What Makes This Tour Different
This is the only aurora tour in Yellowknife led by Dene guides from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. Bobby Drygeese owns and runs B. Dene Adventures on Chief Drygeese Territory. It is his family's land, not a rented camp. The evening is not another bus-based aurora chase where you stare at the sky in silence waiting for the next camera click. It is an invitation into a culture whose sky stories and traditions predate the aurora tourism industry by centuries.
The camp sits on the shore of Great Slave Lake, positioned under the auroral oval. That is the same geographic advantage that makes Yellowknife one of the world's most reliable northern lights destinations. When the aurora is quiet, the evening does not stall. The drumming, stories, and traditional food carry it.
A Night at the Camp
Hotel pickup in Yellowknife runs at 9 PM, with drop-off around 2 AM. Five hours total. In winter (December through April), you cross the ice road from Yellowknife to Dettah, then ride a snowmobile to the camp. In fall (mid-August through early October), the highway to Dettah stays open and you reach the camp by road.
Once there, you are not standing in a parking lot. The camp has a heated cabin and traditional teepees with comfortable seating. Hot drinks circulate while Bobby or another guide leads the evening with Dene history and aurora legends. When the lights appear, the lakeshore gives you an unobstructed horizon: no light pollution, no traffic, no competing tour groups.
Fresh Great Slave Lake fish and bannock are served during the evening. This is traditional food prepared on a Dene camp on Dene land, not a catered snack.
The Dene Stories Behind the Lights
What the northern lights mean to the Yellowknives Dene is different from what they mean to a solar physicist. The evening's storytelling covers what the lights have represented here for generations. You will hear traditional drumming that ties the experience to the land and the sky together.
B. Dene also runs a daytime cultural tour with hands-on workshops in fishing, trapping, and snowshoeing, led by Elders and knowledge-holders. But the nighttime aurora experience is self-contained. It is an evening of culture and sky that does not ask you to choose between them.
Booking and Price
The tour costs $120 CAD plus 5% GST per person. Book directly through B. Dene Adventures at bdene.com or call +1 (867) 444-0451. The operation is 100% Indigenous-owned and certified by ITAC Original Original, part of the NWT Tourism Show Your Badge program.
Two operating windows: August 15 through October 7 for fall, and December 15 through April 7 for winter. November and early December are closed. The ice road is not yet safe and the camp transitions between seasons.
This is a small, family-run operation, not a high-volume outfitter. Book ahead, especially for dates near the new moon, when every aurora tour seat in Yellowknife fills up.
When to Go
Fall (late August to early October) gives you the aurora on open water. Great Slave Lake is still liquid and the northern lights reflect off its surface on calm nights. Winter (December through April) adds the ice road crossing, the snowmobile ride to camp, and statistically clearer skies.
January and February are the coldest months, routinely below -30°C (-22°F). That cold air is dry and often cloudless. It is the trade-off for standing on a frozen lake at midnight. March warms up slightly and the days lengthen, but the aurora window stays solid through early April.
The camp's lakeshore position removes light pollution from the equation. What is left is the same variable as any northern lights trip: solar activity and cloud cover. The Dene stories are there either way.
For an active aurora-chasing approach — guides who drive to wherever skies are clearest that night — North Star Adventures runs the same Dene-led model in a heated van with free photos included. If you prefer a fixed venue on the Ingraham Trail with heated teepees and multi-language guides, Aurora Village is the largest-capacity option in Yellowknife. During the day, dog sledding with Tugáh on Kam Lake pairs a 6 km run with Dene storytelling in a log cabin — a natural complement to an evening at the camp. Our guide to the best aurora viewing spots near Yellowknife maps every pull-off on the Ingraham Trail if you decide to chase the lights on your own.
