Northern lights forecast tonight in Ontario

This is where CBC's photographers caught the green sky over the marina in October 2024 — down at the bottom of Brimley Road the bluffs and the open lake cut out most of the direct glare. It only pays off on the big overhead storms; on a marginal night the city dome still washes out the low northern horizon. Drive down (the 175 bus from Kennedy is seasonal and quits early) and expect the lot to fill fast once an alert goes wide.

Canada's first dark-sky preserve, about two hours up the 400 and 11 past Gravenhurst, and the default answer any Toronto stargazer will give you. It's open Crown land: park off Southwood Road, walk out onto the bare Shield rock, and you get a full, genuinely dark horizon — the main viewing area is behind the sign, with one outhouse and no power. On big storm nights the roadside fills with cars from the city, so arrive before dark and pack bug spray in early summer.

A concrete viewing pad with parking right beside it at 7980 County Road 41 north of Napanee — Ontario's most southerly true dark-sky site, free and open year round from dusk to dawn. Toronto and Kingston astrophotographers treat it as the reliable aurora spot because the northern horizon here is properly black. It's roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive with nothing open nearby after dark, so fuel up first and keep your headlights off the pad when you pull in.