If you’re a nature lover and keen to see beluga whales up close, a summer trip to Churchill, Manitoba is hard to beat. During July and August thousands of beluga whales migrate to the Churchill River estuary where it’s possible to enjoy safe but thrilling up-close encounters with the whales in sea kayaks and on paddleboards.
While beluga whales were the star of the five-day Belugas for the Bold program at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre – there is much more to see and do in Churchill in summer. We searched for and found two polar bears along the shores of Hudson Bay, hiked on trails bursting with Arctic wildflowers, explored Canada’s only rocket facility (long abandoned), and listened to stories that transformed my thinking about the area.
This guide is based on my experiences as part of the Belugas for the Bold program. It will show you what it’s really like to visit Churchill in summer – and whether a trip like this would mesh with your interests.
What is the Belugas for the Bold program?
The 5-day Belugas for the Bold program based at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill ran for the first time in July 2026. Designed for a small group of 11 participants, it included a mix of outdoor activities, research lectures, a cultural presentation, and evening art classes. The program is designed for active, curious travelers interested in wildlife, nature, and science.
Experience several up-close encounters with beluga whales in the Churchill River estuary including sea kayaking and paddleboarding with the option of a zodiac tour for anyone with mobility issues. In addition, there are lectures about belugas given by onsite researchers.
More daily tours are offered – some with a focus on finding polar bears in summer, while others are more nature or history-oriented hikes. There was time set aside to see the local highlights around Churchill including the Churchill murals, the large Inukshuk in town overlooking Hudson Bay, the Itsanitaq Museum, and the Churchill Rocket Research Range.
I joined the program on a hosted media trip with Travel Manitoba, though most participants were paying guests.
Who Will Love This Trip?
I think the trip would be a great fit if you:
- Enjoy up-close wildlife experiences
- Would like to kayak and paddleboard among beluga whales
- Care about science, research, and conservation
- Like guided hikes and exploring outdoors
- Are okay with a full schedule and little down time
- Enjoy small group travel
- Love meeting people from all walks of life
- Don’t mind simple shared accommodation and facilities
I’d highly recommend Belugas for the Bold to active travelers who love learning as much as they enjoy wildlife viewing.
Who Might Not Enjoy it So Much?
This trip might not be the best choice if you:
- Prefer luxurious accommodation
- Need a private room with an ensuite bathroom
- Like free time and exploring on your own
- Aren’t that interested in research and educational lectures
- Don’t like bugs (though they weren’t that bad)
- Prefer private activities and outings
- Only want to see polar bears in Churchill
If polar bears in Churchill are your main interest, I would highly recommend a polar bear trip in fall rather than the summer experience focused on belugas.
What It’s Like to Stay at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre
The Churchill Northern Studies Centre is located in a remote setting about a 30-minute drive outside of Churchill in the heart of polar bear country. As such you aren’t permitted to leave the building unless you are directed to get on a shuttle or you’re heading out on a guided walk with a bear guard in attendance. There is an upper outside deck and a fenced in grassy area on the lower level should you crave some fresh air.
The other thing of note – that not all will enjoy – are dorm rooms with bunk beds (up to four to a room), and shared bathroom facilities.
On the plus side, the food served cafeteria-style is very good. There’s also a diverse mix of people staying at the facility – including Arctic-focused researchers along with whoever is in your group for the multi-day program you signed up for. In ours we had people from England, Canada, and the US. You can expect interesting discussions at meal time.
Best Time to Do Belugas for the Bold in Churchill
Late July 2026 was the only time the Belugas for the Bold program was offered. It’s a great time of year to visit as the beluga numbers in the Churchill Estuary are high, there’s a reasonable chance of seeing polar bears, and if you’re really lucky you’ll catch an aurora display in the wee hours.
Should they ever offer a tour in August, you would still enjoy a high number of beluga whales, along with increased chances of polar bear sightings and better aurora displays with longer evenings. However, you need a dose of luck to get all three the way I did – or a great roommate who will wake you up for the aurora the way mine did.
A Typical Day on the Belugas for the Bold Program
You’ll find that there is a rhythm to the day – and that there isn’t a lot of down time.
- Breakfast at Churchill Northern Studies Centre (CNSC) at 8 AM
- Morning field activity usually starts at 9 AM
- Lunch in town, packed lunch or lunch at CNSC at noon
- Around 1 PM there is usually a full afternoon excursion getting back between 4:30 – 5:30 PM
- Dinner is available from 5 – 6 PM
- Evening lecture or activity like print making at 7 PM for 1 – 2 hours
- Free time
Kayaking with Beluga Whales on the Churchill River
One of my life’s biggest thrills was kayaking with beluga whales on the Churchill River. I would happily have done it every day while visiting Churchill.
The beluga whales number in the thousands in the Churchill River estuary, so the likelihood of having close encounters with these curious mammals is extraordinarily high. I had multiple occasions with up to five belugas around my boat – including babies.
One of the zodiac drivers – who was keeping an eye on the kayakers, told me that if I wanted them to come close, I needed to paddle a lot and sing to them. I did both – and found that they were more likely to visit me when I was away from groups of paddlers.
Never did I feel fearful or unsafe. Exhilarated and happy are better words. I have a lot of experience kayaking on the west coast of Canada, so I was always very comfortable on the water. The company we went with Sea North Tours – stationed zodiacs around a large perimeter – and we could paddle anywhere within that area. Over a couple of hours, I got loads of exercise, trying out different places but predicting where belugas were going to surface was next to impossible.
Getting good photos or video was a challenge. One second the belugas are beside the boat, then swimming under it – and then on the other side before doing a tail splash and a deeper dive. Throw in some waves and current, and you need to be adept at moving quickly to get photos that aren’t simply a white blob or blur. The few who were in the zodiac had better luck with photos than I did.
All in all this is a bucket-list worthy experience I would recommend to anyone who enjoys up close nature encounters.
Paddleboarding Among Hundreds of Belugas
After donning a 7 mm thick wet suit and a short briefing by Erin Greene, owner of SUP North we made our way to the zodiacs where paddleboards lay stacked on the back of the boat. The wind had picked up, so the plan was to motor part way across the Churchill River in search of more sheltered water.
The boat ride itself was a thrill with loads of beluga whales surfacing within easy viewing distance. But unlike kayaking with belugas and covering a lot of distance, the plan on the paddleboard – was to kneel and simply drift, paddling occasionally while willing the belugas to come closer.
I had more up-close beluga whale encounters in my kayak but I did enjoy one thrilling moment when three whales came up right by my paddleboard. What an intimate experience that was! One fellow in our group had the belugas immediately beside his board on at least three separate occasions. One occurrence after a beluga’s nudge left him swimming in the river – and by all accounts more thrilled than scared.
Sometimes you could hear the belugas exhale before you saw them. I would try to maneuver into position but I wasn’t as adept at paddleboarding as I was with kayaking. Still, if you have the chance and you’re able to kneel or sit on a paddleboard for a couple of hours, you’ll have a superlative experience.
Erin’s ongoing chatter with the whales, her ability to learn everyone’s name within minutes, and her habit of giving a heads-up when a whale seemed to be approaching made the experience feel especially personal.
I was the only one in our group who would choose kayaking over paddleboarding – primarily because of more close-up encounters, better pictures – and I felt like I’d had some exercise. But everyone else preferred the intimacy of paddleboarding. I think you’ll need to try both and come to your own conclusion.
Searching for Polar Bears Around Churchill
From July through late August, it’s possible to see polar bears around Churchill since they head for shore once the sea ice starts melting. They remain on land, waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze again – usually sometime in November. Over the ice-free period the bears conserve their energy, spending much of the time resting or sleeping on the Hudson Bay shoreline or in the tundra – and relying on fat reserves they built up hunting seals in winter and spring.
If seeing polar bears is the chief reason for visiting Churchill, it is important to understand how different summer sightings are from the famous October and November tundra-buggy season. I’ve written a detailed breakdown of costs, crowd levels, wildlife encounters, and whether I think the experience is truly worth the trip in my post Is Seeing Polar Bears in Churchill Worth It? My Honest Experience.
We were lucky to see two polar bears – both initially as white blobs swimming in Hudson Bay. We followed them with binoculars, admiring their power and grace in the water. Can they ever move quickly!
Our guide Caleb Ross with Nanuk Operations made an educated guess on where one of them planned to land and got us back onto the bus so we could make the quick drive to the area he presumed the bear was heading for. Sure enough it came ashore and then lazily sauntered up from the beach through swaths of pink fireweed – but in no time disappeared behind a hill. No wonder Caleb carried a rifle at all times. Polar bear safety is taken very seriously around Churchill – as the bears seemingly melt into the landscape.
Sloop Cove, Tidal Flats and Churchill’s Arctic Landscapes
The scenic 5 kilometre hike from Sloops Cove to the boat dock for the Prince of Wales Fort was one of the most interesting hikes we did. Led by guide Rhonda Reid, it covered history, wildlife, and botany in a way that made every stop compelling. We saw the famous inscription left by Arctic explorer Samuel Hearne in July 1767 at Sloops Cove and learned the names and traditional uses of many of the wildflowers we encountered along the way.
As we passed the nesting area of some Arctic terns – Rhonda suggested we hold sticks over our heads to prevent the birds from dive-bombing us. We also learned that the Arctic terns undertake the longest migration of any bird – traveling round-trip from the Arctic to the Antarctic each year.
One of the most memorable stops was beside aninconspicuous boulder where Rhonda explained how stone blocks for the Prince of Wales Fort were shaped by hand. It’s hard to imagine how many years of hard labour were required to turn the rocks into blocks for the fort’s walls.
Hiking Churchill’s Tundra and Tidal Flats
A Short Arctic Walk on the Ramsey Trail
One morning we enjoyed a nature walk on the short and easy Ramsey Trail. Over about an hour I learned that only three tree species grow around Churchill: tamarack (larch), white spruce, and black spruce.
The berries were another story. Even along this short trail we found out that an impressive variety could grow here – including bearberries, crowberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, cranberries, blueberries, and currants. You’d need a lot of patience because of their size to collect enough for a snack, let alone to make jam.
One of the highlights was spotting a huge trumpeter swan with its babies. Another was seeing the remains of an exploded rocket, a reminder that 3,321 rockets were launched from the Churchill Rocket Research Range, with most between 1957 and 1986, though one final rocket with a Canadian Space Agency payload was launched in 1998.
Hiking to the MV Ithaca at Low Tide
An easy, fun low-tide hike across the tidal flats to a shipwreck – the MV Ithaca was one my favourite outings of the trip that didn’t involve beluga whales. It’s one of the most photographed landmarks in the Churchill area – but timing is important.
Hike out at low tide to experience the rusting shipwreck up close. This one ran aground in September 1960 during during a gale with winds of 130 km per hour. No lives were lost as all men were able to walk to shore.
There was something very compelling about the scene – with enormous blue skies, seabirds, the vastness of Hudson Bay – and a rusting vessel, still standing after 65 years.
From Beluga Whales to Rockets: Another Side of Churchill
When I visited Churchill the first time to see polar bears, I was shocked to learn that there was a Churchill Rocket Research Range – that ultimately launched over 3,000 rockets between 1954 and 1998. That wasn’t something we ever learned in school!
Rockets were initially launched to study the aurora borealis and its effect on long distance communications. That would expand to include the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Most of the work stopped in 1985 – but there was one short reactivation in 1998 when Akjuit Aerospace made one last commercial launch.
Today the place has a somewhat eerie, abandoned feeling to it. Structures are tired and weathered with old trucks and equipment around the site still in place. You can visit several of the buildings where the rocket launcher looks antiquated by today’s standards. Reportedly there were tunnels to protect the workers because of the challenging northern climate – though I don’t know if they are around.
The place is well worth visiting – especially as much of the research was done during the Cold War. It certainly rates as one of the more unusual historic sites in Manitoba.
Exploring Churchill’s SeaWalls Murals
The SeaWalls Churchill mural project organized by Winnipeg artist Kal Barteski in cooperation with the PangeaSeed Foundation officially started in mid-June 2017 – though the organization for the 10-day long event began well beforehand. The goal – bring an international contingent of artists to Churchill to paint massive outdoor murals on empty buildings and abandoned structures along 30 kilometres of Hudson Bay shoreline.
Initially the project was conceived to educate both visitors and locals about marine conservation and ocean protection, but ultimately it brought hope and recognition to a community that was suffering from isolation – thanks to the loss of the railroad connection due to flooding – and economic hardship because of soaring prices. It’s well presented in the Know I’m Here documentary.
If you look at before and after pictures, you can see just how much the murals have revamped the town – adding colour and stories with themes of local wildlife, climate change, ocean conservation, and community resilience. Many of the murals are tourist destinations in their own right now – like Miss Piggy – a plane crash transformed by artist Pat Perry.
On any trip to Churchill, tour companies will ensure you see at least a smattering of these murals. Many are in the town itself and you can’t miss them. But, some of the most notable large scale murals are up to 30-minute drive away.
Learning from a Sayisi Dene First Nation Speaker
One morning we were lucky to meet and listen to Florence Hamilton – a Sayisi Dene woman who runs a company called Dene Routes. Hers was a sobering talk – touching on broken promises by the Canadian government and the loss of many elders before their collective wisdom and oral history could be shared.
I had come to Churchill for the beluga whales but I left with a deeper understanding of the region’s history and a new respect for the culture and resilience of the Sayisi Dene people.
An Unexpected Aurora Display at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre
It’s 2 AM and my roommate, Jess – is tapping me on the shoulder saying “Leigh, Leigh wake up.” I drag myself out of bed, grabbing my phone and camera, running down the deserted hallway to the outer deck. Outside, it’s inky black with faint traces of the aurora visible to the human eye – but “nothing like the night before” Jess says. I’ve seen the aurora on numerous occasions – from magical displays on a winter’s night in Whitehorse to dancing lights over Calgary.
But I didn’t expect to see the aurora in Churchill in late July. Nights are still very short – and although it wasn’t of the quality I’ve enjoyed at other locations, it was one of the unexpected highlights of my stay at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre.
Should the Belugas for the Bold learning vacation offer future dates in August, you’ll have longer nights and a better opportunity to catch this magical northern phenomenon.
Is the Belugas for the Bold Program Worth It?
For me – a nature lover and someone who loves learning – the answer is an emphatic yes. Kayaking and paddleboarding with the belugas was worth the trip alone.
But what surprised me about the Churchill Northern Studies Centre program was how multi-dimensional it was. Churchill in summer offers so much more than I expected – thanks to wildlife like polar bears, the variety of birds – like the fascinating Arctic terns, the hikes, cultural learning, and lectures. The evening art class with Meg Hainstock was the activity I was least interested in but ended up enjoying immensely.
I also loved the small group size – just 11 including myself – so it was really easy to get to know everyone including the guides and researchers. I enjoyed so many interesting conversations over meals in the cafeteria and while traveling to sites around Churchill.
The biggest downsides are the dorm-style rooms and shared bathrooms. If you’re after a luxury vacation, this is not it. But if you’re a traveler who loves learning, wildlife and unique northern experiences, then I think you’ll find the five-night Belugas for the Bold program to be one of the most unique summer trips in Canada.
Tips for Visiting Churchill in Beluga Season
Book early – Programs at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre fill quickly. If the multi-day Belugas for the Bold program sounds like something you’d enjoy, book the minute dates are released.
Pack for a variety of weather – It was warm when I visited Churchill in late July, but temperatures are usually all over the map. It can be windy and rainy, so pack merino wool layers, a waterproof jacket, and a sun hat. You are given wetsuits for the paddleboarding activity.
Be prepared for bugs – Pack the bug repellent and a face net as you can expect black flies and mosquitoes. The centre offers bug jackets, but if you’re traveling privately consider bringing the original bug jacket.
Choose the beluga experience that best suits you – I found that kayaking was the most intimate way to see the belugas – though most of my group preferred the paddleboarding. Another option especially for anyone with mobility issues is a zodiac tour. Those in our group that did it raved about the experience – and were able to get really good photos, especially because they sat a little higher.
Bring binoculars – If you have a powerful pair of binoculars, pack them. It was one of the guests that first noticed the polar bear swimming thanks to her binoculars. If you’re a birder, you’ll certainly want them.
Don’t expect luxury – The Churchill Northern Studies Centre enjoys a fabulous setting close to the rocket range, about a 30-minute drive from Churchill. Inside dorm-style rooms are simple – with two sets of bunkbeds and shared bathrooms and showers. Meals are cafeteria style.
Allow an extra day in Churchill if possible – With an extra night in town, you could sign up for beluga boarding – an activity where you lie face down on a padded board while being towed. Put your head in the water with a mask on to see the belugas below the surface.
My biggest surprise of the week? While the beluga experiences surpassed my expectations, I found the summer trip to Churchill to be far more compelling than expected. Fascinating wildflower and history-filled nature walks, polar bears, the SeaWalls Churchill murals, a talk by a Sayisi Dene woman, and even the northern lights made Churchill in summer feel far more interesting and varied than your average wildlife trip.
More Manitoba and Canada Travel Inspiration
- 8 Best Outdoor Adventures in Manitoba – From beluga whales in Churchill to paddling pristine lakes and hiking remote wilderness trails, discover Manitoba’s most unforgettable outdoor experiences.
- 22 Must Do Outdoor Adventures in Canada – A coast-to-coast collection of bucket-list Canadian adventures, including hiking, paddling, wildlife encounters, rail journeys, and epic road trips.
- A Spectacular Long Weekend at Great Bear Lodge – Experience grizzly bears, salmon runs, and the wild beauty of the Great Bear Rainforest on one of Canada’s most iconic wildlife trips.
- 9 Best Adventures in Nova Scotia – Trade the Arctic for the Atlantic with coastal hikes, kayaking, whale watching, and scenic road trips.
- A Trip to See the Yukon Northern Lights – If the unexpected aurora in Churchill sparked your interest, this is where to plan a dedicated northern lights trip.
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