Wild about Churchill, Canada: Bears, Belugas & the Northern Lights!

Globally, there may be around 25,000 polar bears. There hasn’t been a coordinated survey since 2004, when the count was 22,000 to 24,000. Polar bears are the largest bears and land predators in the world (an adult male will outweigh an adult male grizzly). But they are struggling as ice melts more rapidly and frequently. It’s tiring for them to hunt seals on land and water instead of on ice. In Norway, bears are now snacking on reindeer while in Churchill, they can sometimes feast on belugas.

Yawning or yelling? Hard to tell.

The sleepy little town of Churchill in the subarctic Hudson Bay buzzes with tourists from May to November. That's when Arctic birds migrate overhead, 50,000 beluga whales come to feed, polar bears wander by waiting for the bay to freeze, and the Northern Lights can be spotted.

Stunningly, from late July to late August, it's possible to kayak next to belugas, catch polar bears lazing, and admire the aurora borealis, all in the same day—which we did!

Northern Lights outside the Blueberry Inn around 1:30 am on August 9, 2025

There are three primary ways to experience Churchill: Churchill Wild wilderness ecolodges (the most exclusive), Churchill-based excursions arranged by lodges and tour-only companies (the most popular), and cruise ships stopping overnight, including Silversea, Hapag-Lloyd, and Adventure Life (the most limited in terms of time).

On August 1, 2025, my adult daughter Regan and I arrived in Churchill to start our Birds, Bears, and Belugas experience with Churchill Wild.

Regan and three bears at sunset

This family-owned company runs three remote, fly-in ecolodges tucked along the Hudson Bay coast. This is where polar bears amble and laze while waiting for the sea to freeze once again. Meaning: they walk by and around these lodges! (The owners pioneered polar bear walking safaris in 1993.)

From Churchill, we took a small plane 38 miles to Seal River Lodge, admiring pods of belugas below, until our pilot said the magic words: "There's a polar bear...oh, and there's another..."

We all got whiplash trying to catch glimpses of the magnificent white beasts on grass and rock as the plane zipped past.

Then, when we landed, a mom bear and two youngsters disappeared into nearby brush!

What a start! So many bears before we even checked in!

Mom and youngsters on the walkway to our lodge

Our armed guides carefully watched for any activity from the three bears near the landing strip before taking us to the Seal River Lodge.

This precautionary care/expertise is a fundamental principle for Churchill Wild, along with ethical wildlife viewing and sustainability. Our first on-site group event was all about safety, including bear deterrents and how we should respond to the guides' directions if needed, including looking "big" as a group. We had to stay about 330 feet away but strategies were provided should a bear come closer! (We were told the guides have never had to shoot at a polar bear.)

There were only 17 of us guests in this intimate lodge, immediately bonded by a love of nature and wildlife. Over the next five days, we had two daily hike/walks in soggy tundra, muck, or rocks, in search of bears or birds or to learn about the ecosystem. Each day, we enjoyed three hearty, healthy meals; an evening lecture; and continuous monitoring from the watchtower by staff or zealous guests like my daughter.

We occasionally had T-shirt weather but also stood in frigid rain one morning to admire a mom with two youngsters and a solo bear, all out on a spit. (The threesome were the same who greeted us upon arrival and would be there to send us off when we left.)

One day was devoted to the frolicking belugas: we took Zodiacs out on Hudson Bay where they swam all around us! (And where we spotted a polar bear swimming!)

Beluga smile! One of the few underwater GoPro successes.

The days were long and sometimes so were the nights: Regan woke me up once for a bear right outside the lodge around 10:30 pm! Hours later, we caught our first Northern Lights ever! This was an unexpected bonus since nights were still pretty light out here near the Arctic.

We were disappointed when we didn't see any polar bears for nearly a day and a half. Then on departure day, there were four right at the lodge! They practically had to drag us away to catch our flight—we reluctantly left Seal Lodge, our bears, and a piece of our hearts behind. What a privilege it was!

At the lodge fence on our last day: one of 13.

Regan and I stayed in Churchill town for three more nights at Churchill Wild's new, cozy Blueberry Inn and enjoyed:

• Frontiers North's tundra buggy. This is one of only two operators allowed in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) and its polar bear hotspots. Guide Dylan McCart did a great job managing the rough roads and nearly 40 guests including serving lunch and drinks. We spotted eight bears including two youngsters! (For pictures, you can lower the windows or go out to the platform on the back of the buggy.)

• Sub-Arctic Tours. We had a private tour with owner Leroy Whitmore. Despite his best efforts, we only spotted one bear all day—but he was a big one, sprawled atop rocks. And we had him all to ourselves!

• Discover Churchill's Northern Lights. It costs $25 per person to be on the call list should the aurora come out (when they'll charge the full tour price). We got the call around 10:30 pm, drove a little bit out of town, and enjoyed a good (not great) light show with an excellent photographer capturing the moment. When asked if we wanted more, all of us said, no thanks, and we were back to our Inn around 1:30 a.m...when there was a magnificent show right above us!

Look how magnificent I am!

• Sea North Kayaking: Once out on the Churchill River, we had such a great time surrounded by hundreds of playful belugas. They are drawn to sound, so we sang show tunes—"Big Spender" seemed the biggest hit and one whale "sang" along! We were surprised by the size of the kayak group (more than 40) and dismayed by how long it took for orientation and prepping. Thankfully, we were told, "We'll always make sure you get the full two hours in the water." And we did.

• Car rental: We boldly decided we could go in search of bears ourselves! There are limited routes open to the public and, of course, we were not allowed to leave the vehicle. We were very pleased to spot one on a spit, and another galloping across the way!

Final tally: about 20 polar bears over eight nights, a few very close up, including several cubs, two swimming, and two that we spotted on our own! By comparison, during a 12-day cruise around Svalbard, Norway, we saw only seven polar bears, all from quite far away. Churchill rocks!

One of seven spotted near Churchill

Churchill is in the middle of nowhere. You can't drive here; you have to fly from Winnipeg (very expensive on Calm Air), or take an overnight train from Winnipeg via Thompson.

The weather is pretty temperate in the summer. Churchill Wild provides raincoats, wet pants, muck boots, and life jackets. But nothing seems to keep out the horrendous, incessant bugs—mosquitoes, biting horseflies, no-see-ums, and more. Most of us brought or bought face or full body nets (very stylish). But they were difficult to see through for pictures. So we came home with scores of bites, especially around our necks.

Final side note: You may have seen stunning pictures of polar bears lying among purple fields. Those are fireweeds, which peak around early August—we enjoyed them at Seal Lodge and my lead-in picture shows a bear with the blooms. A few operators offer limited tours to Hubbard Point, aka Fireweed Island, where multiple polar bears may be found amid the flowers and photographed from above by permitted drones.

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