Northern Lights in Churchill

Churchill is one of the best places in Canada to see the northern lights, because the town lies under the auroral oval and has very dark skies away from the lights of larger cities. Travel Manitoba says the aurora is most visible on clear nights from January to March, and that the town sees viewings about 300 nights a year on average. Rarer displays are possible from late August to early September, and operators also mention autumn aurora. Viewing options in and near town include the Aurora Domes on Hearne Avenue, the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, Churchill Wild, Frontiers North winter tours and an evening programme called Nights Under Lights. A packaged tour is the recommended way to go, because it handles warmth, transport and the best viewing spots. Winter is severely cold, with average temperatures of about minus 27 in January, minus 25 in February and minus 20 in March, so dress for the conditions rather than for the postcard.

State the season plainly. It is early November, and aurora is possible in autumn, but the strongest and most reliable season is January to March, when nights are long, skies are clear and the cold is hardest. If you are here right now for polar bears, treat any aurora as a bonus, and be prepared for cloud, because the lights need a clear sky. February and March are frequently described as the clearest and darkest months, so aim for them if the lights are your main goal.

Choose how you want to watch. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a research and learning centre more than twenty kilometres outside town, has an Aurora dome and an observation deck, with a small day-use fee for the self-guided tour, deck, dome, library and cafeteria. Because it is far from town, light pollution is minimal. Tour operators run evening trips from town, and some multi-day winter packages build several aurora nights into the schedule. Allow more than one night, because a single evening can be clouded out, and keep a flexible attitude.

Prepare for extreme cold. Wear a full set of layers with insulated boots, a balaclava, mittens over glove liners and hand warmers, and keep spare batteries inside your coat because the cold drains them quickly. Use a tripod and a camera that can take long exposures, and learn the settings in daylight. Many operators provide parkas and boots, so ask what is included. Churchill has no road access, so plan your travel by train or flight from Winnipeg or Thompson.