How to See the Northern Lights in Banff (Our Family’s Experience)

Can you actually see the Northern Lights in Banff? We wondered this ourselves – and yes, with the right conditions and a little planning, you can! 

We were there in April and were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights! This is a family experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. It was our daughter’s favorite part of the trip and absolutely core memory material. 

Banff National Park is far enough north that the aurora borealis is active and visible with the right forecast, location, and weather.

Our daughter really wanted to see them, so I spent a few hours at home before the trip researching the best ways to chase the lights, the best times to see them, and most likely places they’d appear. 

After a deep dive on the internet and Reddit, we landed on checking the forecast with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and using the My Aurora Forecast & Alerts App. We set up critical alerts in the app, and we would have missed it without that!

If you’re a parent trying to make your kid’s bucket list dreams come true, take the time to put together a Northern Lights Plan! Keep reading – I’ll walk you through the best time of year to see the northern lights in Banff, a step by step guide to use the forecast app, and how to make it manageable and fun with kids.

Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Banff

Weather, time of day, time of year, and the moon’s cycle are all things to consider when planning to see the northern lights. It’s also good to note that the lights are not always active or visible. 

Even if conditions are perfect you may not be able to see them. They have a forecast of activity just like the weather! The Banff northern lights forecast from NOAA was our favorite trusted source for information. We monitored the weather leading up to our trip and checked the northern lights forecast for the clearest nights.

We had specific dates to travel because of our kid’s school schedule, but if you’re able to plan your trip around the moon phases you’ll increase the likelihood of seeing the northern lights!

Seasons

September – April are the most likely months to see the aurora in Banff. October – March are considered the peak months because the nights are longest and darkest. 

Times

The aurora can appear anytime of day based on the geomagnetic activity, but 10pm-2am are the best hours for viewing it.

Weather and Lunar Cycle

The weather and moon phase also play a role in your ability to see the lights. A night that is clear, mostly cloudless, and has a new moon is your best bet.

Best Places to See the Northern Lights

The best spots to see the northern lights in Banff are places with little light pollution and open skies to the north. We saw them at Vermillion Lakes, but had a list of other places to try if they were active multiple nights!

Vermillion Lakes

Vermillion Lakes was our top pick because it is easy to get to from both Banff or Canmore where we stayed. There is no hiking required to get to the viewpoint, and the light pollution is low. 

It has a dock stretching out into the lake that we walked out on to see the lights above the mountains. Walk out to the end of the dock and turn to face back towards the parking lot. The lights were most active above the parking lot and over the mountains to the right. 

Lake Minnewanka 

This lake is a short drive from Banff town, making it a great option if you’re staying in the area! One thing to note is that it can be very crowded when the aurora is active because it is so close and easy to get to. 

Peyto Lake or Bow Lake on the Icefields Parkway

The viewpoint to Peyto Lake is a short but somewhat steep paved path. The sky is wide open and would be a great place to view the aurora. 

Bow Lake is just a few short steps from the parking lot making it an easy option to get to. There are many trees on the edge of the lake, so you may need to walk a bit to get to a clear view of the sky. 

The Icefields Parkway is a long drive making it easy to find a clear sky on active nights. The closer you get to Jasper National Park, the darker the skies and the less light pollution there is.

We drove the Icefields Parkway while on our trip and had planned to stay for sunset and the northern lights but they weren’t active that day. 

Bow River in Canmore

The light pollution in Canmore is much higher than in other parts of the park, but you can still see the northern lights here during particularly strong storms. If you’re staying in the Canmore area, keep this one on your list just in case! We weren’t able to see the northern lights here, but saw many beautiful sunsets!

How to Take Photos of the Northern Lights

If you are an iPhone user, there is a nightmode setting you can use to get excellent pictures in low light conditions. We practiced a bit in our backyard before the trip to make sure we understood how it worked before the stakes were high. 

Essentially, you need to hold the camera extremely still to get clear, high quality shots in low light. If you have a tripod that will help even more, but we were able to get incredible photos without one.

If you are going to try to get a family photo with the lights (which I highly recommend), be sure to remind your kids to be as still as statues! The stiller they are, the clearer the picture. 

You do have to be still for up to 3 seconds, so to little ones it may be too much to ask. Let it go, and take the picture anyway! It’ll be a blurry reminder of how quickly time passes and the incredible moment you had with them when they were young.

Setting Realistic Expectations with Your Kids

Our pictures show very vivid colors because cameras are able to take more light than most human eyes. The colors we actually saw were much duller in person and more of a green/gray scheme. This was different than we expected, but they were still incredible and we could see them dancing across the sky. 

Our daughter’s eyes are more dilated than most and she was able to see more colors than the rest of us. She decided this was a very big perk to the ‘special eyes’ God gave her. 

We made sure to emphasize the low possibility of seeing them, so they wouldn’t be too disappointed if they weren’t active during our trip. 

It can take time for the lights to become visible, so my husband stayed in the warm car with the kids until I could clearly see them. We were not prepared for just how cold it would be after dark in Banff. We had our winter coats, but be more prepared than we were and bring blankets to bundle up in!

Tips for Seeing the Northern Lights

Seeing the northern lights in Banff really comes down to having a good strategy and a little bit of luck. Here’s our advice to have the best chances of seeing them:

• Check the forecast for your dates the week before
• Turn on Aurora alerts once you’re in Banff
• Have a list of preferred viewing locations ahead of time
• Rent a car so you can head out at any time
• Use your phone’s compass app to make sure you’re facing north
• Bring blankets to bundle up in – its SO cold
• The light shows can be short, so don’t dally once you get an alert
• Bring something warm to eat and/or drink. (We grabbed pizza from Red Rock Pizza Canmore and it was the perfect treat!)
• Relax and enjoy the time with your kids, don’t put too much pressure on the experience

Bucket List Banff Experiences

The night we went was considered a mild storm and we only had a 14% chance of seeing the northern lights. This felt pretty low, but I’m so glad we went anyway. We were able to see them clearly and for a solid half hour. It was unbelievable and an absolute bucket list experience. 

There are so many incredible things to do while you’re in Banff that are worthy of a family bucket list, chasing the northern lights being one of them. You can see all of our top picks in our Banff family itinerary for winter or early spring post, or get a printable Banff itinerary by joining our email community below!

I wouldn’t plan a trip around seeing the northern lights in Banff, there are many other destinations for that, but you should definitely download the My Aurora Forecast & Alerts app and check the forecast if you’re headed there between September and April.

Happy travels!

💛 Michelle