Whitehorse weather by month
The best time to visit Whitehorse is June to August — 94/100 in July, 22°C and 8 rainy days. The best season is summer, June to August (90/100 on average).
The worst month is December at 23/100 — freezing, a little rain, clean air. See December →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit Canada →
Best season: June to August (90/100 on average) · worst December (23/100)
- Days
- 22°C
- Nights
- 10°C
- Wet days
- 8
- Sun
- 12.5 h
- Humidity
- 66%
- Daylight
- 18 h
Whitehorse, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Whitehorse is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Whitehorse through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
- February
- Yukon Quest1–15 Feb (usually)Festival
- Available Light Film Festival5–25 Feb (usually)Festival
- May
- Long summer light25 May – 15 Jul (usually)Nature
- June
- Yukon River Quest18 Jun – 2 Jul (usually)Festival
- July
- Canada Day1 JulHoliday
- August
- Aurora season20 Aug – 10 Apr (usually)Nature
- December
- Christmas Day closures24 Dec – 1 JanHoliday
- Deep winter cold1 Dec – 28 FebHazard
Crowds in Whitehorse in July
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsCanada Day, Summer break in Canada, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Traveller notes on Whitehorse
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters cite an average January temperature around -17C in Whitehorse, milder than Yellowknife's roughly -26C average for the same month, and consistently rate January through March as the clearest months of winter for aurora viewing, with September through November noted as cloudier by comparison. Posters recommend basing in Whitehorse and taking day tours out to aurora-viewing spots and other activities, with several tour operators offering winter clothing rental packages for visitors who don't have their own extreme-cold gear. Posters generally recommend a guided tour over self-driving for anyone not experienced with winter driving conditions, since some nearby routes like Dawson stay very quiet and see only a few hours of daylight this time of year. Posters generally rate January as a strong, if seriously cold, month for aurora-focused visits to Whitehorse.
July gives Whitehorse close to round-the-clock light — over eighteen hours on the record — and the forum rates July to September as the window for hiking. Near the solstice you can walk safely on a clear night, though cloud makes it too dark. Days average 21°C. Two honest caveats. The first is bugs: mosquitoes are at their worst in June and July, bad enough that regulars pack mosquito-proof clothing, and once they ease it turns into black fly season. The second is the aurora — the Yukon season runs from about 20 August to early April, so a July trip is a summer trip. The forum's own suggestion for wanting both is summer in Whitehorse, winter in Yellowknife.
Add your own note from Whitehorse's card on the map.