Northern Lights Forecast for Whitehorse

Northern Lights in Whitehorse

Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon and sits on the Yukon River at kilometre 1,425 of the Alaska Highway, at about 60.7°N. The city lies in a valley at about 640 m, and the Meteorological Service of Canada counts it as the driest city in Canada. The aurora season runs from late August to mid-April, and around the winter solstice the sun is up for about five and a half hours.

Grey Mountain Road, Fish Lake and Schwatka Lake

With the city down in the valley, the usual spots are a short drive up or out of it. Grey Mountain Road climbs from Riverdale onto the mountain east of the city, above the lights. Fish Lake Road heads up the west side of town to Fish Lake, with open views across the water to the hills behind. Schwatka Lake, just south of downtown, is the reservoir behind the 1958 dam that drowned the White Horse Rapids; on still nights before freeze-up the aurora reflects in it.

Takhini Hot Springs Road and Lake Laberge

North of the city, at km 10 of Takhini Hot Springs Road and about 30 minutes from town, Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs is the rebuilt Takhini Hot Springs, with outdoor pools well clear of the city lights. The Yukon Wildlife Preserve is on the same road, open all year, with a 5 km loop past a dozen Yukon species; in winter you can do it on a rented kicksled. Further north, Lake Laberge is the 50 km widening of the Yukon River where Robert Service set “The Cremation of Sam McGee”.

Front Street and the Yukon Rendezvous

January nights average −19 °C, and cold snaps take the city below −40 °C. Downtown, the MacBride Museum and the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre are both on Front Street by the river. The Yukon Rendezvous, held every February since 1964 and long known as the Sourdough Rendezvous, brings a can-can line and axe throwing to the middle of the aurora season.

Air North’s home airport and the Alaska Highway

Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport is the home base of Air North, with flights from Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. By road, the Alaska Highway links Whitehorse with British Columbia and Alaska, and Dawson City is about 530 km north on the Klondike Highway.