"We had an absolutely wonderful experience with Tracy’s Northern Lights tour! We joined her for two nights, and both were simply perfect. Tracy is incredibly friendly and welcoming, and she has created such a cozy and comfortable cabin — the perfect place to warm up, relax, and enjoy the experience while waiting for the aurora. The food she serves is also excellent and makes the whole evening feel even more special. We had originally planned to spend one more night there, and unfortunately had to change our plans. We genuinely wish we could have gone again! Everything about the experience was fantastic, and it was absolutely worth every penny. If you’re visiting Yellowknife and hoping to see the Northern Lights, we couldn’t recommend Tracy and her tour more highly. The two nights we spent there were truly unforgettable!"
A forecast, not a promise: cloud for Yellowknife from MET Norway, Kp from NOAA SWPC · Yellowknife tours drive to lakeside cabins and viewing sites outside the city. · month by month · checked
Canada · Northwest Territories and Yukon
Northern Lights in Canada: Yellowknife and Whitehorse Compared
Canada's two aurora capitals are Yellowknife, on the dry shield of the Northwest Territories, and Whitehorse in the Yukon. Yellowknife sits deeper under the oval and has the clearer winter sky.
- 4.7 / 5 85+ Reviews
- 10 Aurora Destinations Compared on This Site
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Cosy Cabin Tour Includes
Bucket List Tour's aurora tour from Yellowknife. It runs in any weather.
Highlights
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- A cabin base in the bush to wait in the warm
- A late lunch of fish chowder and bannock, teas and hot chocolate
- Parkas and fur coats to dress up in for photos
- Phone photos of you taken by the guide, and tripods to use
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Tour guide
- Warm light lunch with hot chocolate and teas
- Camera phone photos by the tour guide
- Northern Parkas and Fur Coats for Dress Up and Fun Photos. Tripods for you to use
- Tripods for you to use
How a Night Works
From booking to the lights.
Pick Your Base
Yellowknife for the clearest sky, Whitehorse for the Yukon and its wilderness lodges.
Book Several Nights
Book three or four nights; even the clearest months have cloudy ones.
Hotel Pickup
Tours collect you in the evening and drive out of town.
Wait in the Warm
Cabins and lodges between displays; photos when the lights come.
Photo Gallery
On the Tour
Photos from the tour's own listing.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
What the Tour Brings, and What You Bring
Bucket List Tour includes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Warm light lunch with hot chocolate and teas
- Camera phone photos by the tour guide
- Northern Parkas and Fur Coats for Dress Up and Fun Photos. Tripods for you to use
- Tripods for you to use
From the tour’s GetYourGuide listing, checked October 2026. Check dates for this tour →
Bring
- Layers under a windproof shell, a warm hat and gloves: you stand still for long stretches on an Arctic night
- Warm, waterproof boots with good grip on snow and ice
- A charged phone and a spare battery: cold drains batteries fast
- A head torch with a red light, so you keep your night vision
Month by month
When Yellowknife Is Dark and Clear Enough
Night cloud, hours of darkness and how often the Kp index reached 3 or more in the dark hours, month by month at Yellowknife.
| Month | Dark hours a night | Night cloud | Clear dark hours (est.) | Dark hours with Kp 3+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January best | 13.9 h | 54% | 6.3 h | 15% |
| February best | 11.7 h | 49% | 6 h | 22% |
| March | 8.8 h | 50% | 4.4 h | 25% |
| April | 4.7 h | 64% | 1.7 h | 19% |
| May | Too light | 73% | — | — |
| June | Too light | 68% | — | — |
| July | Too light | 67% | — | — |
| August | 2.7 h | 63% | 1 h | 15% |
| September | 7.7 h | 63% | 2.8 h | 25% |
| October | 10.9 h | 79% | 2.3 h | 24% |
| November | 13.3 h | 74% | 3.5 h | 21% |
| December best | 14.6 h | 57% | 6.4 h | 18% |
Night cloud: NASA POWER climatology (CLOUD_AMT_NIGHT), January 2001 to December 2025, at the Yellowknife grid cell. Darkness: computed with JPL DE421 via Skyfield (sun more than 12° below the horizon), averaged per night. Kp 3+: share of the 3-hour Kp windows from 2015-01-01 to 2025-12-31 that fell in the dark hours here, from GFZ’s Kp index (CC BY 4.0); September and March run higher, the equinox effect NOAA describes. Clear dark hours are an estimate, dark hours times the cloud-free share. Checked October 2026.
Looking north
The Sky Over Yellowknife, Facing North
Computed charts of the stars where the aurora usually appears, on a new-moon night. The aurora itself is not drawn: no chart can forecast it.
Tour or on your own?
Canada on Your Own, or With a Tour?
- Do you have a car and the clothing for minus 30 degrees?
- Do you know where to stop safely off the roads outside town?
- Do you want somewhere warm to wait between displays?
Go on your own
On a clear night the aurora is often visible from the edge of Yellowknife or Whitehorse; drive out to a lakeshore away from the lights.
Book the tour
Hotel pickup, a warm cabin or lodge between displays, hot food and drinks, and photos of you.
Check dates →The Top Three Side by Side
Prices as listed on GetYourGuide, October 2026.
| Feature | TOP PICK Aurora Borealis Tour with Cozy Cabin Base | Northern Lights Bus Tour with Photos | Aurora Lodge and Aurora Chasing Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From US$101/per person | From US$62 (Oct 2026) | From US$98 (Oct 2026) |
| Rating | 4.7/5 (85 reviews) | 4.7/5 (292 reviews) | 4.6/5 (55 reviews) |
| Operator | Bucket List Tour | Yellowknife Vacations | Destination NWT Limited |
| Free Cancellation | Yes, up to 24 hours ahead | Yes, up to 24 hours ahead | Yes, up to 24 hours ahead |
| Check Availability | View This Tour | View This Tour |
Other Canadian Aurora Tours
Yellowknife's bus with a photographer, its Madeline Lake lodge, and a viewing cabin with a bar near Whitehorse.
YELLOWKNIFE BUSFrom Yellowknife: Northern Lights Bus Tour with Photos
Be mesmerized by the captivating light effects of aurora borealis
YELLOWKNIFE LODGEMadeline Lake: Aurora Lodge and Aurora Chasing Tour
Enjoy the best of both worlds with Aurora Lodge and Aurora Chasing
WHITEHORSE CABINAurora Lounge: Aurora Viewing Cabin & Bar
Experience the Yukon's coziest aurora viewing experience
The Canada Northern Lights Guide
Yellowknife or Whitehorse
Two aurora capitals compared on the data and the tours.
The best place in Canada for the northern lights is Yellowknife: it sits at 68.6° geomagnetic latitude, under the oval, and NASA’s climatology puts typical January night cloud there near 54%, for about 6.3 clear dark hours a night in January (an estimate). Whitehorse, in the Yukon, is further south of the oval at 62.9° and cloudier in the early season. The tour with the most comfort for the cold is Bucket List Tour’s cosy cabin base, from US$101 as of October 2026.
Check dates for the cabin tour →
Yellowknife against Whitehorse
| Yellowknife, NWT | Whitehorse, Yukon | |
|---|---|---|
| Geomagnetic latitude | 68.6° | 62.9° |
| Kp needed (est.) | Kp 0.0 | Kp 1.6 |
| Night cloud, January (NASA POWER) | 54% | 66% |
| Clear dark hours, January (est.) | 6.3 h | 4.7 h |
| Clear dark hours, October (est.) | 2.3 h | 2.7 h |
| Season (4 h of darkness or more) | September to April | September to April |
Checked October 2026. Kp needed is NOAA’s rule of thumb, an estimate.
The Canadian tours compared
| Tour (operator) | From | Rating (reviews) | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora tour with a cosy cabin base (Bucket List Tour), Yellowknife | US$101 | 4.7 (85) | Late lunch, parkas for photos, runs in any weather |
| Northern lights bus with photos (Yellowknife Vacations) | US$62 | 4.7 (292) | 3 locations, a photographer |
| Aurora lodge, Madeline Lake (Destination NWT), Yellowknife | US$98 | 4.6 (55) | A warm lodge, photos |
| Aurora hunting tour by bus (Aurora Bus Tours), Yellowknife | US$69 | 5.0 (27) | The best rated in Yellowknife |
| Aurora Lounge viewing cabin and bar (EPIC NORTH), Whitehorse | US$108 | 4.7 (42) | North-facing windows, a campfire, free photos |
| Late-night viewing tour (Arctic Range Adventure), Whitehorse | US$126 | 4.4 (97) | No refund or rebooking for cloud |
Prices in US dollars, ratings and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026; they change with the date you pick.
For Whitehorse on its own, whitehorsenorthernlights.com covers the Yukon tours and lodges in more detail.
Why a tour in Canada
The sky is free, and on clear nights the lights can show from the edge of town. In Canadian winter, though, minus 30 is normal, and the tour is mostly about staying warm long enough to see a display: a cabin or lodge to wait in, hot food, pickup at your hotel and a guide who knows where to stop. Several Yellowknife tours also photograph you, and most cancel free up to 24 hours ahead.
In detail: Yellowknife aurora tours.
Guest Reviews
What Recent Guests Say
"It is a must do if one comes to Yellowknife ! Tracy and her team was really amazing!!!"
"Sim and Tracy were amazingly friendly and dedicated. Even though it was a cloudy day, they welcomed us with so much enthusiasm and did everything they could to ensure everyone had a fun and comfortable time. Truly appreciate it!"
"Tracy is so nice and welcoming. She got us fresh fruit and snacks when we notified her of our dietary restrictions. The cabin was nice, warm and perfectly situated where you just need to look up to see the northern lights. Sim captured amazing pictures of us. Perfect choice for an intimate and cozy aurora experience!"
"Tracy was very kind and made suggestions for us to enjoy the northern lights more. Her assistant took incredible pictures of us with our own cell phones!! A very good experience!!"
"You must do this it’s the best activity I have done so far from the moment they pick you up till you arrive at the cabin the way they make you feel at home please book this you will be so happy."
"The guide was so kind and friendly. When I told them that I joined the tour after watching Hong Hyun-hee and Jason’s honeymoon Aurora tour, they were really happy to hear that! The atmosphere everything was just like what I saw on screen. And the food was so so delicious! The guide even gave me two extra slices of pie, and I enjoyed them all on the plane, at the hotel, and even the next morning! Thank you so much for making my Aurora trip my final journey such a joyful and memorable one. I truly appreciate it."
"Awesome tour! It was a very comfortable and easy way to view the Aurora Borealis. We were collected from the hotel in a comfortable tour van, delivered to a cute cabin, provided nourishment, and could retreat into a warm cabin during breaks. I would recommend it and would do this again!"
Read all 85 verified reviews
See All ReviewsPick a Night, See the Price
Most northern lights tours on this site cancel free up to 24 hours ahead, and several offer a free second tour or a refund if the lights do not show. Check the terms of the tour you pick before you pay. Starting from US$101 per person.
Check AvailabilityFAQ: Northern Lights in Canada
The tours, the odds and the season, with figures checked October 2026.
Yellowknife, on the data. It sits under the auroral oval at 68.6° geomagnetic latitude with about 6.3 clear dark hours a night in January, against 4.7 at Whitehorse (estimates, checked October 2026).
Yellowknife for clear sky and the oval overhead; Whitehorse for the Yukon wilderness and its lodges. Whitehorse needs a little more activity, around Kp 1.6 on NOAA's rule of thumb (an estimate).
From September to April in Yellowknife. Midwinter has the longest clear nights; late August and September are milder, before the lakes freeze.
Still have questions? Email us at info@northernlightsdestinations.com
Kp index: GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (Matzka et al. 2021), CC BY 4.0 · Oval rule of thumb: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center · Geomagnetic pole: NOAA NCEI (WMM2025) · Night cloud: NASA POWER Project, January 2001 to December 2025 · Tonight's cloud: data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0); Kp forecast: NOAA SWPC · Sun and moon: JPL DE421 via Skyfield · Aurora data checked October 2026.