Abstract. The characteristics of stably stratified canopy flows in complex terrain are investigated by employing the Renormalized Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model. In this two-dimensional simulation, we imposed persistent constant heat flux at ground surface and linearly increasing cooling rate in the upper canopy layer, vertically varying dissipative force from canopy drag elements, buoyancy forcing induced from thermal stratification and the hill terrain. These strong boundary effects keep nonlinearity in the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations high enough to generate turbulent behavior. The fundamental characteristics of nighttime canopy flow over complex terrain measured by a few multi-tower advection experiments can be produced by this numerical simulation, such as: (1) unstable layer in the canopy, (2) super-stable layer associated with flow decoupling in deep canopy and near the top of canopy, (3) upward momentum transfer in canopy, and (4) large buoyancy suppression and weak shear production in strong stability.