Churchill Activities

by Steve Selden | Apr 21, 2015

Churchill offers an incredible array of options for indoor and outdoor activities all year long. Depending on the season, one can supplement stellar wildlife viewing with year-round site specific activity options that only Churchill can provide with ease of accessibility. The main attraction in Churchill is the “King of the Arctic”, the mighty and majestic polar bear. A wide array of wildlife viewing exists a majority of the year with peak seasons being summer and fall.

Winter

    – Polar Bear Viewing

Churchill is predominately known for polar bears and their migration through the area as they wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze over in November. Traveling to Churchill and arranging the opportunity to see polar bears can be a difficult task. However, once aboard a custom Polar Rover taking in the expanse of the tundra along the Hudson Bay coast, words cannot express the thrills in store.

Polar bear explores a polar rover with awed travelers on board. Brad Josephs photo.

    – Northern Lights Viewing

Churchill is one of the best and most accessible places to view northern lights or aurora borealis due to its location beneath the Van Allen belt. this band of highly charged particles is held in place around Earth  by our planet’s magnetic field. Most of these charged particles are a result of solar winds. When these charged particles come in contact with atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere, electrons in these atoms increase levels of energy. When these electrons return to the lower energy state photons or light is produced. the end product of these reactions is amazing colored aurora borealis in the sky above Churchill.

Northern lights in the Churchill sky. Natural Habitat Adventures photo.

Churchill has various options for comfortable northern lights viewing including Aurora Domes, Natural Habitat’s Aurora Pod, the Tundra Lodge and the Churchill Northern Studies center. Additionally, dogsled camps such as Wapusk Adventures and Churchill River Mushing offer rustic settings in the boreal forest for groups to enjoy the incredible spectacle.

Photographing northern lights from the Aurora pod. Alex De Vries – Magnifico photo.

When charged particles from the sun strike atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, they cause electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state. When the electrons drop back to a lower energy state, they release a photon: light. This process creates the beautiful aurora, or northern lights.

  – Dogsledding

Churchill has become a dogsled mecca of the north. Multiple mushers raise and train their dogs outside the town limits of town. No resident is allowed to keep more than two dogs in town to diminish the chances of “packing up” as husky breeds tend to do. The dog camps on the outskirts range from basic housing and bedding to full service dogsled excursion outfits. If you have the urge to get on a sled, there certainly are plenty of options.

Start of the 2014 Hudson Bay Quest in Churchill, Manitoba.

    – Curling

Curling is one of the many activities based out of the Churchill town complex. The two – sheet rink provides a cold weather refuge for town’s people as well as travelers wanting to taste the truly Canadian sport. A local expert can be hired to teach the rules and techniques needed to have great fun. Local “Bonspiels” or tournaments bring Churchillian’s together for a weekend from time to time. Throwing rocks or sweeping a broom has never been this fun.

Natural Habitat travelers test their curling skills in Churchill. Karen Walker Photo.

    – Skating

A full size skating and hockey rink is housed inside the town complex. Public skating hours are offered as well as local hockey games and tournaments for your viewing enjoyment.

Skating at the Churchill Arena. Oakville.moms.ca photo.

   – Bowling

A scaled down bowling alley in the complex allows for limited hours and private parties. A great way to spend a cold winter night or day…knocking down some pins and beers.

Summer

There’s no question that the highlight and draw of the summer in Churchill is beluga whale watching out on the Churchill River and Hudson Bay. Birding and other wildlife viewing also can reward even the most ardent enthusiasts.

   – Snorkel with the belugas 

Getting in the water and getting a feel for the underwater world that beluga whales live in is a truly amazing experience. You do brave the cold water with all the best dry suit and accessories allowing for the maximum time in the water. Sea North Tours in Churchill runs these excursions and Natural Habitat Adventures offers extensions of this nature on all Churchill Arctic Summer trips.

    – Kayaking With The Belugas

Another amazing experience in the summer is kayaking with the beluga whales on the Churchill River and even out into the Hudson Bay. This can be phenomenal if the belugas are between mass feedings on capelin. Hearts tend to accelerate somewhat when approached by a pod or even just a few belugas. Their curious nature moves them to nudge the plastic shells just enough to provide a thrill of a lifetime!

    – Birding

Bird observation in Churchill is some of the best in the world. Over 200 species of birds migrate through the region on an annual basis. Spring and summer allow ample opportunities for checking off some of those “life –list” birds. The Ross’s Gull is the most prized bird to sight in Churchill and more often than not observed along the Churchill River by the port.

Arctic tern hovers above the Churchill River in Churchill,MB. Rhonda Reid photo.

   – Touring Fort Prince of Wales

During the Churchill Arctic Summer season a tour Fort Prince of Wales is an incredible journey back in time and will inspire the trapper and pioneer in you. Parcs Canada gives informative guided interpretations of the history and more recent archeological research conducted within the fort. The stark landscape seemingly usurps the stone sentinel at the mouth of the Churchill River. Once up close and on foot, the fort inexplicably comes alive in full 18th century splendor. Well worth the short boat ride across the Churchill River.

Looking for polar bears from Fort Prince of Wales in Churchill. Steve Selden photo.

    – Polar Rover Coastal BBQ

Polar Rover BBQ on the Hudson Bay coast. Natural Habitat Adventures photo.

Though most polar rovers have long since been stashed away in the garage since last polar bear season, a few gain early -release from dormancy to provide excursions through the Churchill Wildlife Management Area to the coast for a northern barbecue and chance to hike along the rocky coastline. Wildflowers and berries cover the tundra with panoramic views of the Hudson Bay to the north. The exposed Precambrian shield forms ridges and precipices along the shore providing exhilarating views of the bay and sky.

Polar bears can be sighted at times along the coastal peninsulas or nestled in the rocks rolling down to the Hudson Bay. Arctic foxes and red foxes scamper along looking for lemmings. Arctic hare in summer fur scamper through the tundra. Caribou and moose wander the vast land sometimes in groups or small herds. And, of course, the summer bird life is fantastic with over 200 species calling Churchill home in this fruitful season.

Tundra swans on a thermakarst in Churchill. Ed Bouvier photo.

History

by Steve Selden | Apr 21, 2015

The first inhabitants of the Churchill area date as far back as 1700 B.C. The pre-Dorset and Dorset people were members of the “Arctic Small Tool Tradition,” and they lived in partly underground pit houses, summer tents, and snow houses; tent rings and other artifacts from this culture can still be found in the area. The members of these cultures led a largely nomadic existence, harvesting both the small ringed seal in the Hudson Bay and caribou inland.

Ancient Thule tent ring still utilized by Inuit in Northern Manitoba. Virginia Petch photo.

By 1000 A.D., Thule people from the Western Arctic had arrived, displacing the Dorset culture. This new group of people, ancestors of the present day Inuit, hunted marine animals, such as whales, seals, and walrus, with harpoons. Around 500 A.D., Athapascan-speaking Dene from the west began to arrive in northern Manitoba. The Chipewyan Dene lived in the central subarctic, inland from Hudson Bay; barren-ground caribou made up a large part of their diet. Before European contact, trade among the Cree, Dene, and Inuit made up an important part of life in northern Manitoba in terms of economics, politics, and diplomacy. In fact, these age-old trading networks were later used in the fur trade for the movement of European goods and technology throughout the continent.

The first Europeans to arrive in Churchill were not looking for new places to live, but instead, were searching for a northwest passage to the spice-rich Orient. Jens Munk, a Danish navigator looking for just that, led an ill-fated expedition in 1619-1620 that wintered inside the mouth of the Churchill River. In contrast, late seventeenth century explorers were attracted to the Hudson Bay area, not as a passage to Asia, but as an area rich in fur-bearing animals, such as beaver, fox, and marten; beaver pelts (felted into fashionable hats) were in high demand in Europe at the time.

Fort Prince of Wales on the West side of the Churchill River.

A Chipewyan woman, known as “The Slave Woman,” helped to make peace between the battling Cree and Chipewyan almost a century later, thus enabling the Hudson’s Bay Company to establish a trading post in the area under the direction of Captain James Knight. Fort Prince of Wales was begun in 1717 and finished in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and Churchill became the site of the first astronomical observations made in Canada in 1769. It also became the departure point for the first overland journey made by a European, Samuel Hearne, to the Arctic Ocean.

Samuel Hearne’s mooring spot at Sloop Cove in Churchill. Everything Churchill photo.

Western Canadians’ demand for a prairie port eventually brought about construction of the Hudson Bay Railroad and the Port of Churchill. The last spike of the railroad was driven in 1929, and the first two ships loaded with grain left the port in 1931. Fort Churchill, located five miles east of town, was first established in 1942 by the United States Air Force as part of an overseas air operation to Europe. After the Second World War, Canada and the United States jointly sponsored a training and experimental center there. The base was officially closed in August of 1980.

Churchill Today

Churchill is one of North America’s most fascinating communities. The town has some residents who have never traveled more than 50 miles from home, yet it attracts sailors from around the world because of its international harbor. Even on its own, such a mixture of people and cultures is extremely interesting and is a great draw to the area.

In addition, the natural world of mammals, birds, and fish can be observed here unlike anywhere else. In the summer, you can watch beluga whales swimming in and out of the Churchill River with the Hudson Bay tide. During the fall season in Churchill, migrating polar bears can be seen at close range as they wait for the ice to form. Here, the Northern Lights dance across a winter sky from a point directly beneath the world’s heaviest concentration of aurora borealis activity. And if you are ornithologically inclined, you can count off the arrival of nearly 200 species of birds in the spring.

Beluga whale in the mouth of the Churchill River. Steve Selden photo.