Manitoba Travel Guide
A polar bear near a Tundra Buggy, Churchill. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Manitoba calls itself the polar bear capital of the world: each autumn, bears gather near Churchill on Hudson Bay waiting for the ice to freeze, and travellers watch them from Tundra Buggies. Summer brings beluga whales to the Churchill River instead.
Winnipeg, the capital, sits at the Forks where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet: the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Exchange District's warehouses, and a famously fierce winter. Riding Mountain National Park adds bison and black bears within day-trip range.
Key destinations in Manitoba
Churchill polar bearsTundra Buggy tours to the bears gathering on Hudson Bay, October and November.
Canadian Museum for Human RightsThe landmark Winnipeg museum in its tower of glass.
Beluga whales, ChurchillThousands of belugas in the Churchill River estuary each summer.
Riding Mountain National ParkBison herds, black bears and clear lakes in the parkland.
The ForksWinnipeg's meeting place at the rivers' confluence: market, skating trail, festivals.
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Top Cities & towns in Manitoba
Regional food
- Pickerel (walleye) from Lake Winnipeg
- Honey dill sauce (a Manitoba invention)
- Arctic char from the north
Getting there
Winnipeg Richardson (YWG) is the gateway. Churchill has no road access: fly from Winnipeg or take the VIA Rail Hudson Bay train (two days). Polar bear season is October to November; book Tundra Buggy tours well ahead.