 3 hours, and the dogs got a break in the middle when we stopped for a picnic lunch.

It was absolutely exhilarating. We went through the forest and across frozen lakes. The forests trails were particularly fun as you really had to manage your speed and steer. I was actually mushing! Coming off one downhill section, my dogs and I took a corner too fast and sharp, and I flew off the sled and into a snow bank. LOL! Purely by accident, I managed to drop the break – which is basically an anchor – so my dogs and sled didn’t get too far ahead of me! Once back at the lodge, we had a celebratory drink to a great day.

The Northern Lights – It’s never guaranteed that you’ll see the northern lights. They generally show between about 11pm and 3am, which means a nighttime vigil. On the first night, I tried to stay up to keep an eye out for them but fell asleep. So, we missed them. On the second night, it was snowing, so no lights. On our third and final night, the owner came down to our cabin at about 11:30pm to tell us that the lights were out and we should go out onto the lake to see them. We quickly bundled up, grabbed the camera equipment, and made the short walk down to the lake and out onto the ice.

The lights were softly dancing over the tree line. They did not fill the whole sky. They were 100% green, no other colors. I set up my tripod and adjusted the camera settings to best capture what we were seeing. It was super quiet except for the camera shutter and the ice cracking. The sound of ice cracking when you are standing on a frozen lake is unnerving, but we had been reassured many times that it’s natural and has no connection to how solid the ice is. We stood out there for about 45 minutes. We had silly grins on our faces. The lights had come out on our last night. It would have been a great trip without them, but it was even better having seen them. At some point, the cracking ice and our own shivering (it was cold!) convinced us to go back into our cabin. But for a short time, it was just us, a frozen lake, and the northern lights.