Welcome to Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village

If you are looking for a truly authentic northern experience that combines Indigenous culture, wildlife viewing, Aurora Borealis, outdoor activities, traditional Indigenous camp accommodation, excellent food and engaging Indigenous hosts, Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village is the place for you.

Why Stay with Us?

Your Hosts

Charles Beauchamp is an accomplished Indigenous outdoorsman who has spent over 50 years living in the bush of Northern Alberta. Charles is a conservationist and steward of the lands he calls home. He has an incredible depth of knowledge regarding the wildlife in the region and has developed a wildlife viewing program that is second to none. He loves to share his traditional Indigenous knowledge and culture with his guests who are made to feel part of the family the minute they arrive. Charles is fully certified in first aid and is a master bushman whose priority is ensuring that his guests are warm, well-fed and constantly learning new and exciting aspects of the wilderness where he resides. As a grandfather himself, Charles knows the importance of keeping his youngest guests engaged and all members of the visiting families are always well taken of. A worldly traveller, Charles has travelled to many of the countries where his guests come from and as such, he is well versed in working with many different cultures. Charles believes that he learns from his guests on every trip and this respect and collaborative spirit is at the foundation of every trip he leads.

Adrien Beauchamp, Charles’s brother is the Camp Manager at the Village. Adrien is an extremely competent site manager, ensuring that every guest’s needs are met. A conservationist just like his brother, Adrien takes great pride in managing the resources of the region, ensuring that the wildlife and environment continue to thrive.

Additional camp staff are all from local Indigenous communities and share Charles and Adrien’s love of the wilderness and sharing their lifestyle with their guests.

The Village

The Village is located a two-hour drive from Fort McMurray in northern Alberta. The drive is completed in a comfortable touring van and includes a snack and an interpretive narration that speaks to the rich Indigenous and non-Indigenous history of the region. The Village itself is found behind a locked gate on an old industrial road that ensures that only guests of the Village have access to this rich wilderness area. This exclusivity is one of the reasons why the wildlife viewing is so outstanding.

The Village is situated on a trail that is impassable by truck or car. Guests enjoy a 20-minute ATV ride or 10-minute snowmobile ride to reach the camp from the parking area.

Arriving at the Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village is like stepping back in time. The village is an authentic Indigenous “bush camp” similar to the camps that Charles’s and his family lived in decades ago, albeit with a few more creature comforts.. Guests eat in the dining “shack” a comfortable shelter that is heated and includes the commercial kitchen, dining tables and guest common area. All of the facilities are both rustic and functional, ensuring the comfort of our guests while also ensuring that the historical authenticity remains intact. This is not an all-inclusive poolside resort - it is the real deal. Guests will leave knowing they have lived a true Indigenous experience.

The sleeping tipis all have framed beds with comfortable mattresses and duvets and are heated by a wood stove which can be stoked at night by Aurora staff if preferred. There is a heated wash house shared by all of the guests. Evening programs often take place around the fire circle where guests enjoy presentations by the staff and of course marvel at the Aurora Borealis dancing overhead. Meals are as generous as they are delicious and often include local ingredients and Indigenous specialties. Menu examples may be found in the Experiences section of the website.

The Aurora Borealis

There can be few places better located to watch the Aurora Borealis light show than the Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village. There is a good reason why the camp is named what it is, as the Aurora in this part of the world is absolutely spectacular. The quality and quantity of Aurora Borealis combined with the absolute absence of light pollution at the camp, ensure that viewing and photographing this incredible phenomena is a world-class experience.

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The Wildlife

Wildlife in the area includes beaver, moose, black bear, otter, mink, fisher, pine marten, and weasel. Due to the remoteness and exclusive nature of the wilderness surrounding the camp, the wildlife, including the apex predator black bears, have little to no fear of humans. As such, the elevated viewing blinds that have been built to provide a safe and comfortable wildlife experience have no negative affect on the animals and they are most often seen within 20 metres of the guests, making for spectacular viewing and photography opportunities. The beaver dam viewing areas are equally incredible. Guests leave being able to identify individual animals, having fallen in love with these remarkably industrious creatures.

The Activities

As well as the incredible Aurora and wildlife viewing there are a variety of experiences that guests may enjoy while staying at the Village. These activities include guided and self-guided hiking trips, wilderness survival skills, archery, air rifles, all-terrain vehicle riding, guided fishing and ice fishing, berry picking and medicinal plant harvesting, Indigenous games, storytelling, cultural sharing and crafts, Indigenous culinary demonstrations, Indigenous art demonstrations, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, winter shelter building and sleep outs.

Sustainability

The staff of Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village believe that any activities undertaken at the village need to be respectful of the environment and infinitely sustainable. To that end, wherever possible environmentally friendly technologies and practices are employed. Solar power, rain water collection, recycling, fire smart firewood harvesting and other operational approaches are all employed to ensure that the footprint of the business is as small as possible.

The Original, Original.

Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village has been honoured by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) to be included as one of the few, prestigious Original, Original Indigenous tourism experiences in all of Canada. This accreditation program is a mark of excellence that assures visitors of a quality tourism experience. It is awarded to businesses that offer products and services that are truly authentic from an Indigenous perspective and have been accredited by the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. This accreditation evaluates Indigenous tourism businesses from the perspectives of community engagement and support, health and safety, quality service and visitor support, ecologically sustainable practices and the essentials of operating a good business. Businesses that earn this accreditation demonstrate that they have the right standards in place to deliver a quality experience to visitors.

As well as the relationship with ITAC, Aurora Borealis Indigenous Village is affiliated and supported and/or members of Travel Alberta, Indigenous Tourism Alberta, and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.