See the Northern Lights with Canada’s Favourite Dog Musher

There’s remote, and then there’s this place. “There’s simply nowhere else like Churchill on the planet,” says Dave Daley, a long-distance dog sled racer and owner of Wapusk Adventures. Located in northern Manitoba in a subarctic region on the shores of Hudson Bay, Churchill is where the seemingly impossible happens – you might see polar bears roaming among magenta wildflowers or vibrant autumn tundra, paddle a kayak near a pod of mating beluga whales or watch the sky light up with green swirls on a relatively mild summer night (Daley says clear skies make August a great month to catch the aurora here).

And it’s so remote there are no roads in – you can only arrive by plane or train (or dog sled). But this dog sled tour with Daley is much more than just a sled ride: it is an immersive Indigenous experience during which he shares stories from his Métis culture – a distinct group that emerged from the late 18th-century fur trade when Europeans integrated with Indigenous people. 

“I was taught by my mum and grandmother that all animals have souls like we do,” he says. “Whether you’re a fish or a moose or a goose… And dogs are the greatest gift to us from the animal world. There’s no other animal on the planet that has a relationship with humans like dogs do.”

The majority of Daley’s 43 canines are rescues; no puppies but “there are lots of retirees in my yard”. He sleeps in a four-by-five-metre cabin with the pack, waking at the crack of dawn to feed them, play with them and check on their mood and welfare by touch. “Dogs are very energetic beings and no matter if it is the summer or 30 below, I always visit them with my bare hands because that is how our energy flows.” 

When you first arrive for your tour, you’ll spend time with the dogs and hear Daley speak. He might talk about the Métis nation, share his racing experiences (he has travelled 1200 kilometres by sled from Churchill to Winnipeg, a 20-day journey) or pass on stories from his Elders – most mornings he takes two 80-year-old Elders from his community out for coffee. 

“I have guests who have come three or four times, and they say it is different every time,” he says. “I feed off the crowd and see what their ears are open to.” 

Then it’s time for your ride. Each sled typically has six dogs and Daley knows which ones work best together. They vibrate with excitement as they pant, bark and shuffle. When it’s time to go, they take off like it’s an Olympic sprint. And as you fly through the forest, with spruce and pine trees on either side and the dogs pounding ahead, the wind will give you an invigorating facial. The experience isn’t too long – around two kilometres – but the sensation lingers.

Returning when it’s dark to see the sky ablaze with the Northern Lights is also a must – and with more than 300 nights of aurora activity here on average every year, Churchill gives you a very decent chance of a sighting. According to Daley, “They actually study the aurora here because it is one of the best places on earth to see them.” 

During a typical evening at Wapusk, the dogs are sleeping, the air is crisp, the tepee is glowing, the log cabin warm and the sky pitch black. Until it isn’t. 

Go further around Northern Canada

View the Aurora in Yellowknife

Thanks to its clear skies and location directly under the “Auroral oval”, which is the northern ring identified as having the most activity, Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories is also considered one of the best places in the world to see the lights. Indigenous-owned Aurora Village, a 25-minute drive from downtown Yellowknife, has recreated a traditional village with a collection of tepees sitting on a private lake. There’s also a restaurant and bar plus 360-degree swivel chairs to maximise your view of the lights before returning to your hotel in Yellowknife. 

Experience the wonders of the Nahanni

Around 620 kilometres by road west of Yellowknife, Nahanni National Park Reserve is a 30,000-square-kilometre wilderness paradise and UNESCO World Heritage site. Here you can fly over a thunderous waterfall that drops almost double the distance of Niagara Falls, cast your eyes on craggy peaks that look like something out of Game of Thrones, paddle through towering and steep river canyons and soak in hot springs. 

Ride a dog sled around pingos 

Pingos are dome-like landforms that erupt from the tundra thanks to a process of freezing and thawing – and they’re still slowly growing. With Noksana Mushing Tours in the very north of the Northwest Territories, Bruce Noksana will take you by sled around Pingo National Landmark at the edge of the Arctic Ocean to see the second-tallest pingo on earth, Ibyuk, which is 305 metres wide and the height of a 15-storey building. 

Drive the Golden Circle Route in autumn

Follow the Golden Circle Route in the Yukon during September to see snow-capped summits, fiery foliage and shimmering waters. First, spend some time in Whitehorse paddling the Yukon River or weaving your way through hundreds of kilometres of hiking and biking trails. Then, head south to cross the Alaska border for picturesque towns and turquoise lakes, before looping back up to Kluane National Park – a mountainous UNESCO World Heritage site with Canada’s highest peak.

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