Yellowknife and the Aurora

Yellowknife sits almost directly beneath the auroral oval, the ring around the magnetic pole where the northern lights are most active, and it has a second advantage: an inland subarctic climate with far more clear nights than coastal aurora destinations. The result is that operators here quote very high odds of seeing the lights over a three-night stay, which is about as close to a guarantee as the sky allows. Viewing is done from heated teepees and lodges out of town, away from the streetlights. The town itself is small and frontier-flavoured, with an Old Town of float planes and houseboats on the lake, and in winter an ice road runs across the frozen bay. Late summer offers aurora with milder temperatures.

What you actually see

• The aurora - viewed from heated teepees and lodges outside town.
• Old Town - float planes, houseboats and Bush Pilot's Monument on the rock.
• Great Slave Lake - the vast lake the town sits on, frozen solid in winter.
• The ice road - the winter route driven across the frozen bay.

When to go

The season runs from late August to April with a break around midsummer when it never gets dark. Late August and September offer the lights with tolerable temperatures and reflections on open water; midwinter is the classic season but temperatures below minus thirty are normal. Three nights is the sensible minimum.

Honest expectations

Winter cold here is severe enough to be a genuine hazard, and tours issue full parkas and boots for a reason; frostbite is a real risk for anyone underdressed. Aurora activity is variable and no operator can promise a display on a given night, which is why three nights is the standard advice. Yellowknife is expensive, being flown in from the south.

Nearby

Great Slave Lake surrounds the town; Nahanni is a long flight west.