Lying under the summer stars and watching the green waves of the aurora slowly take over the sky is almost a rite of passage for Canadian kids. Having moved to Calgary in my 20s, I definitely felt like I was missing out.

Once, on a camping trip in Waterton National Park, I thought I saw a glimpse over the mountains, but by the time I got my glasses out of the tent it was covered in clouds. What a tease!

With my mind set on witnessing this natural phenomenon, I followed the tricky aurora forecasts, spent hours driving to dark skies, and to no avail. I suggested to friends and family that perhaps the aurora was just an elaborate Canadian hoax. One night, knowing my struggle, my sister-in-law phoned and instructed us to get outside as soon as possible. She joked that either a chemical factory was on fire, or the aurora was visible.

We hopped in the car and drove away from our inner-city basement suite as quickly as possible. We caught a decent glimpse, and it was beautiful, but it only reminded me that I wanted more. Do you ever want to go somewhere or see something so bad, and have no real explanation why? That is how I felt.

Fast forward a couple of years. A good friend had moved to Yellowknife, and we chose the middle of winter to visit. We arrived on December 21, the shortest day of the year. With a latitude of about 62°, Yellowknife is in the heart of the subarctic. The sun was setting when we landed around 3 p.m., and wouldn’t rise again until about 10 a.m.

One of the coolest things about looking for the aurora in Yellowknife is that the Canadian Space Agency has a live cam out in the woods nearby. So, you can hang out somewhere warm and catch up on some Netflix, keeping the live feed on in the background. Then, head out when you start to see the aurora. It’s pretty incredible – check out the Aurora Max live cam here. I am taking a peek as I am typing, and can see a few streaks of green starting to develop on the horizon.

So, we spent a few evenings like that. The first couple of nights were a bit overcast, but on the third evening we witnessed a spectacular show. It was a bit of an experiment in photography for me, trying to capture the night light, but I got a few decent shots.

I have heard it said by many that Yellowknife is the best place in the world to view the Northern Lights. The sky is dark. The weather is arid. Remote areas are easily accessible (Oxymoron? Maybe.).

This is a natural phenomenon that everyone should try to witness at least once in their lifetime. We had access to a car, so drove ourselves out of the city, but there are a few tour companies that offer aurora viewing tours with bonfires and hot chocolate and that sort of thing.

Yellowknife is high on the list of my favourite places to visit. I have also written about the Northern Hospitality we experienced on this trip, and will also be writing about the two trips I made in the summertime. Summer is a very different experience!

Let me know in the comments if you have been to Yellowknife, and if you have any tips or tricks for premium aurora watching.