whitehorse, part one.

Prior to heading off to Whitehorse, I told a very small number of people about my travel plans but each time I did, each person seemed very surprised. Perhaps people have the impression that I only travel to more commonly travelled places, or perhaps they were like me and wondered what Whitehorse had to offer. I haven’t really ever considered any city in the Yukon Territories as places I’d like to visit, but this trip completely changed my mind. My parents and I have been wanting to travel somewhere to see the northern lights for a number of years now. We finally had the opportunity because I wasn’t doing a co-op work term and I didn’t have too much schoolwork to do. Heading to Whitehorse, I only had the goal of seeing the northern lights, but in reality, the trip became so much more than that.

We arrived in Whitehorse in the afternoon and were picked up by Wolfgang, one of the owners and operators of the Northern Lights Resort & Spa, where we would stay for the next three nights. Located on 160 acres of land, the Northern Lights Resort and Spa is a essentially an all-inclusive small-scale resort. It’s super private and serene, and the views are spectacular. There are four cabins available, each housing two people at the most and each face north. We opted for the “Winter at its Best" all-inclusive package, which included meals, private use of the spa facilities, 30-minute massages per person, winter clothing rentals, and daytime activities like dog sledding and snowshoeing.

Spot the moose in the above picture

Once we were settled into our cabins (I had the Chalet Enzian cabin all to myself), we went out for a walk on the property. The temperature was around -29 degrees Celsius the day we arrived and that’s probably the coldest temperature I’ve ever experienced. I couldn’t really last that long outside before my toes started to get cold and my teeth started aching from the cold. What was really great about the large size of the property was that wildlife is often seen and we spotted a cow moose on our walk.

Wolfgang and Renate, the owners of the resort, feed you very well during your visit and they were super accommodating since I have an egg allergy. On our first night, our three-course meal consisted of a delicious curried soup, schnitzel and fries, and vanilla ice cream with a plum liqueur cream. 

That evening and overnight, it was far too cloudy to even see the northern lights so we didn’t bother staying up late. That was unfortunate, but we just had to keep our hopes up for the next couple of nights.

Inside the main lodge

Next up: dog sledding! x