The town offers its own activities, including its famous yearly Hudson Bay Dip and Relay Race It also has, for its own citizens, an Elk's club, churches, hockey in the Town Centre rink, and taverns, as well as fine shops for tourists and a few pretty good restaurants.
Town Centre, with its great beachside location, serves as the embarkation point for the Hudson Bay Dip. It usually occurs July 1, but in 1996 occurred on July 23 as part of the Parks Canada Day celebration. The delay was due to the lingering ice floes in the Bay on July 1. I would recommend participating if you happen to be up there at the time. It's actually a lot of fun, you can then say you went swimming in Hudson Bay (not a lot of people can say that!) and you don't really notice, during the excitement of the relay race, that the water feels like melted ice cubes. I found it to be very invigorating.
Tours
INPUT TINY IMAGES OF SUNSET CRUISE, TUNDRA BUGGY, PIC OF MANFORD
Nature Tours (Bonnie) 204/675-2248 In summer, they offer walking tours geared toward interests in birdwatching and botany.
Sea North Tours 204/675-2195-This family-owned business offers a standard boat tour that takes passengers out for approximately 2 hours. Time is divided up between a Ranger-guided tour of historic Fort Prince of Wales--located on an island in the Hudson Bay--and whale watching on the Churchill River. Some passengers get very lucky indeed because, while out whale watching, they see female polar bears swimming with their young. This last is not a common occurrance, although it happened once while I was up in July 1996. Unfortunately, I was not on that particular boat tour.
Sea North Tours also will charter private zodiacs for skin divers or others who wish to spend more time on the Churchill River closer to the water and its whales. These zodiacs come with an experienced pilot who is familar with currents in the Churchill River. As of July 1996, these cost $130/hour Canadian. Zodiacs can hold up to 8 people, although 4 would be much more comfortable.
Go toIn town, Churchill
Updated 12/20/96