Blog

Stories and practical advice from under the auroral oval: aurora nights, dog teams, ice roads and life in Yellowknife, grounded in local guiding, the operator listings, and primary sources.

Brightly painted houseboats anchored in Yellowknife Bay on calm summer water below the Old Town rocks

2026-07-26

The Houseboats of Yellowknife Bay

About 50 houseboats float off Old Town Yellowknife, off-grid on a lake that freezes solid. How the bay community lives, commutes, and how to see it respectfully.

Carved snow castle with towers and flags standing on the frozen surface of Yellowknife Bay in March sunshine

2026-07-24

The SnowKing Winter Festival, Yellowknife's Castle of Snow

The SnowKing Winter Festival builds a real snow castle on frozen Yellowknife Bay every March. What it's like inside, 2026 dates, and how to stack a festival day.

Plowed ice road stretching across frozen Yellowknife Bay toward the far shore under a low winter sun

2026-07-22

Driving the Dettah Ice Road

Driving the Dettah ice road, Yellowknife's public road across a frozen bay: how it feels, when it opens, ice-road etiquette, and respect for Dettah.

Floatplane taxiing across Yellowknife Bay below the rocky outcrop of the Bush Pilots Monument in Old Town

2026-07-20

Old Town Yellowknife and the Bush Pilots

A guide's walk through Old Town Yellowknife, from the Bush Pilots Monument and Ragged Ass Road to gold-rush shacks, floatplanes and houseboat views.

Green aurora reflected in a mirror-calm lake near Yellowknife on a September night before freeze-up

2026-07-18

Yellowknife in September, Aurora Over Open Water

A Yellowknife guide on the autumn aurora season: northern lights doubled in mirror-calm lakes, jacket weather instead of parkas, and tundra colors by day.

Ice fog and low sun over a frozen Yellowknife street with frost-covered trees at minus 30

2026-07-15

What Minus 30 Feels Like in Yellowknife

A Yellowknife guide describes real minus 30: the nostril freeze, eyelash frost, squeaking snow, dying phones, and how visitors genuinely learn to enjoy the cold.

Heated ice fishing hut on frozen Great Slave Lake with a truck parked beside it under a pale winter sun

2026-07-12

Ice Fishing on Great Slave Lake, a Morning on the Deepest Lake in North America

A Yellowknife guide on ice fishing Great Slave Lake: driving onto 614 m of water, jigging in a heated hut, the CA$15 licence everyone forgets, and lunch on the ice.

Sled dog team running across a frozen lake near Yellowknife pulling a wooden sled in low winter sun

2026-07-09

Dog Sledding in Yellowknife, What It's Really Like

A Yellowknife guide on a real morning of dog sledding: the noise before harnessing, 25 minutes of trail silence, Dene sled-dog stories, and warm bannock after.

Green aurora arc over a frozen lake beside the Ingraham Trail with a tour van parked at the shoreline

2026-07-06

What an Aurora Hunt in Yellowknife Is Really Like, Hour by Hour

A Yellowknife guide walks you through a real aurora hunt hour by hour, from the 10pm hotel pickup to lake-hopping the Ingraham Trail to the 2am drop-off.