Dabble in a few of them - dogsledding, fat biking, roughing it out in the open prospector-style - and catch the Lights while you’re there from September to April. Since the Gold Rush days, the Wild West of the Yukon has been the spot for fabled adventure. Combine trophy fishing until mid September with a lights show from the comfy deck at Aikens Lake Wilderness Lodge, a two-hour flight from Winnipeg.
Snap pics of the often explosive display or better yet, just take it in so you don’t miss a thing.įall – September to November is the second-best time to catch the Aurora. Pack extra batteries, which can fizzle in the plunging temps, and rent clothing from the Polar Inn & Suites. Go with experienced operator Frontiers North, heading out around midnight in a heated Tundra Buggy kitted out with a bar. Late winter – Aurora high season in Churchill is February and March because of the extreme cold, which can drop to 40 below zero. Via Winnipeg is the best route, pausing at the Manitoba Museum to learn more about the Lights and how best to photograph them. But the thing that makes a visit even more special is that you can combine it with bucket list wildlife viewing - think belugas, polar bears, Arctic foxes, and more. In fact, scientists from around the globe flock to the town of nearly 900, famed for polar bears, to study the aurora. Up here, you'll find Churchill, which bills itself as “one of the top three places on the planet” to see the Lights. Northern Manitoba is in the sub-Arctic Circle bordering Hudson Bay. Bring a warm sleeping bag, camp, and stay up late. There’s also the world’s two biggest dark sky preserves: Wood Buffalo National Park, home to a herd of 3, 000 free-roaming bison, and famously scenic Jasper National Park. Or try Castle Junction on route to Lake Louise, aqua-marine Peyto Lake, or ever-popular Herbert Lake. Easy-access Lake Minnewanka is one of the best places to see the aurora and it’s only 10 minutes outside town. Though you can often see the glow from Banff, you’ll want to get away from human activity. Check Aurora Watch to see when chances are good for a sighting. In the fall you can often see them comfortably, combining the trip with camping and other top Rockies activities, like hiking and paddling. September to mid May is the most aurora-active. Non-scientists should head to Banff National Park for the best vantage points.Īutumn – Total nighttime darkness and scant light pollution make Banff National Park ideal for viewing the Lights. Not surprisingly, northern Alberta is the base of the Geophysical Observatory at Athabasca University, which studies the Aurora’s magnetic impact on Earth. It’s hard to beat the shimmering Lights juxtaposed against the towering Canadian Rockies, reflecting off glassy, glacier-fed lakes.
0 kommentar(er)
