I’ve lived near Chicago, Illinois my entire life. Neither myself nor my dad have ever seen the northern lights.
Churchill: Beautiful But Remote
Churchill is the best place to see them in the world. The town is the polar bear capital of the world, the beluga whale capital of the world, and often sees the northern lights over 300 days a year. The 65 days it doesn’t see them: the two months in the summer.
With that in mind, to take the train from Winnipeg is a 48-hour train ride, each way, after driving 13 hours from the windy city. The only other option is to fly via Air Canada. It’s only a 3-hour flight, but for a round trip it adds up to about $1000 a piece. That’s too much. On top of that, even after going to all that work to get there, there is still no guarantee that we would see the lights. Going to Churchill would be cool, but risky.
Winnipeg: Southern Metropolis, but Close Enough?
At first glance Winnipeg may seem like a terrible place to go. It’s the largest city in all of Manitoba. Compared to Churchill it’s also very far south. Despite that, it’s still quite far north, especially compared to places like Chicago or Toronto.
On top of that, during the daytime while waiting for night to settle in for aurora viewing, Winnipeg is a big enough city to have other things to do. Lots of art to see, museums to visit, and world class ballet and opera halls.
11 Year Solar Cycles
2024, 2025 and 2026 are at the peak of a reoccurring solar cycle. For the next one to two years, it will be a great time to try and see the northern lights. Solar activity is at it’s highest point and by the end of 2026 and 27 it will begin going down slowly for the next 10 years.
On top of that, during the daytime while waiting for night to settle in for aurora viewing, Winnipeg is a big enough city to have other things to do. Lots of art to see, museums to visit, and world class ballet and opera halls.
3 Day Forecasts
The northern lights are highly unpredictable. There are several websites and apps that watch the weather reports, but the most any of them will predict is three days in advance. It’s important to check regularly to see if the lights will be visible near your location.
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