Northern Lights Hotels

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are a natural light display caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gases in Earth's atmosphere. These particles create shimmering curtains of green, pink, and purple lights dancing across the night sky. The phenomenon occurs in a ring-like area called the auroral oval, which passes through Canada's northern regions. 

Canada has a plethora of premier destinations for experiencing the aurora borealis. YellowknifeOpens in a new window's wilderness lodges along Great Slave Lake provide front-row views of the Northern Lights dancing above the Northwest Territories' pristine lakes. In ChurchillOpens in a new window, Manitoba, watch the lights shimmer while polar bears roam below. Whitehorse's wilderness Northern Lights resorts offer private viewing decks surrounded by Yukon's snow-capped peaks. Northern Saskatchewan's remote lodges sit under some of the darkest skies in North America, while Jasper National ParkOpens in a new window pairs the light show with dramatic Rocky Mountain backdrops. 

Ontario's dark sky regions provide perfect conditions and plenty of hotels for Northern Lights viewing. At Torrance Barrens Dark Sky PreserveOpens in a new window near Muskoka, specially designated observation areas let you watch the aurora reflect off pristine lakes. Gordon's Park on Manitoulin IslandOpens in a new window offers elevated viewing platforms and astronomy guides to help spot the lights. Along Lake SuperiorOpens in a new window's shoreline, lakeside Northern Lights hotels provide unobstructed views of the lights dancing above the world's largest freshwater lake. Just outside Thunder BayOpens in a new window, wilderness lodges nestled on the Canadian Shield combine aurora viewing with boreal forest tranquility. Choose hotels away from city lights for optimal viewing opportunities. 

The aurora borealis creates one of nature's most captivating displays. It starts when the sun releases powerful bursts of charged particles that race through space toward our planet. When these solar winds collide with Earth's protective magnetic field and atmosphere, they spark a brilliant light show. The collision energizes oxygen and nitrogen atoms in our atmosphere, creating signature colours: shimmering greens from oxygen at lower altitudes, rare reds from oxygen higher up, and mysterious purples from nitrogen. 

The sun flings out streams of electrically charged particles across space through solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These particles surge toward Earth at incredible speeds, drawn by our planet's magnetic poles. When they pierce the upper atmosphere, they create a ring-like zone called the auroral oval—nature's stage for the Northern Lights spectacle. The intensity of these displays varies dramatically, from subtle green glows to explosive bursts of colour, all choreographed by solar activity levels and atmospheric conditions. 

When will the Northern Lights be visible?