The Yukon Territory has been on our Canadian travel list for years, and we’ve always wanted to experience it during the winter so we’d have the opportunity to see the aurora! We’re so excited that we were finally able to make it up there, and it was truly an unforgettable experience. Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon, is only a short 2.5 hour flight from Vancouver where we live. We flew up in mid-February and spent 5 days enjoying some incredible winter activities, including seeing the northern lights! We stayed at 2 different romantic, lesbian friendly resorts, and got to check out a lot of great local businesses. We truly loved our time and already can’t wait to go back and experience it in a different season. If the Yukon is on your travel bucket list, keep reading for our full guide to a lesbian friendly getaway!
Seeing the Aurora in Winter
One of the major draws of the Yukon Territory for travellers, is that it’s a perfect place to experience the northern lights. We’ve always wanted to see the aurora in Canada, and so the Yukon has been top of our list! You need long, dark nights for aurora viewing, so the lights are typically visible between mid August and mid April, with the best time to see them being in early winter. While the northern lights can be pretty unpredictable, great viewing conditions will be on a clear, moonless night between 10pm and 3am, outside of Whitehorse and away from any city light pollution. We lucked out on our February trip and saw them on our first night! We highly recommend planning your winter visit for at least 3 nights, as the longer you stay the better your chances will be of experiencing a beautiful light show.
Where to Stay
If you’re looking for beautiful, romantic accommodations for your trip, we have 2 amazing recommendations for you! Both are great choices for aurora viewing, and make for a really incredible Yukon experience.
Inn on the Lake
This cozy, gay-owned lodge is about 35 minutes outside downtown Whitehorse, and has been around for years. Inn on the Lake is a really warm and welcoming place, full of rustic character, LGBTQ+ friendly, and a perfect place to kick off your trip! In winter, the views of frozen Marsh lake are absolutely gorgeous, and being outside the city makes it feel very quiet and relaxing. The inn is a perfect place for couples, and we absolutely loved our stay! Everything here was so lovely, but probably the thing we were most impressed with was the food. As soon as we walked inside we could smell freshly baked bread, and both dinner and breakfast were wonderful. The chef even made fully vegan meals for us! We definitely recommend adding meals to your stay, breakfast has daily rotating options, and dinners are a 3 course chef’s menu. The inn is also able to accommodate dietary restrictions and special requests if you let them know in advance. If you’re looking to make your stay here extra special, we highly recommend booking the Executive Jacuzzi Suite. The north facing balcony makes it perfect for seeing the northern lights. We stepped outside in our bathrobes and got to watch them right from our room! Along with the Jacuzzi Suite there are several other cozy rooms in the main lodge, as well as apartment style accommodations and private cottages on the property.
The Northern Lights Resort & Spa
This beautiful resort is about 20 minutes outside the city of Whitehorse, and is a really wonderful all-in-one experience! Northern Lights Resort has both cozy log cabins, and modern glass chalets. There is also a main lodge with a spa, and large dining room to host all the resort guests for meals. During the daytime, staff can set you up with all kinds of great winter adventure activities, and every evening they host a bonfire for northern lights viewing. This resort was definitely on our travel bucket list, and it did not disappoint. It really makes for such a perfect winter Yukon experience! If you want to see the aurora from your bed, we definitely recommend booking a glass chalet. Facing north, the large wrap-around windows are perfect for northern lights viewing, so be sure to book several nights to better your chances of seeing them! If you’re looking for fun activities to do during your trip, the resort offers plenty of different packages including tours to a wildlife reserve, southern lakes sightseeing excursions, dog-sledding, snow mobiling, and more. There are also snowshoes available at the lodge, and plenty of trails right outside the door! There are also various meal packages for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a spa on site with a sauna, outdoor jacuzzi, and massage treatments available.
Where to Eat & Drink
We definitely recommend adding in meal plans to your resort stays, as most of the accommodations around Whitehorse are quite remote and far from other restaurants. But when you do venture into Whitehorse and want to grab some food around town, there are some great cafes, restaurants, and breweries to check out! We definitely recommend going to some local establishments during your trip and supporting the local businesses in town when you can. For breakfast or lunch, Burnt Toast Cafe is a great spot right in downtown Whitehorse. There’s a big menu (and they can accommodate vegan!), super friendly staff, and even Pride flags on the front door and inside the restaurant! Another great lunch spot, especially if you’re looking for healthy plant-based options, is The Kind Cafe. They have smoothies, lattes, vegan breakfast options, and great lunch bowls, this was definitely one of our favourite spots! If you’re looking to try some local craft beer, we definitely recommend Winterlong Brewing. They’re a small craft brewery with a tasting room, located outside the city close to Miles Canyon and the 2 resorts. They have tons of great seasonal beers including some more eclectic options, and we were really excited to see a Pride flag in here too!
What to Do in Whitehorse in Winter
The Yukon is a winter wonderland during the cold season, with plenty of fun snowy activities to choose from. We packed a lot into our short visit but there is still so much more to explore, the territory is full of beautiful sights and fun things to do. If you’re planning a winter visit to Whitehorse, here are our recommendations for must-do activities!
Explore Downtown Whitehorse
Regardless of where you stay on your trip, you should definitely spend an afternoon walking around Downtown Whitehorse. The town is full of frontier-style buildings, with plenty of great small businesses to check out and support. We recommend taking a walk down Main St. and strolling through Horwoods Mall. There’s also a beautiful walkway along the Yukon River which connects to a longer trail loop, and it’s just a short walk from the city centre! The historic downtown in Whitehorse is definitely very charming, we really enjoyed walking around and getting a feel for the city at the start of our visit.
Go on a Guided Tour
We highly recommend taking advantage of the many guided tours that the resorts and other tour companies in the area offer. You can go on history and sightseeing tours, visit the local wildlife refuge, go dog sledding, ice fishing, and snowmobiling, and even join aurora hunting tours at night! There is so much available and something for every traveller, whether you’re visiting on your own, with your partner, or with your family.
Go Hiking in Miles Canyon
This scenic spot must be beautiful any time of year, but it’s especially gorgeous in the winter! We went on a snowy hike to the Miles Canyon suspension bridge, and it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. If you’re looking to get out in nature and see one of the most beautiful places in Whitehorse, we highly recommend it. You can drive to the trailhead about 7km outside the city and hike in a short distance, or it connects to a longer trail loop if you have more time. Either way, be prepared for winter conditions and make sure you’re dressed well for the snow.
Go Snow Shoeing
If adventure tours aren’t your thing, we definitely suggest trying snow shoeing. We took some snow shoes out during our time at Northern Lights Resort, and had a great afternoon exploring the trails right outside our chalet! There are also plenty of snowshoeing trails outside the resorts, and it’s a really wonderful way to enjoy the snow and explore the area.
Lesbian Friendly
Our favourite part of our trip was definitely seeing first hand how inclusive and welcoming the Yukon is. We definitely expected the locals to be friendly (which they were!), but we were really blown away by how LGBTQ+ friendly it is. In downtown Whitehorse there is a Pride flag crosswalk and a trans flag crosswalk at the main intersection. There are rainbow flags and banners in many of the businesses, and plenty of signs indicating safe and inclusive spaces. We generally feel very comfortable travelling around Canada as a same-sex couple, and coming from BC we are definitely used to being out and open. Whitehorse absolutely felt like a place where we could 100% be ourselves, and we felt perfectly safe and comfortable during our stay. In fact, we felt more than just safe, we felt welcomed and included. The Yukon really is for everyone and we already can’t wait to return. We definitely recommend putting it on your travel list as another wonderful lesbian friendly destination!
Disclosure: This trip was in collaboration with Travel Yukon! The tourism board hosted us for our stay and we were able to experience so much of what the Yukon has to offer. We are so happy to be able to share this amazing destination with our audience.
