Situated in Canada’s Northwest corner, up near the Arctic Circle, the Yukon is an untamed wilderness that turns into a picturesque, snow filled winter wonderland each year, under the glow of the greatest light show on Earth, the Northern Lights. One of North America’s most undiscovered destinations, close to 80 percent remains pristine wilderness making it a natural place for wellness and digital detoxing.

The Solar Cycle 25, a periodic 11-year change in the sun’s activity, is set to reach its peak between this winter and the winter of 2025/2026, meaning there will be a substantial increase in aurora activity on Earth, offering even more incredible northern lights viewing opportunities in the Yukon.

Wellness means different things to different people. Finding wellness does not just mean relaxing spa treatments, but connecting with the land, getting the adrenaline pumping by participating in thrilling activities, finding peace in meeting local characters and experiencing new cultures.

Here’s a roundup of winter wellness experiences in the Yukon:

Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs.

Geological evidence suggests that the hot springs have been running here for hundreds, quite possibly thousands, of years. At Eclipse, Scandinavian and Japanese Onsen healing practices are seamlessly blended to create a unique experience..Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs, which re-opened in August 2022 following a $7.5 million, three-year renovation, is guided by the core values of sustainability, creativity, and authenticity in all activities. Embracing the pure, unadulterated wilderness experience of the North, Eclipse strives to provide clients with a unique and transformational “Eclipse Experience”, through hot springs, through the Nordic Cycle, and through experiencing the Yukon outdoors in all seasons. Facilities include a Hibernation Relax Room, Meditation Solarium, Illumination Solarium, yoga and more.

Each year, Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs hosts the annual Hair Freezing Contest. There are five categories to enter including Best Male, Best Female, Best Group (two plus people), People’s Choice Award, Most Creative and Best Facial Hair.

Find wellness by following in Indigenous footsteps at Long Ago People’s Place.

Located just off the Alaska Highway outside of Whitehorse near Champagne, Long Ago People’s Place is a recreation of a traditional First Nations Village. Since 1995, First Nations members of Kwäday Dän Kenji have been educating visitors from around the world on traditional practices involving living off the land. Trained guides will lead visitors through the forest, showcasing housing structures and how they were built and stored all those years ago, and learn all about the incredible ingenuity of the ancestors and how they made their life in the north.

https://yukonfirstnationculture.com

 

Rooftop Aurora from Dawson City’s new Urban Spa.

Yukon Spa was opened by Yukon Spaces (the owners of Dawson Lodge - Dawson City’s highest rated accommodation for 2022 and 2023) in June 2024 in Dawson City. Yukon Spa is the northernmost spa in Canada and the only ‘urban’ aurora viewing experience from the spa’s rooftop. Treatments include massage therapy, acupuncture, clinical facials and skin remedies, microneedling, laser and light therapies, and manicure and pedicures. Facilities include steam rooms, a dry sauna, an infrared sauna, an ice plunge bath, a sensory deprivation flotation tank and a hot tub.

www.yukonspa.ca/

 

Cosy cabins:

Travellers can go off grid and indulge their taste buds at incredible secluded lodges located throughout the Yukon territory and stay in rustic-chic cabins. Eco Forest Cabins at Black Spruce Hotel are a new and unique accommodation experience located in the Yukon’s capital Whitehorse, which offers Forest Cabins inspired by boreal landscapes. Find out more on the Yukon’s cabins here.

Thrilling adventures:

The Yukon is a winter playground offering an abundance of thrilling activities including dog-sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice-fishing, fat biking, winter kayaking under the Northern Lights and more. Visitors can get up close to Yukon wildlife including bison, lynx, muskox, moose, deer, foxes at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve - a non-profit organisation dedicated to research, education and rehabilitation of Yukon wild animals.

 

Take me on a wellness tour to the Yukon:

New for 2024: My Canada Trips has launched a Canadian Wellness Getaway itinerary - 14-nights from £5179 per person including international and internal flights, 14-nights hotel accommodation, car rental on Vancouver Island and in the Yukon, return ferries from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay (Vancouver to Tofino), admission to Capilano Suspension Bridge, a Hot Springs Cove Eco-Cultural Tour in Tofino, entrance to the Yukon Wildlife Reserve & Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs, and a Dawson City & Gold Fields Tour.

To book visit www.mycanadatrips.co.uk or call 0808 223 4124

 

About Yukon:

Situated in the upper Northwest corner of Canada, next to Alaska, the Yukon is Canada’s most accessible northern destination. Home to Canada’s highest mountain (Mount Logan) and the planet’s largest non-polar icefields located in Kluane National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage site. One of North America’s most undiscovered destinations; close to 80 percent remains pristine wilderness with 5,000-metre peaks, forested valleys, unspoiled waters and untamed wildlife. Roughly the size of Spain at just over 186,000 square miles, the Yukon is home to more than 220,000 caribou, 70,000 moose, 22,000 mountain sheep, 7,000 grizzly bears, 10,000 black bears and 250 species of birds, with a human population of only 46,000.

 

For further information on the Yukon, visit www.travelyukon.com