I took an old girlfriend in late March of 2019 up to Yellowknife for a few days of watching the Aurora Borealis. It was spectacular and as dynamic an experience as anyone could imagine with out ever seeing the lights previously.
We flew, so no opinions of the road trip to get there and back.
Each evening we would be bussed a half hour or so out of town to the Aurora Lodge, a native Canadian owned property with a central lodge for eating and hanging out in overlooking their own frozen lake. There were daytime and nighttime activities available.
For the nighttime sessions, we would be bussed out for a nice sunset view from the lodge, have a great meal as the darkness came on and the light show picked up. There were several choices to sit out on the frozen lakebed in fold up chairs or some very cool fiberglass two seat enclosures set up on a couple of different decks on some hills overlooking the lodge. These deck mounted seats are able to lean back and swivel round to view the whole sky in a comfortable position AND, they were heated. You feel the heat coming up from your toasty feet for hours on end.
We did rent outerwear back in town from the Aurora Lodge outlet. Boots, pants', and a hooded jacket with very little under garments keep us so warm on the inside for hours on end.
We would be bussed back to town each night at 2:30am. It made getting up early enough for breakfast at the Explorer Hotel tough to get up in time for. This hotel is on the highest hill in town and has a view of the Great Slave Lake in the distance. It is the second deepest lake in North America. Their on site restaurant is the bomb and has a great view out on the forest covered in several feet of snow. Arctic Char has got to be one of the best tasting fish around. We had it at almost every meal and it never disappointed.
Two blocks from the hotel is an easy walk to the Prince Albert, Edward?? Natural history museum that is not to be missed. Tracing back a hundred thousand years of animal species that lived there before the ice age. Who knew there were American lions and horses and giant beavers before the ice age? We spent several hours trying to see everything on the only afternoon we had free. Don't miss this when in town.
The Aurora Lodge's daytime activities included getting a half hour ride on a dog sled through the forest surrounding the frozen lakebed. It was driven by native Canadians who also maintained the hundred or so sled dogs living on site. These dogs wanted nothing other than the chance to run and were well taken care of by the native Canadians. It was a hoot racing through the trees on a narrow trail with our guide telling us stories between keeping the sled going and running alongside at times when the trail ascended. How he kept that centered on the trail with no rudder was amazing.
The Aurora Lodge also has an ice lined chute for racing down the hill onto the lakebed in some inner tube type of seat thingy. It was a blast. They also offer some ice fishing on their lake for those that want to catch and cook them up over an open fire.
The nighttime is the reason to go in the first place, and it did not disappoint. For hours on end, we watched the lights come over the northern horizon nonstop at times as the Borealis spread across the sky and morphed into many shapes and vivid colors. Words cannot describe the dynamic show we came for. This was my first time seeing the Aurora and will not be the last.
I chose Yellowknife to begin with because of its location for the best chance for clear skies at that time of year. Most storms tend to go south from Alaska which gives the NWT a chance of missing many of the storms that cross the Pacific.
As one who has always preferred the tropics, this was a departure from my normal and so worth it. Yes I flew, and have no idea about the driving up there, but however one gets there, go!!!!!
Sorry to ramble on and on, and there is more to tell. One thing is clear, there will be other trips to the far north once we are all able to travel again safely in this new world that we have to deal with. Stay safe everybody.
