Crave Canada
  • Travel News
  • Things To Do
    • Sight Seeing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • Wildlife & Nature
    • Bars & Restaurants
  • Where To Go
    • Alberta
    • British Columbia
    • Manitoba
    • New Brunswick
    • Nunavut
    • Ontario
    • Prince Edward Island
    • Quebec
    • Saskatchewan
  • Travel Essentials
    • Canada Travel Books
    • Travel gadget
    • Travel Sites
    • Travel Tips
  • Scholarship

Sight Seeing, The Great Outdoors, Wildlife & Nature 4

Magic Sky: Where to See the Northern Lights in Canada

By Faisal · On November 3, 2010

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are a captivating polar phenomenon: a shifting, rainbow hued luminescence that set frozen arctic night skies ablaze. Known as the ‘Dance of Spirits’ by the First Nations Cree people, believed by the Lakota Sioux to be the embodiment of souls yet to be born, portrayed as gateways to other worlds in Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy; the Northern Lights cast a spell like no other, and Canada’s snowy north is the perfect place to spot them.

Churchill

Equally famous for Northern Lights spotting as for being the Polar Bear capital of the world, Churchill is located near Hudson Bay in Canada’s Manitoba province. The lights can be seen from November to March but if you want to combine your spotting with a Polar Bear safari, visit in late October to early November when sightings of the animals reach a peak. The area also boasts wildlife such as Beluga Whales, Arctic Foxes and Caribou and some truly spectacular vistas.

Yellowknife

Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories and sits on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, 500km from the Arctic Circle. Head out snowmobiling, dog sledding or cross country skiing then spend your nights watching the light show mirrored in the lakes’ vast black waters. For extra winter magic schedule your trip during March’s annual Snowking Festival which centres around a giant snow castle complete with courtyard, cafe and slide.

Nunavik

Between August and March, when Nunavik is blanketed in both darkness and glittering snow, the Northern Lights appear. Nunavik has a strong Inuit presence with a population almost ten thousand living in the area, working closely with the land and maintaining a modern, yet traditional, lifestyle. This is a place to feel engulfed by the vastness of nature: the limitless swathes of tundra, the black depths of ice cold waters contrasting with the stark whiteness of giant icebergs; a place to be outnumbered by Musk-Ox and ride on a sledge driven by huskies. A magical place to witness a magical phenomenon.

Lake Superior, Ontario

The Northern Lights can be spotted year round in the province of Ontario and have even been seen from larger cities such as Toronto; however for your best chance of a spotting get away from the city lights entirely with a specialised tour company and watch the show from the great stillness of Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake. This area is perfect for spotting the Northern Lights as it has so little light pollution. Even without the Northern Lights, Lake Superior is a stunning area of great natural beauty and is magical any night due to the thousands of stars that pinprick the sky; if you can stand the cold you can even camp under the stars for a taste of absolute wilderness…

This is a guest post by Helen Cross who works for travel site Simonseeks. Simonseeks provides exhaustive, expert rated guides to New York Hotels and London Hotels. There is also a wealth of travel guides dedicated to tourism in Canada.

Share Tweet
mm

Faisal

Car enthusiast, lover of fine watches, and avid travel. Faisal has seen it all and he's here to share his globetrotting adventures with you.

You Might Also Like

  • Sight Seeing

    Three Sporting Venues You Must Visit In Canada

  • The Great Outdoors

    Camping 101 – What To Do Before Going On A Camping Trip

  • Ontario

    Volunteering in Canada: Ruthven Park Bird Observatory

4 Comments

  • Deb Hutton says: March 1, 2011 at 12:09 am

    I think you forgot Whitehorse…….

    Reply
  • St Petersburg Holidays says: July 11, 2012 at 10:51 am

    What a awesome moment! I had never seen these like photos in my life. Its amazing! Thanks for sharing such a nice photos with us.

    Reply
  • Cheap Car Hire USA says: July 17, 2012 at 1:14 am

    Wow, What a beauty! I had not even imagine Canada like this. It’s really beautiful. Thanks for sharing this beauty.

    Reply
  • Limousine Hire Melbourne says: August 6, 2012 at 3:32 am

    I had never visited canada before but heard and read lot of good things about this and now i wish to plan canada after reading this wondrful post.

    Reply
  • Leave a reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


    Canada’s Top Destinations

    Explore some of Canada's most popular cities! Here are our favorites...



    ★ Vancouver
    ★ Toronto
    ★ Montreal
    ★ Whistler



    Before you travel, learn more about Canada. We'll teach you everything you need to know to have an awesome trip!


    • Why Did We Start Crave Canada?
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    © Crave Canada, 2017. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Crave Canada with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.