Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Yukon and Yellowknife: Northern Lights, Dog Sledding and Kluane
7 days from Whitehorse to Yellowknife: three aurora nights in each, dog sledding, the hot springs at Takhini, a day to Kluane and the ice of Great Slave Lake.
7 days · Whitehorse to Yellowknife · up to 12 guests
Whitehorse on the Yukon River Photo: Anthony DeLorenzo from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Whitehorse_(6325219946).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start and end
- Whitehorse to Yellowknife
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Physically easy: short walks on snow, about 1 to 2 hours on a dog sled (riding or driving), an optional short snowshoe walk of 2 to 3 km, and standing or sitting outside at the aurora sites with a heated cabin or tent close by. The challenge is the cold, often -20 C to -30 C, and late nights; any aurora outing or activity can be skipped.
- Meals included
- 6 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 950 (estimated price)
- Season
- Late November to March
Highlights
Why this trip
- Six aurora outings, three in the Yukon and three in Yellowknife, with heated cabins or tents to warm up in between
- A half day driving a dog team through the spruce forest north of Whitehorse
- A soak in the hot springs at Takhini as the short day turns blue, with snow on the trees around the pool
- The St. Elias Mountains rising over Haines Junction, and a snowshoe walk at Kathleen Lake in Kluane
- Across the frozen Yellowknife Bay on the ice road to Dettah, when the ice allows
- The view over the houseboats and Great Slave Lake from the Pilot's Monument in Old Town
- Warm parka, boots and mitts on loan for the whole trip
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 950 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Whitehorse
Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport to your hotel in downtown Whitehorse
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Whitehorse
- Drive about 12 min
Fly into Whitehorse (YXY), the Yukon's capital, and plan to land by about 4 pm; the latest arrival time comes with your final itinerary. The airport sits on the bluff above town, about 5 km from downtown, and we meet you in the arrivals hall. At the hotel your See Sight Tours guide fits everyone with the loaned winter gear: a long parka, insulated pants, heavy boots and mitts, so you are not buying a coat you will never wear again.
Evening
After a short briefing on how the week runs, with late mornings, daylight outings and night skies, we walk to a welcome dinner in town. Around 10 pm a licensed aurora operator collects the group for the first night out, at a dark site away from the city lights with a heated cabin, hot drinks and a fire. If your flight was long, sleep instead: there are five more nights.
Included
- Pick-up at Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (YXY)
- Winter clothing fitting: parka, insulated pants, boots and mitts on loan for the trip
- Welcome briefing and welcome dinner
- Aurora outing with a licensed operator, about 10 pm to 2 am
Easier option: Skip tonight's aurora outing and sleep after the flight.
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Aurora outings are mostly standing and sitting outside in the cold, with a heated cabin or tent a few steps away.
Dog sledding and the hot springs
Whitehorse to a kennel north of town, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve and the hot springs at Takhini, then back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Whitehorse
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
A late breakfast, because in midwinter the sun only clears the hills around 10 am. We drive about half an hour north into the spruce forest to a mushing kennel, where the dogs are barking before the sleds are even out. The mushers teach you how to stand on the runners, brake and call the team, then you set off two to a sled, taking turns to drive and to ride, on a forest trail of an hour or more.
Afternoon
Lunch is hot and sit-down, at the kennel or nearby. In the early afternoon we visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve on Takhini Hot Springs Road, where moose, wood bison, caribou, muskox and lynx live in large enclosures. As the light fades we drive a few minutes further up the road to the hot springs at Takhini for a soak; on a very cold day your hair frosts white while you sit in the warm water.
Evening
Dinner in Whitehorse is your choice, then the second aurora outing.
Included
- Half-day dog sledding with a licensed kennel north of Whitehorse
- Sit-down lunch
- The Yukon Wildlife Preserve
- Entry to the hot springs at Takhini
- Aurora outing with a licensed operator
Easier option: Ride in the sled basket the whole way while the musher or your partner drives, and watch the animals at the Wildlife Preserve from the shuttle rather than on foot. If you are tired, skip tonight's aurora outing, or plan to take tomorrow's Whitehorse free-day option instead of the Kluane drive.
More active option: Where the kennel allows it, drive your own sled for the whole run.
Free time: Evening free for dinner before the aurora outing
Activity: Dog sledding depends on snow cover; on early departures with thin snow the kennel may use a shorter trail or a wheeled cart.
Kluane and the St. Elias Mountains
Whitehorse west on the Alaska Highway to Haines Junction and Kathleen Lake, then back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Whitehorse
- Drive about 4.5 h
Today is the longest drive of the trip, about 370 km and four and a half hours there and back, because Kluane's mountains are the reason to come to the Yukon in daylight and there is no closer place to see them.
Evening
We leave around 10 am, after a late breakfast so last night's aurora outing still leaves a proper sleep, and drive west on the Alaska Highway as the light comes up over the Takhini valley. If you are tired, take the Whitehorse free-day option instead. Around noon we reach Haines Junction, where the Auriol Range of the St. Elias Mountains rises straight behind the village. Kluane National Park and Reserve is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared with Alaska and British Columbia. After a sit-down lunch in Haines Junction we drive about 27 km south on the Haines Road to Kathleen Lake for a short snowshoe walk, conditions allowing, then turn back while the light lasts. We are back in Whitehorse by about 6:30 pm, and tonight's aurora outing is yours to take or skip.
Included
- Drive on the Alaska Highway to Haines Junction with viewpoint stops
- Sit-down lunch in Haines Junction
- The Da Kų Cultural Centre in Haines Junction, when open
- Short snowshoe walk at Kathleen Lake in Kluane National Park, snowshoes provided
- Aurora outing with a licensed operator
Easier option: Stay in Whitehorse for a free day: walk the frozen Yukon River waterfront and visit the MacBride Museum of Yukon History, then rest before the aurora outing.
More active option: A longer snowshoe loop at Kathleen Lake while the rest of the group walks the shore.
Activity: The one day at the four-hour driving cap, broken into three legs by the viewpoints, lunch and the Kathleen Lake walk. If the highway or Haines Road is closed by weather, we stay closer to Whitehorse and visit Miles Canyon instead.
Fly to Yellowknife
Whitehorse to Yellowknife by air, then to your hotel in downtown Yellowknife
- Breakfast
- Stay in Yellowknife
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
A slow morning in Whitehorse, then we fly to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, on the north shore of Great Slave Lake. Depending on the day's schedule, the flight is direct or connects in Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver; we confirm the routing with your final itinerary, and your guide handles the bags and the connection. On the short drive in from the airport we stop at the Bristol Freighter, an old cargo plane mounted on a rock beside the road, a monument to the bush pilots who opened up the North; the plaque records that in 1967 this aircraft was the first heavy wheeled plane to land at the North Pole. Yellowknife is colder than Whitehorse, and sits under the band where the aurora is most often overhead.
Evening
Dinner is your choice. Late in the evening an aurora operator takes us out to a camp outside town, with heated cabins or tents, hot drinks and wide views of the sky.
Included
- Transfers to Whitehorse airport and from Yellowknife Airport (YZF)
- Flight from Whitehorse to Yellowknife
- Stop at the Bristol Freighter monument
- Aurora outing at a heated camp with a licensed operator
Free time: Morning free in Whitehorse, evening free for dinner in Yellowknife
Activity: We choose a flight that does not need you out of the hotel before about 9 am; if the only routing on your date leaves earlier, we tell you when we confirm your dates. If the routing connects through a southern hub, we reach Yellowknife in the evening and go straight to the aurora camp after dinner.
Old Town and the ice of Great Slave Lake
Downtown Yellowknife to Old Town, then across Yellowknife Bay on the ice road to Dettah and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Yellowknife
- Drive about 1 h
We start late, once the light is up, in Old Town, the original gold-rush settlement on a rocky peninsula. Climb the steps to the Pilot's Monument on the Rock for the view over Yellowknife Bay, the frozen houseboats and the edge of Great Slave Lake, the deepest lake in North America. From January, and some years from late December, the ice is thick enough for the ice road: we drive about 6.5 km straight across the frozen bay to Dettah, a Yellowknives Dene community, a short cut on a road that exists only in winter.
Afternoon
Lunch is sit-down in Old Town. In the afternoon we visit the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, the territory's museum, for the history of the Dene, Inuit and Métis peoples and the bush pilots and miners who followed. On departures before the ice road opens, we walk the Frame Lake trail instead.
Evening
The evening's aurora outing follows dinner on your own.
Included
- Old Town and the Pilot's Monument with your guide
- The Dettah ice road across Yellowknife Bay, when open
- Sit-down lunch in Old Town
- The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
- Aurora outing at a heated camp with a licensed operator
Easier option: Skip the steps up to the Pilot's Monument and wait in the van at the bottom, where the view of the bay is almost as good.
Free time: Evening free for dinner before the aurora outing
Activity: The ice road opens only when the ice is thick enough, often from late December or January into March; its dates are set each year by the territory.
A free day on the lake and a last night out
Yellowknife, at your own pace
- Breakfast and dinner
- Stay in Yellowknife
After five nights of late outings, this day is yours. Sleep in, then choose how to spend the short daylight. You can head out onto Great Slave Lake for ice fishing from a heated hut, take a snowmobile across the frozen bays, or go dog sledding again with a Yellowknife kennel; your guide books whatever you pick and tells you the price before you commit.
Afternoon
Others prefer a walk through downtown, a look inside the Legislative Assembly, whose round chamber reflects the territory's consensus government, or an afternoon with a book. In March, the Snowking Winter Festival builds a snow castle on the bay ice in Old Town, and it is worth an hour.
Evening
In the evening we meet for a farewell dinner together, then the last aurora outing of the trip, the sixth, at the heated camp outside town.
Included
- Farewell dinner
- Aurora outing at a heated camp with a licensed operator
Optional experiences
- Ice fishing on Great Slave Lake from a heated hut
- Snowmobile tour on the frozen lake
- Dog sledding with a Yellowknife kennel
Free time: Day free until the farewell dinner
Leave Yellowknife
Downtown Yellowknife to Yellowknife Airport (YZF)
- Breakfast
- Drive about 12 min
Evening
A late breakfast after the last night under the sky. Your guide collects the loaned winter clothing at the hotel and gathers anyone who wants a last walk to the lakeshore before checkout. Then we take the short drive, about 5 km, to Yellowknife Airport (YZF), where your guide checks your flight and sees you to the departures area before saying goodbye. Flights south leave for Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, where you connect for home. Because the aurora outings run until about 2 am, book a flight leaving after about noon so the morning is not a rush. If you would like more time in the North, ask when you request to book and we will quote extra hotel nights in Yellowknife and further aurora outings or activities. No transfer or activity on this day starts before 8 am.
Included
- Drop-off at Yellowknife Airport (YZF)
Free time: Morning free until the airport transfer
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about noon.
- Whitehorse3 nights
- Yellowknife3 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Late November and December bring the longest nights and the shortest days, and dog sledding depends on the snow. January and February are the coldest months, often -30 C at night in Yellowknife, with frozen lakes and the ice road usually open. March has much more daylight, milder days and still dark nights; the aurora is possible on any dark, clear night through the season, and cloud is what most often hides it.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want several real chances at the Northern Lights, not one night
- First-time winter travellers who want the clothing, timing and transport handled
- A mix of guided daytime outings and quiet free time
- Solo travellers who would rather not wait outside at 1 am alone
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who needs a guaranteed aurora sighting
- Travellers who dislike cold: nights at the aurora sites are often -25 C or colder
- Early risers who want long, packed days: the plan follows the short winter light
- A ski holiday
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
6 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Whitehorse3 nights
- Yellowknife3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 6 nights: 3 in Whitehorse and 3 in Yellowknife, in central hotels with pick-up at the door for the aurora outings
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Whitehorse airport (YXY) and drop-off at Yellowknife Airport (YZF)
- A private winter-equipped van and driver for the group in each city
- The flight from Whitehorse to Yellowknife, direct or with one connection
- Aurora operators' own vehicles to their dark-sky sites
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group from the day 1 briefing to the airport on day 7
- Licensed aurora operators, mushers and local guides for those activities
Activities
- Six aurora outings: three near Whitehorse and three at a heated camp near Yellowknife
- Half-day dog sledding near Whitehorse
- The Yukon Wildlife Preserve
- The hot springs at Takhini
- Kluane day: Haines Junction, the Da Kų Cultural Centre when open, and a snowshoe walk at Kathleen Lake
- Old Town Yellowknife and the Pilot's Monument
- The Dettah ice road across Yellowknife Bay, when open
- The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre
- Winter clothing on loan: parka, insulated pants, boots and mitts
Meals
- 6 breakfasts
- 3 sit-down lunches (days 2, 3 and 5)
- Welcome dinner in Whitehorse and farewell dinner in Yellowknife
- Hot drinks at the aurora sites
Not included
- Flights to Whitehorse and home from Yellowknife
- Travel insurance
- An eTA or visa, where you need one
- Meals not listed
- Drinks
- Optional activities on day 6: ice fishing, snowmobiling, a second dog sled run
- Thermal base layers, hats and liner gloves
- Tips
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 950 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Six nights in central hotels, breakfast daily, three sit-down lunches, a welcome and a farewell dinner, six aurora outings with licensed operators, half-day dog sledding, the hot springs at Takhini, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, the Kluane day, Yellowknife's Old Town, ice road and museum, the flight from Whitehorse to Yellowknife, airport transfers, a winter clothing loan and your See Sight Tours guide throughout.
Will we see the Northern Lights?
We cannot promise it, and nobody honestly can. The aurora depends on solar activity and clear skies. You get six nights out in Whitehorse and Yellowknife, about 1,100 km apart, so one spell of cloud is less likely to cost you every night. When cloud is forecast, your guide and the operators move to the clearest site or night they can.
How cold does it get, and is warm clothing included?
Expect -15 C to -30 C, colder at night and colder in Yellowknife than in Whitehorse. We lend you a parka, insulated pants, heavy boots and mitts for the whole trip. Bring thermal base layers, a warm mid layer, a hat, a neck warmer, liner gloves and wool socks. Every aurora site has a heated cabin or tent.
How big is the group, and who leads it?
The small group runs with 7 to 12 guests. One See Sight Tours guide stays with you from the welcome briefing in Whitehorse to the airport in Yellowknife, including at the aurora sites at night. Licensed aurora operators, mushers and local guides run their own activities alongside your guide.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. The walking is short and on snow, dog sledding is one to two hours of riding or driving, and the snowshoe walk at Kathleen Lake is short and optional. The hard part is the cold and the late nights; skip any aurora outing or activity and rest instead.
I am travelling solo. What does a room of my own cost?
A room of your own is from CAD 950 more for the six nights, shown before you book with no surprises at checkout. If you would rather share, tell us: when another solo guest of the same gender on your departure also wants to share, we try to pair you. Either way you join every outing and meal as a full member of the group.
When is the best time to go?
The trip runs from late November to March. December has the longest nights but snow can be thin early on. January and February are the coldest, with the ice road usually open. March brings more daylight, milder days and still-dark nights, and the Snowking Winter Festival in Yellowknife.
Why Whitehorse and Yellowknife, not just one of them?
Each has things the other lacks. Whitehorse gives you dog sledding, the hot springs and the mountains of Kluane; Yellowknife sits under the band where the aurora is most often overhead and gives you Great Slave Lake. Splitting the nights also spreads your aurora chances across two different skies.
How do the flights work?
Book your own flight into Whitehorse, landing by about 4 pm on day 1, and home from Yellowknife after about noon on day 7. We include the flight between the two. On some dates it is direct; on others it connects in Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver, and we confirm the routing with your final itinerary.
Do I need a visa or an eTA?
Canadians need only ID for domestic flights. US citizens need a valid passport. Most other visa-exempt visitors flying to Canada need an eTA, applied for online before travel; some nationalities need a visa. Check your own requirements early, as we cannot apply for you.
How does booking work?
Pick your start date and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and nothing is charged until then. The small group starts from CAD 5,595 per person sharing, taxes included; the price is indicative until we confirm your dates.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 10,070 per person sharing. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section: we can quote the same hotels, aurora operators and activities.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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