Chasing the Northern Lights in Banff
Sometimes the best travel memories are the ones you never planned.
After an entire day exploring Yoho National Park and hiking Johnston Canyon, we were convinced our day was finally over. Our legs were tired, our cameras had been working overtime, and all we wanted was some food, a warm place to sit, and maybe a good night’s sleep.
Then we heard the rumors. The Northern Lights were being spotted around Banff. Suddenly, sleep didn’t seem quite so important. We had a decision to make. Stay in and call it a night—or bundle ourselves up, charge every camera battery we had, and go chasing the aurora. There was really only one answer. We couldn’t leave Banff with FOMO.
The Second Wind
We started with the most important part of any late-night adventure: Food.
After getting a little something in our bellies, we somehow found a second wind. The exhaustion that had taken over only an hour earlier suddenly seemed manageable. Next came the camera batteries. We charged everything we had.
Then we bundled up as best we could. It was going to be cold—really cold—but the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights was enough to get us out the door. We weren’t entirely sure what we were going to find. That was part of the excitement.
The Aurora Borealis is notoriously unpredictable. You can drive for hours, stand outside in freezing temperatures, and see absolutely nothing. Or you can look up at exactly the right moment and find the sky dancing above you. We were hoping for the second option.
Our First Stop: Lake Louise
Our first attempt was Lake Louise around 9:00pm
We arrived hopeful, bundled up, and ready to photograph whatever the night sky decided to give us.
But at first…Nothing. The sky wasn’t putting on the show we’d hoped for. We waited. We watched. We took a few test shots. And still, there wasn’t much to see. After everything we’d already done that day, the temptation to give up was definitely there. But we weren’t ready. So around 10:30pm we decided to drive through town and see if we could find a better spot. And that’s when something caught our attention.
Wait... Are Those the Northern Lights?
As we drove through the darkness, we suddenly spotted what looked like faint movement in the sky. Dancing lights. We pulled over. There they were. The Northern Lights.
They weren’t the dramatic curtains of green we’d been dreaming about yet, but they were there—and that was enough to get our adrenaline going all over again. We grabbed our cameras and stopped for a few photographs.
After spending the day hiking, we should have been exhausted. Instead, we were standing outside in the cold in the middle of the night, completely energized. Travel has a funny way of doing that to you.
Back to Lake Louise
Seeing those first hints of the aurora gave us the motivation to try one more time. We headed back toward Lake Louise, hoping that the darker skies and spectacular mountain scenery would give us the backdrop we’d been looking for.
This time, there were only a handful of other people around. No crowds. No noise. Just the mountains, the lake, the stars, and a few other hopeful photographers waiting to see what the sky would do. We started looking for the perfect composition. The kind of photograph we’d imagined before even arriving in the Canadian Rockies. Lake Louise in the foreground. The mountains rising dramatically behind it.
And hopefully…the Northern Lights dancing overhead.
Waiting for the Magic
And then came the hardest part: waiting…We spent a couple of hours at Lake Louise, taking multiple test shots and constantly checking our cameras. Sometimes the aurora was barely visible to our eyes. Other times, our camera sensors picked up colors that seemed much stronger than what we could see with the naked eye. Every few minutes, we’d look up. Then back at the camera. Another test shot. Adjust the settings. Take another. Wait. Look up again. It became a rhythm. And then, gradually, the sky began to change.
When the Sky Finally Came Alive
After hours of waiting, we were finally blessed with the moment we’d been hoping for.
The Northern Lights appeared.
What had started as faint traces of light began to stretch and dance across the sky. Green, purple, pink, and yellow hues emerged against the darkness, moving above the silhouettes of the Canadian Rockies. For a moment, everything else disappeared…The cold didn’t matter… The tired legs didn’t matter… The fact that we had already spent the entire day hiking didn’t matter. We were simply standing there, looking up. And watching one of nature’s greatest spectacles unfold above us.
Photographing the Aurora
For us, part of the excitement was trying to capture what we were seeing.
Photographing the Northern Lights is completely different from taking photographs during the day. The darkness, movement of the aurora, and need to capture as much light as possible turn the process into its own little adventure.
There were test shots. More test shots. Camera adjustments. And plenty of checking the LCD screen to see if we’d actually captured what our eyes were seeing. But that’s what makes night photography so rewarding. Sometimes the camera reveals details that aren’t immediately obvious in the darkness. And when we looked at some of our images, we realized just how incredible the sky had become.
A Dance Above the Rockies
The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are one of nature’s most mesmerizing phenomena—a celestial dance of light and color that has fascinated people for centuries.
But seeing them in person is different from seeing them in photographs.
There is something about standing beneath that enormous sky and watching the lights move above you that photographs simply can’t capture. The lights seem almost alive. They shift. They stretch. They fade. Then suddenly become brighter again.
And because you never know exactly what they’re going to do next, there is an element of anticipation that makes the experience even more magical.
Cold, Tired, and Completely Happy
This wasn’t our first time seeing the Northern Lights. But somehow, that didn’t make this experience any less special.
We were freezing. The temperatures were below zero, and after a full day of exploring Yoho National Park and Johnston Canyon, we had every reason to be curled up somewhere warm. Instead, we were standing outside in the darkness at Lake Louise. And we couldn’t have been happier. There is something about the possibility of witnessing something extraordinary that gives you energy you didn’t know you had. Just a few hours earlier, we’d been ready to call it a night. Now we were standing beneath the stars, watching the aurora dance above the Rockies. Sometimes you just have to chase the experience.
More Than Just a Photograph
Seeing the Northern Lights isn’t just about witnessing a natural phenomenon. It’s about feeling connected to something much larger than yourself. Standing beneath that enormous, star-filled sky, surrounded by mountains and darkness, it was impossible not to feel a little humbled. The aurora is beautiful precisely because we can’t control it. We can’t schedule it. We can’t guarantee it. We can only watch the forecasts, bundle up, drive into the darkness, and hope that the universe decides to put on a show. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, it does.
We Almost Didn't Go
Looking back, that’s probably what makes this night one of our favorite memories from the Canadian Rockies.
We almost didn’t go. We were tired. We had already had a full day. We could have easily convinced ourselves that we’d seen enough. But then came the rumors. A little food. A few fully charged camera batteries. A second wind. And a healthy dose of FOMO. So we went.
We chased the lights. We drove through the night. We made our way back to Lake Louise. We stood outside in below-zero temperatures for hours. And eventually, the sky rewarded us.
Chase the Moment
Travel doesn’t always go according to plan.
Sometimes your best memories come from the moments you almost skip. The hike you almost don’t take. The viewpoint you almost drive past. The detour you almost don’t make.
And sometimes…it’s the late-night drive you almost decided wasn’t worth it.
Our day in the Canadian Rockies had started with waterfalls, mountain roads, and hiking trails. We thought it was over after Johnston Canyon. Instead, it ended beneath a sky illuminated by the Northern Lights.
As dawn was coming in just a few short hours, we finally packed up our cameras and headed back, exhausted and frozen, we knew we’d made the right decision. Because we didn’t just see the aurora that night. We chased it. And somehow, that made seeing it even more magical.
Photography Tips
If you’re hoping to photograph the aurora in Banff or Lake Louise, come prepared:
- Bring a sturdy tripod — long exposures are essential.
- Fully charge your batteries — cold temperatures drain batteries quickly.
- Bring spare batteries and keep them somewhere warm, such as an inside jacket pocket.
- Use manual focus and focus on a distant light or star.
- Shoot RAW if you’re planning to edit your photographs.
- Take plenty of test shots — aurora intensity can change quickly.
- Dress much warmer than you think you’ll need. Standing still for hours in sub-freezing temperatures is very different from hiking in the cold.
- Be patient. The aurora can fade and return several times during the night.
- Don’t spend the entire time looking at your camera. Take a moment to put it down and experience the sky with your own eyes.
Biggest Tip of all
Don’t give up too early.
The Northern Lights are unpredictable. You may arrive to a completely ordinary-looking sky and find yourself wondering why you drove all that way.
Wait…Watch…Take a few test shots.
Give your eyes time to adjust.
And if there’s even a hint of activity, consider staying a little longer.
Because sometimes, the best part of chasing the Northern Lights is realizing that the show hasn’t even started yet.