Best Value Aurora Viewing | Basic - Summer

We were in town for a few days taking in the Yukon Rendezvous Festival. While checking out the pubs and dodging the Keystone Kops is always fun, no visit to Whitehorse is complete without an aurora viewing tour. Not wanting to miss out during our limited time, we booked two nights with Arctic Range Adventures. At $149 per person, the rate is more than reasonable and the team @ Arctic Range makes sure guests get their money’s worth! The overall experience is quite fun: You are picked up at the Sternwheeler Hotel at approximately 11:20PM (a piece of cake for us since we were staying there) and driven 45 minutes outside Whitehorse, via a comfortable shuttle bus, to the Aurora Centre (used exclusively by Arctic Range Adventures). The Centre is nicely laid out: There are two heated outhouses (so you don’t have to freeze!); a comfortable yurt with seating, stove, light snacks and drinks; two teepees where you can sit, dialogue with the group and roast marshmallows; and an expansive aurora viewing area complete with tripods bolted into place for your use and enjoyment. You spend about 3 hours at the site before being bussed back to your accommodation, arriving back to Whitehorse at around 4AM. On both nights our primary guide was Pascal. He was informative and gave everybody the “lay of the land” each time. On night one, we spent most of our time in the teepee because it was mostly cloudy skies. I thought we were going to strike out but, just as everyone was getting ready to board the shuttle back to Whitehorse, the aurora made a brief – and very faint – appearance! While the green hues were subtle, we were thankful to see them! On night two, we had far better luck. Upon arrival to the Aurora Centre just after 12AM, the aurora made an appearance and stuck around for nearly an hour! It was bright and a majestic sight as it wove through the night sky! One could almost hear the ghost of Robert Service reciting his poem, “Ballad of the Northern Lights:” They rolled around with a soundless sound Like softly bruised silk; They poured into the bowl of the sky With the gentle flow of milk. Indeed, if you want a quality aurora tour, I can’t recommend Arctic Range Adventures enough. The team is professional; the Aurora Centre is comfortable; the site for viewing the Northern Lights is large enough so as to avoid the feeling of being crowded; and, if you don’t have sufficient winter gear, they have some for rent! In short, Arctic Range offers the complete package at a reasonable cost! Highly recommended!