North of Midnight | A Yukon Northern Lights Road Trip aboard the Squatch Bus

Travel in basic comfort in a converted original American school bus, your wilderness lodge on wheels.

• Comfortable sleeping area with cozy bedding
• Small washroom with a toilet for convenience
• Kitchen facilities with a stove, cooler, and cookware
• Solar-powered lighting and USB charging ports
• WiFi, on occasional moments
• Seating and lounge area for relaxation
• Woodstove for cozy vibes and warming up on chilly nights
• Rooftop deck for stargazing, sunset views, and bonfire nights

This trip is designed for adventurous travellers of most fitness levels. You don’t need previous snowshoeing experience or a serious hiking background, but you should be comfortable walking on snow, spending time outside in winter conditions and climbing in and out of the Squatch Bus.

Our daytime activities will be relaxed, with short winter walks or easy snowshoe outings depending on the weather and snow conditions. The terrain may be uneven, slippery or covered in deeper snow, but we won’t be tackling long distances or major elevation gain.

We’ll pick you up in Whitehorse and point the Squatch Bus toward the mountains. The exact direction depends on the weather and road conditions: perhaps south toward White Pass, west along the Haines Road or wherever the clearest stretch of sky appears to be.

We don’t know exactly where we’ll sleep yet. That’s not poor planning—it’s the plan.

The drive is a big part of the adventure, with stops for photographs, a homemade lunch and an easy winter walk or snowshoe. By late afternoon, we’ll find our overnight spot, fire up the woodstove and settle into the bus.

Soon, boots are off, mittens are drying beside the cracand the kettle is on. Outside, it’s nothing but snow and mountains. Inside, the lights are warm, the windows are beginning to fog and something very cheesy is happening around the table.

Dinner is homemade fondue: partly because it’s delicious and partly because melted cheese is a highly effective winter survival strategy.

Afterward, step outside to watch the sky or grab a blanket and stay warm beside the woodstove while looking for the Northern Lights through the bus windows. When you’ve had enough, your bunk is only a few steps away. If the Aurora appears later, we’ll wake you. This is one of the few holidays where being woken at 1:00 am is excellent news.

After a slow breakfast—because nobody needs an alpine start after watching the sky half the night—we’ll see what the weather is doing and make a plan.

We may explore the area on snowshoes, stop at frozen lakes and mountain viewpoints or continue farther along the road in search of clearer skies. And if the forecast tells us to move, we move. It’s convenient when your wilderness cabin has wheels.

That evening, we’ll settle in for another homemade dinner, get the woodstove going and spend our second night beneath the Yukon sky.

Guests joining the shorter two-day, one-night trip will return to Whitehorse this afternoon.

Wake up somewhere in the mountains and take a look through the window to remember where exactly we parked. First priority: get the woodstove going. Second priority: coffee.

We’ll enjoy a slow breakfast aboard the bus, with time for one last walk outside, a few final photographs or simply another mug beside the fire. Eventually, we’ll pack up and point the Squatch Bus back toward Whitehorse.

The road back is still part of the trip, so we’ll stop whenever the Yukon gives us a good reason—which it usually does. We’ll return to Whitehorse during the afternoon, probably a little tired, very well fed and wondering why more hotels don’t have wheels.

The minimum age to book with YuSquatch Mountain Adventures is 18 years old unless accompanied with a legal guardian on the tour.

A 25% deposit is required to secure all bookings.

Cancellation Schedule

• More than 90 days before departure: Full refund less a 4% payment processing fee and $100 CAD administrative fee
• 90 to 61 days before departure: 25% of the total trip cost is non-refundable
• 60 days or less before departure: 100% of the total trip cost is non-refundable

If you are unable to attend your trip, please contact us as soon as possible. Subject to availability and operational considerations, we may be able to offer a trip transfer, participant substitution, or trip credit.

Please Note
Trips operate in remote wilderness environments where weather, wildfires, transportation disruptions, medical emergencies, or other unforeseen circumstances may impact itineraries or trip operations.

Yusquatch Mountain Adventures reserves the right to modify, delay, reroute, postpone, substitute activities, or cancel trips when necessary for safety or operational reasons.

We strongly recommend purchasing comprehensive travel insurance, including trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical, and evacuation coverage.

For full details, please refer to our complete Cancellation & Terms Policy.