About Churchill

Churchill is a remote community on the barren, rocky coast of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba. Distinguished as the Polar Bear Capital of the world, Churchill is the only easily accessible human habitat where polar bears can be seen in the wild and it is also the best place to view Beluga whales in the world.

Accessible by air or rail, Churchill is nestled about 650 air miles (1,000 kilometres) north of Winnipeg. By rail, Churchill is a one-day, two-night journey that passes through some of Manitoba's most scenic heartland, and is a rare experience as it jogs past hundreds of miles of boreal forest and false barrens. A camera and lots of film are a must.

Though many would say the polar bears are the star attraction of Churchill, this town of 1,000 residents boasts many other sights. Tourists are attracted to Churchill because of its abundant flora, fauna and history, as well as the tundra, taiga and tidal lands.

In spring and fall, the vast and almost treeless tundra, the taiga with its thin covering of moss, lichens and miniature shrubs and flowers, bursts into a dazzling array of reds, violets and yellows. Churchill's coastline is heaped with huge quartzite boulders scrubbed smooth and round by the retracting glaciers. On the spongy turf between the rocks, a marvellous profusion of plants grow. You can see black & white spruce, dwarf cranberry, dwarf birch, bearberry and crowberry.

The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, are brighter and more spectacular here than any other place in the hemisphere. Dancing bands of green, red, yellows and whites can be seen year round on clear nights but are best from August through to April.

Migrating birds can be seen in Churchill from mid-April to late June and all through September, with nesting and hatching taking place from early June to early July.

Bird enthusiasts have been known to flock from around the world to play witness to some of the rarest birds in the world. The rare and beautiful "Ross' Gull" is a yearly visitor to Churchill. This bird, snow-white with a black necklace and breast that turns pale pink in the mating season, is a native of Siberia, but for the past decade has been nesting near Churchill.

During the month of May the concentration of nesting ducks, shore birds, gulls & boreal forest species, dressed in their spectacular colours, is truly an experience. Each day the numbers build until by early June a birder is not sure where to point the binoculars!

Even casual bird watchers can expect to see between 50 and 100 species of birds within hours of arriving in Churchill, and the really determined ones may spot 150 or more during a longer stay. To help record the many species of birds spotted, checklists of the "Birds of Churchill" are available locally.

The Boreal Gardens, a privately owned and operated experimental arctic research project, comprises greenhouses and gardens that grow various types of produce.

Thousands of beluga whales congregate in the estuary of the Churchill River. Playful and curious, they approach tour boats to explore their presence. These highly intelligent mammals spend most of July and August travelling in and out of the Churchill River (3000 at peak season). They are a beautiful and very vocal mammal who call to each other with strange and complicated vocalizations which has earned them the nickname "sea canaries".

For the adventurous and those who are not afraid of cold water, scuba diving packages can be pre-arranged. Whales are not frightened by new water visitors. Marine life is spectacular and plentiful.

But given its charm, beauty and unique wildlife, Churchill's biggest attraction is still the polar bears.

Thousands of people now travel to Churchill every fall to see the bears during the migrating season. In fact, it's not uncommon for the town's services to become utilized to their fullest during this hectic time of the season. From October to November, the bears migrate from their summer ranges along the bay south of Churchill up to the points where the ice forms earliest and will support their weight so they can begin their annual seal hunt.

Sometimes called the "Lords of the Arctic", these magnificent animals have an average weight of about 300 kg (500 lbs) for females, to more than 600 kg(1000 lbs) for males. These skilled hunters have keen noses that can detect a scent 20 miles away and can pick up the presence of seals under three feet of snow and ice. They have no natural enemies and consequently, no fear!

The safest way to view the bears is from special vehicles designed to travel on the Tundra. From this safe and warm vantage point, you can watch polar bears saunter, pigeon-toed across the tundra, sometimes approaching to within a few yards of the vehicle to check it out and sometimes even standing on their hind legs to look in the windows or to sniff the occupants' food with their supersensitive noses.

Surprisingly enough, as many as 150 bears pass close to, and occasionally through the town during the migration season. Churchill residents are wary of these intriguing but unpredictable wild creatures. A Polar Bear Alert System has been set up in the town and everyone is taught from childhood how to avoid or deal with bear encounters.

Travellers are recommended to book their transportation, hotel rooms and space on the tundra vehicles, well in advance. It's essential to book the vehicles, as they are the only way to reach the great expanses outside the town, where the bears roam.

Churchill also offers visitors plenty to do and see right in and around the town.

You cannot fail to see Churchill's five-million-bushel grain complex looming up over the harbour. It can load grain at the rate of 60,000 bushels per hour. Churchill is Canada's only sub-arctic seaport and is 1600 km(1,000 miles) closer to Europe than Montreal.

Cape Merry, on the town side of the Churchill River, is a national historic site with the remains of the first gun battery built in 1746. A plaque honours Sir Thomas Button, the first European to reach the mouth of the Churchill River in 1612. This site also offers visitors a breath-taking view of the tundra's rich fauna.

Across the Churchill river, on the West Peninsula, lies Fort Prince of Wales, a huge stone fort built by the English in the 1700s to protect their interests in the fur trade. It took 40 years to build. Environment Canada Park guides point out its' details. Visit the EC web site for more information about the fort.

Sloop's Cove, another historic site, is 4 km upstream from Fort Prince of Wales. In the 18th century it was safe harbour and winter haven for Hudson's Bay Company sloops. Post-glacial land uplift caused it to become a meadow surrounded by rocks, some of which still contain iron mooring rings. The rocks bear signatures of Hudson's Bay Company men, the best known of which was Samuel Hearne, northern explorer and governor.

The West Peninsula provided an economic base for different cultural groups over the past 3500 years; pre-Dorset, Dorset, Thule, Inuit, Chipewyan, Cree and people of European descent.

A must to see is the Eskimo Museum; established in 1948 by a French priest who lovingly put together one of the most spectacular collections of Inuit carvings and artifacts which are among the finest and oldest in the world. Many of them are tiny ivory figures of exquisite detail and some date from as early as 1400 B.C.

Nearby, the Town Centre Complex is a multi-tiered building containing a high school, library, health centre, cafeteria, theatre, swimming pool, curling rink, hockey arena, gymnasium and playground. Brilliantly coloured Inuit wall hangings are suspended from the rafters.

Across the street is Environment Canada's Visitors Centre, located in the Bayport Plaza. Here, guests can watch films on polar bears, Canada's Arctic landscapes and the arduous building of the railroad to Churchill. (It took 3,000 men to build over the permafrost and rocky tundra). Also on display is a collection of Hudson's Bay Company furs, muskets and trade goods from the 1700s and 1800s. Information concerning York Factory is presented here as well.

You can shop for native crafts and sculpture at many of the local shops in town, as well as at the museum.

The Churchill Northern Studies Centre is one of the few places in the world where the public can enroll in arctic studies. It is about 25 km east of town, at the site of the former Churchill Research Range. It is open year-round and courses are given in arctic ecology, arctic survival, photography, ornithology, geology and meteorology under the tutelage of staff specialists. For information call (204) 675 2307 or write Box 610, Churchill, MB. ROB OEO.

The Churchill Research Range was used to send up scientific data rockets from the late 1950s until as recently as 1989. Many of the facilities are still present and a new corporation has been formed to once again try to put it to use.

VIA Rail Canada runs regular trains from Winnipeg on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Canadian Airlines International flies from Winnipeg Monday through Friday.

For VIA Rail Canada information call toll-free in Canada - 1800 561 8630, in U.S.A. call 1800 561 3949 or write to VIA RAIL CANADA 1133 St. George Blvd., Moncton, NB E1E 4E1 In Europe, please contact Compass Travel, #9 Grosvenor Gardens, London, England SW1WOBH, phone 828-4111.