Author: Michelle

First off, I cannot believe we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights during our very first trip to the Yukon, and on the very first night we went looking for them (our friend Craig could not believe it either)!

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we always speak to locals about recommended activities in the area, and we definitely made a point of asking them about the best way to see the Northern Lights (in addition to getting extremely lucky). One of the best tips we received was downloading the Aurora phone app. This app provides information on the best viewing spots, and even the likelihood (as a percentage) of seeing the Northern Lights in all parts of the world. The day that we got to see the Lights, the app was indicating over an 80% chance!

The app also indicates specific viewing locations. The spot that continually showed on the map near the Whitehorse area was Upper Laberge, which is where we ended up!

There are two main things we learned through this process about what you need to keep in mind when trying to see the Northern Lights:

1. You need to leave the city area – otherwise, there are too many competing lights (homes, businesses, street lights)
2. It needs to be mostly clear – if you cannot see the stars due to cloud coverage, you will not be able to see the Northern Lights

Another interesting piece of information we received from a tourist we met was that you have a better chance of seeing the Northern Lights if there is a new moon – I guess this is because the moon also gives off light (that makes sense, right?). Anyway, this tourist (Ash), had actually signed up to see the Northern Lights via a bus tour. I made a quick joke that if there is a car following the bus, it is probably us, at which point she offered up the exact time and location of her pick-up: 11:20pm from the Raven Inn. Well, pretty safe to say that by 11:15pm, Justin and I were outside the Raven Inn waiting for the bus to leave.

We followed the bus to its next hotel pick-up – I felt like a stealthy, under cover detective. But after just a few minutes of waiting, I will tell you that I started to get quite restless and was ready to go. The reason we had decided to follow the bus in the first place was because the app was telling us to go to Upper Laberge, meanwhile another local had suggested viewing the Northern Lights from Fish Lake. These two locations were in the opposite direction, and we wanted to see which direction the bus would choose.

I am happy to report that I managed to stay patient long enough for the bus to complete its last pick-up and finally be on its way to the Northern Lights! At one point we got stuck behind a red light while leaving the city and thought we were going to lose the bus, but not to worry, we managed to get caught up.

We followed the bus for about 20 minutes, driving past Upper Laberge, which – remember – was the app’s suggested viewing point. It was incredibly dark on the highway, and once we lost cell service, we decided to abandon our plan and instead, turn around and go back to Upper Laberge… and I am so glad we did.

As we approached the road to turn off towards Upper Laberge, we could already see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky. We turned left onto a very dark road, found a spot to park, and enjoyed the show. I will never forget this special moment, and I hope to be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights again one day!

Always grateful,

Michelle

PS – I should also let you know that we tried to find the Northern Lights again the following night, but we were not as successful. While there was still a bright green glow in the sky, it was not the same light dancing we experienced the previous night. But that is okay – after all, we cannot be too greedy ツ.

Prior to going on a trip, Justin and I will do some research using other blogs to come up with our list of top-things-to-do. But, when we get to our destination, we always make a point of talking to some of the locals, which is how we got the recommendation to drive into Skagway, Alaska, while visiting the Yukon.

The drive from Whitehorse to Skagway has to be one of the most beautiful, scenic drives I have ever taken. It took a little under two hours to complete this drive, and I slept for only 20-minutes of it – this is a pretty big accomplishment, as I could have easily slept through the whole thing (there is just something about driving that makes me sleepy).

Our first stop on this drive was Emerald Lake. As you are driving along the highway, you will instantly notice the pull-off, where you can get out of your vehicle and take photos of the Lake’s stunning, turquoise-colour from above. Then, if you drive a bit further up the highway, you can head down a small hill to a parking lot that allows you to capture photos of the Lake at ground level. I think the photos speak for themselves – Emerald Lake is definitely worth the stop!

The next stop on this drive was the Carcross Desert. Apparently the Carcross Desert is not an actual desert – something about the glacier melting and depositing silt… here is another moment where I wish I had read the information board. Anyway, I had to spend a few minutes convincing Justin that we should walk up one of the big sandhills, as it would provide the perfect vantage point to see Bennett Lake (which we were planning to visit once we got to our next stop: the town of Carcross), as well as the surrounding mountains. Let me say (and Justin will agree), it was definitely worth it!

We got back on the road for less than 10-minutes before getting to Carcross. While we did not spend too much time here, we made a point of visiting the General Store (which is apparently the oldest general store in the Yukon), Bennett Lake Beach, and grabbing lunch at The Bistro.

As we continued along the Klondike Highway, we realized we could not have asked for better weather – clear blue sky and the sun was shining! We were hoping to stop at the Yukon Suspension Bridge before heading into Alaska, but unfortunately, it was closed for the season (fun fact – the Yukon Suspension Bridge is actually in British Columbia… misleading, right?).

In terms of wildlife, we encountered one bear right before the US border. Unfortunately, we only saw his backside as he crossed the highway and disappeared into the bushes.

We made two more stops before finally getting into Alaska. There are so many different pull-offs along the highway with breathtaking views that you really need to choose your stops carefully, or you will never make it to Skagway. I honestly had a hard time figuring out the name of our second to last stop, but I think it was the Feather/Cleveland Pullout. About a minute before you reach the US border, there is a pull-off with views of a beautiful little stream running between mountains. There was a trail that went down into the valley, but we just did not have enough time to explore the area. Either way, I would definitely recommend stopping here, even just for a few minutes to take in the scenery.

And finally, we could not resist getting our photo taken with the Welcome to Alaska sign. This was our last stop before we finally made it to the US border crossing, which is actually miles away from the Canadian border (kind of an odd setup)! On our way back into Canada, we ended up chatting with the CBSA Officer when we found out he was from Richmond, BC. Apparently the Canadian government provides housing to the Officers near the border crossing, but it is literally in the middle of nowhere. If they need groceries, they need to drive almost two hours back into Whitehorse! I imagine he has to make a very thorough grocery list and checks it twice, just like Santa.

Anyway, if you are ever in the Whitehorse area, do yourself a favour and plan to take one full day (or even just an afternoon) to make the trip into Skagway – I promise you will not regret it!

Always grateful,

Michelle

Let me start by saying that we were in Whitehorse for less than 96 hours, so we only had time for two short hikes if we were wanting to complete everything on our to-do list.

Miles Canyon was the first sight-seeing activity we did when we got to Whitehorse. Notice how I said sight-seeing, because it was not the first thing we did in town. Our trip started at Mark’s (Work Wearhouse) because it was incredibly windy when we got to Whitehorse, and I did not bring a proper jacket. However, I am happy to report that $130 later, I had a new jacket (that I did not need – I have about 10 jackets at home) and a toque, and was ready to start exploring. And if you are wondering, I did check the weather prior to packing, but apparently I still did not clue in that it might be a good idea to be prepared and bring a warm-ish jacket.

Anyway, the first hike we did was Canyon City, which was a ~2.5km out-and-back hike in Miles Canyon. If I am being honest, it was more of a walk than a hike – there was very little incline and I would consider it to be an easy trail. To get to the start of the Canyon City trail, you need to cross over a suspension bridge.

The Canyon City trail offers two options – the first allows you to walk along the shoreline of the Yukon River, which is an absolutely stunning vibrant turquoise colour, and the second is a trail at a slightly higher elevation. We decided to take the higher elevation trail on the way to Canyon City, and walked along the shore on our way back.

According to the information sign, Canyon City was started during the gold rush and was connected to Whitehorse by a tramway. There is an information sign that illustrates what Canyon City used to look like, and visitors can see some remains of the city site (such as the old tramway). To be honest, I almost never read the information signs, whereas Justin wants to carefully inspect every single word. As I am writing this post, I am kind of wishing I paid attention to the information sign, or at the very least, I wish I had taken a picture of it to be able to provide a better explanation! Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend going on this short walk at Miles Canyon as it gives you the opportunity to experience a bit of the Canyon, and the peacefulness of the area. The alternative to this short trail is a much longer 15km hike, which we did not have time for, as it would have taken around three to four hours.

The second hike we did was called Hidden Lakes Loop. As the name suggests, this loop trail was around 4.5km long, and we encountered several smaller lakes along the hike. This was not a particularly difficult trail, but there were a couple hills that definitely increased my heart rate! It was a bit technical, with rocks and tree roots – as Justin likes to say, we almost went “flying” a few times when we were not paying attention to where we were going.

When we first arrived, we took in the views at the “main” lake before heading down the trail to our right. We could see a small bench on the hill across from where we were standing, which I thought would be a great photo op once we got to that point on the trail. The funny thing is that every corner we went around on the trail, I kept telling myself “the bench is here” and I would finally be able to fulfill by photo op… but we never found the bench! We found other benches, and several small lakes, but it turns out that the bench I was looking for was on a smaller loop trail around the “main” lake, so we never came across it.

Even though we did not find the bench, we really enjoyed this beautiful hike and could not have asked for better weather. If you are in the Whitehorse area, definitely head to the Hidden Lakes Loop to take in the beautiful scenery (but remember to always be nature aware)!

Always grateful,

Michelle