9/25 – 10/2/2025
Friends went to Iceland to see northern lights last December. They stayed in an aurora viewing hotel for 5 nights. However, they only saw aurora the last night and weren’t satisfied with the experience. Rei and I had a lot of experience aurora chasing in Iceland and in Alaska, so we invited them to go to Yellowknife in September to see northern lights with us.
Day 1: Vancouver Layover, then Yellowknife
Air Canada changed our flights. Our new flight to Yellowknife had a 7+ hours layover in Vancouver. We didn’t want to spend so much time at the airport, so we took Air Train to Vancouver downtown to do some sightseeing.
I wanted to go to Gastown, and the train stop was Waterfront. Rei wanted to go to Stanley Park, but we didn’t know which train to take. When we arrived at the train station in the airport, there was a train going to Waterfront, so we decided to take the train.
We didn’t have any Canadian dollars, and Rei didn’t want to get cash at the airport, so we first spent some time to locate a bank when we arrived in Waterfront to get some local currency. Then we walked to see the famous Steam Clock in Gastown.
There were many tourists gathering there to take pictures. We realized that it’s almost 4pm, and there were a lot of tourists with their cell phones ready to video the 4pm show, so we also waited for the Steam Clock to tell time at 4pm. It was a very interesting experience.
Rei wanted to sit down to eat. The Old Spaghetti Factory was close by, so we went there to have an early dinner. It was Happy Hour, so Rei happily ordered a large beer. We had yam fries, steamed mussels (Rei’s favorite) and seafood spaghetti. The food was really delicious.
Afterwards, we walked along the waterfront to Canada Place. The weather was sunny and nice. We took many pictures before taking the train back to the airport.
The line at the domestic airport was short, so we were at the gate before 7pm for our 9pm flight. The flight to Yellowknife was on a smaller aircraft with only 4 seats in a row. The flight was full. There were several tour groups on the same flight going to Yellowknife to see aurora.
When we were close to Yellowknife, we saw some passengers in front of us moving around, pointing outside and taking photos. Surely enough, there were northern lights outside. Airplane also dimmed the inside lights for us. Despite the suboptimal conditions with lights and awkward viewing angles, we still managed to take some aurora photos.
Rei arranged with Yellowknife Cab to take us to our lodging. There were several yellow cabs outside of the airport, so it was confusing. We finally found our taxi. It was a very short ride to our rental. The place we rented had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a large living room and a kitchen. It was very spacious and clean.
The aurora show was still going on, and we were able to take photos just outside the apartment. It was very convenient!
Day 2: Yellowknife
I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. When I woke Rei up at 8:30am, he complained that it’s only 7:30am California time!
When Rei was finally ready, we went out to have breakfast at Birchwood café. The breakfast sandwich and smoke salmon bagel were good.
Yellowknife Visitor Center opened at 10am. The staff there were very friendly. They gave us a certificate to put stamps on. There was a 6-minute 3D aurora movie, which was very impressive. We also gathered maps and additional information (such as aurora viewing areas). A staff member told us that there’s 70% chance to see aurora on 9/29. We were not sure why she was so certain.
Then we went to a nearby supermarket to buy groceries (juice, fruit, bagels, cream cheese, eggs, ham and smoked salmon) so that we could make our own breakfast in the apartment.
After we returned to the apartment to put the groceries in the refrigerator, Rei suggested that we did a “short” hike to Tincan Viewpoint for sightseeing. The “short” hike turned out to be quite long, even though we saw fabulous fall colors all the way, and the view of Great Slave Lake was amazing.
Since we arrived at midnight yesterday, we couldn’t get a rental car. Therefore, Rei and I walked to the airport this afternoon to pick up our rental car. The airport was about 6km away. We decided to take the scenic Frame Lake Trail instead of walking along the main traffic route. Frame Lake Trail was also full of fall colors and offered excellent lake views. There were also many waterfowls swimming on the lake. So, we progressed slowly, and it took us almost 2 hours to arrive at the airport.
After getting the rental car, we decided to scout the potential aurora viewing spots first when there’s still daylight. It’s essential to get familiar with the places first, because it’s very difficult to find the places in the dark. There were many great territorial parks along the Ingraham Trail (and they all had pit toilets), and we checked out the nearest two. Yellowknife River Territorial Park didn’t look too impressive, but Prosperous Lake Territorial Park looked great; therefore, we decided to go there tonight.
We had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant A Taste of Saigon, which was a popular place with many customers. The food was okay. Rei ordered roasted pork and beef with rice, and I had shrimp fried noodles.
Friends’ flight arrived around 11:30pm, and we drove to the airport to pick them up. Northern lights were already out, so after picking them up, we directly went aurora chasing.
The sky lit up brightly on our way, so we decided to stop by Yellowknife River Territorial Park first to take some photos. The northern lights were very bright, and we were all very excited.
Rei said we should continue to Prosperous Lake Territorial Park. On the way, I could see bright aurora outside of the car window. When we arrived, there were still some bright lights, but the aurora dimmed shortly.
Lesson learned: Take aurora photos as soon as possible. Don’t worry about the location!
Day 3: Cameron Falls
Friends wished to rest in the apartment this morning, so Rei and I drove to Hidden Lake Territorial Park to hike the Cameron Falls Trail.
We had a late start and arrived around 12:30pm. There were some cars and two mini tour buses at the parking lot. We were surprised to find out that tours also came here.
The hike started with a flat dirt trail with some wooden planks. There were some annoying bugs on the trail. Then there was a steep stairway leading down. We saw some tourists deciding not to continue.
Soon we arrived at a waterfall viewing spot with many tourists taking a snack break there. Cameron Falls was splendid. The view with fall colors was very beautiful! Rei and I also had a snack break after taking many photos. I saw some Gray Jays.
Afterwards, we walked across a bridge to reach the top of the waterfall. It wasn’t an easy walk, but the scenery was worthwhile.
There were 2 tour groups there. A lady told us that she’s on a photography tour. We chatted with a tour guide on the return hike. He told us that now was a great time to come to Yellowknife, because it would start snowing in mid-October.
When we returned to the parking lot, it was only around 2pm. We saw two Aurora Village buses and one big tourist bus with many tourists. It’s fortunate that we were already done. The trail would have been very crowded with so many people.
On our drive back, we scouted additional parking places for aurora viewing and decided to go to Madeline Lake Territorial Park tonight.
After we returned to the apartment, we took friends to the visitor center so that they could get their certificates and watch the 3D aurora movie.
September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Some restaurants were closed before the holiday too. So, we ended up going to the same Vietnamese restaurant for an early dinner.
We used AuroraMAX live webcam to track northern lights. The webcam showed that northern lights already came out at 10pm, so we rushed to Madeline Lake Territorial Park. There were some other cars on the road. We thought that Madeline Lake Territorial Park would be quieter, but it ended up that a mini-bus and the car in front of us went to the same parking lot, and the two cars behind us also joined!
Aurora was stronger than yesterday with red and purple colors too. However, it didn’t cover as large area. We managed to take photos of us in front of aurora. A guide instructed us that we should shine the light on the ground for better portraits.
After a while the light dimmed. We waited a little longer and then decided to return.
I saw aurora from the car window when we were approaching Yellowknife. Rei stopped the car near Frame Lake so that we could take more aurora pictures. The photos we took were brighter.
Later, webcam showed that the lights were out again, so we headed to the Frame Lake parking lot. We based ourselves near the famous United in Celebration Sculpture. The aurora photos with the sculpture as background looked fantastic!
Some people told Rei that there was a mother fox with her baby nearby. Rei managed to take a vague photo of the fox.
Day 4: Yellowknife Old Town
It was cloudy this morning, although the weather report said it’s partially sunny. After breakfast, we decided to visit the Yellowknife Old Town. We drove north from our apartment. It was very quiet (maybe because it’s Sunday morning).
We first stopped by Latham Island in the north to take some photos. Then we crossed McMeekan Causeway and parked the car near Bush Pilots Monument. It required a short climb on stairs to reach the monument. The view of the water and Jolliffe Island was splendid. There was a tour group there taking photos. This seemed to be a popular place.
At the base of the monument, there was a short walk with boards describing Yellowknife history.
It was about lunch time, so we stopped by Flamecraft Grill N Chill to have lunch. We ordered butter chicken, chicken lollipops (chicken wings) and a mixed fruit cake to share. The food was very delicious.
On our way back, we stopped by the Cultural Crossroads Sculpture to take more photos. The place had a couple sculptures and a big etched painting of a raven and many prints of hands and feet (both humans and animals). This was a collaborative work of many artists and symbolized cooperation among different cultures. It was very impressive.
We did extra grocery shopping in the afternoon and went to the visitor center to check today’s aurora forecast – it’s still green (Red: stormy; Green: normal; Blue: calm).
According to weather forecast, the sky would turn cloudy around 1am, so we decided to go out earlier tonight. We went to Bluebell Eatery to have dinner around 6pm. We had coconut shrimp and lamb curry. The food was really delicious!
Originally, we planned to go aurora chasing at 9:30am. However, when I checked the webcam at 9am, northern lights were already out! So, we hurried out and drove to Yellowknife River Territorial Park (the nearest territorial park). Since aurora came out very early tonight, the crowd hadn’t shown up yet. We were able to have some quiet time to take photos and enjoyed the light show. We saw a fox in the park too!
Soon, many cars and buses arrived, and the car lights were really annoying! So, we moved to Prosperous Lake Territory Park to continue.
Tonight’s aurora was really amazing! It covered a larger part of the sky. In addition to the usual green color, we could also see purple and even red! There were lights in many different directions, and it’s hard to decide where to focus on! We stayed at Prosperous Lake until after midnight. The light show was still going on, but it was freezing (around 1 degree Celsius), so we decided to return.
We returned to the apartment to warm up and to use WC. Webcam showed that northern lights were still going strong, so we went out again to the nearby Frame Lake. It was very quiet there; there were only a few people beside us. Moreover, we didn’t need to worry about car lights. Here we could finally take the photos of northern lights reflecting on the calm lake!
Tonight’s aurora was truly amazing. The light show started at 9am and continued non-stop until past 1pm. We all took more than 100 photos! Finally, we were all freezing and decided to call it a day (or a night?). Aurora was still going on when we left. This was the best aurora viewing night we ever had!
Day 5: Gloomy Day
After several days of nice weather, we finally had rain today. The sky was cloudy with drizzling rain.
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Center was closed on Monday. Rei didn’t want to hike in the rain, so we simply stayed indoors to rest. After the last few days of busy sightseeing and aurora chasing, this actually provided a welcome relief.
We had lunch at Ricky’s All Day Grill café. My Califresco salad with chicken and avocado was very good.
Because we didn’t have anything to do, I took a nap in the afternoon. We ordered pizzas and chicken wings for dinner.
Weather conditions didn’t improve, so we simply went to bed early.
Day 6: Prelude Lake Territorial Park
The sun came out again this morning. It wasn’t cold either. So, we decided to go hiking today.
We drove along the Ingraham Trail. Rei and I had seen the view when we went to hike Cameron Falls, but this was friends’ first time seeing the view during daytime.
We were going to Prelude Lake Territory Park to hike the Prelude Lake Natural Trail. The hike started with a dirt trail, but then it involved walking and climbing on big rocks. The trail was clearly marked with “blue hiker signs.” Rei and I had no problem; however, friends found the trail a bit challenging.
The trail offered great views of Prelude Lake and several nearby lakes. We also saw a couple of Gray Jays. According to the Yellowknife guide, the loop was supposed to be only 2.5km. However, we ended up hiking for more than 3 miles.
We stopped by the supermarket to buy additional groceries. We still had leftover pizzas and chicken wings from last night.
The aurora forecast was very strong tonight, but the sky was overcast. We still decided to go out aurora chasing. We were able to see aurora with green and red lights. However, there were a lot of clouds, and the northern lights were underwhelming. We finally gave up and went to bed past 1am.
Day 7: Last Sightseeing Day in Yellowknife
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Center was open today, and it was within walking distance. Rei and I walked there after breakfast. Friends decided to stay in the apartment.
We walked past the City Hall. There were a totem pole and a muskox sculpture in front. The sky was gloomy.
The museum was free of charge. It provided a lot of information about Yellowknife’s geography, flora and fauna and history. It’s very educational.
We had lunch in a Chinese restaurant Gold Range Bistro. The food was surprisingly food. We even had enough leftovers for dinner.
After lunch, Rei and I went to the airport to return the rental car. This time we walked a different route back.
We passed Bristol Monument made of an airplane, a tribute to the region’s aviation history, and walked on a flat dirt trail. The sun came out, and the gloomy view turned into brilliant scenery. We took many beautiful photos of Jackfish Lake and fall colors. There were many waterfowls swimming on the lake.
We met two bikers on the trail. This part of the trail was like yesterday’s hike with large rocks. It’s crazy to ride a bike here! We chatted with the bikers and exchanged information. We told them where to watch aurora, and in return they informed us that Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory was worth visiting.
We soon reached Legislative Assembly and went inside. It was possible to visit the gallery and to take photos.
This was a very nice hike. Even though the trail was only about 3.7 miles, it took us 2 hours because we spent a lot of time sightseeing.
Because we’re going home tomorrow, we simply ate leftovers for dinner.
Since we already returned the rental car, we could only do aurora chasing in the neighborhood. We went out shortly after 9am. To our great dismay, the sky was cloudy again. However, we could still see northern lights right outside of the apartment. We walked to Frame Lake shore. Some aurora was visible despite the clouds. The aurora photos we took looked eerie with some lights partially hidden by the clouds. Soon it became too cloudy, so we returned to the apartment.
Webcam showed some lights around 10pm, so we went out again. This time there was a short period of strong and bright aurora. A photo I took showed some yellow color in the middle too.
There was a pretty big fox running around in the park. We all managed to take some photos of the fox.
We stayed 7 nights in total in Yellowknife. The sky was very clear the first 4 nights, and we could see great light shows. Then there was a night of rain and heavy clouds that no lights were visible. The last 2 nights were cloudy, but we were still able to see aurora. Overall, Yellowknife was a great place for aurora viewing!
Practical Information for Aurora Viewing
General
Unless the northern lights are very strong, you will only see milky white color. It’s possible to see green, purple or even red with naked eyes when the lights are bright. It’s recommended to use your cell phone to scan the sky for the lights.
Places
Yellowknife as well as other northern Canada cities like Churchill and Whitehorse are prime locations to see northern lights. Other popular aurora viewing places including Alaska, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. In general, inland locations are better because they tend to be less foggy and cloudy. It was estimated that to have a more than 90% of chance, one should stay at least 3 nights in Yellowknife, 5 nights in Fairbanks, Alaska, and 7 nights in Tromso, Norway.
Visitor centers will be able to provide information regarding best local aurora viewing locations. It is very important to scout possible aurora viewing locations during daytime. It’s very difficult to find an unfamiliar location in the dark.
Time
In general, aurora seasoning is from mid-August to mid-April. It was said that there were more activities around equinox (late March and late September). There is also region-specific time. For example, Yellowknife tends to be cloudier from October to November.
It’s suggested that the best viewing time at night is between 10pm and 2am.
Moon Phase
In general, northern lights were easier to see when the sky was darker. That is, the time around new moon is better than the time around full moon. The time of moonrises and moonsets also matters. If the moon is under the horizon all day, then the moon phase hardly matters. I used timeandtime.com to check moon phases (https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/) and Moonrise and Moonset.
Cloud
It goes without saying that you cannot see aurora in inclement weather. Even in good weather, clouds are a very important factor deciding whether aurora is visible or not. I used windy.com to check cloud movement.
Aurora Forecast
There are many websites providing aurora forecasts. However, I found out that they were not very reliable; moreover, different websites gave conflicting information. I am yet to find a reliable source.
Webcam
It’s convenient to have live webcam to check the current situation. I used AuroraMax Live Feed (https://auroramax.com/live) for Yellowknife.
Aurora Photos
Unless you have a very high-end professional camera, it’s easier to photo aurora using your cell phone. I used Night setting, while Rei used a more professional setting. If you go on an aurora chasing tour, the guide usually will help you with the setting.
Using a tripod will improve your chances of having great photos. It’s especially so if you want to take portraits of people standing in front of northern lights. Use a flashlight or headlight to improve foreground lighting. Point the artificial light on the ground rather than at the people.
Happy Aurora Chasing!
Amy 'n Rei 