In the heart of polar bear country, three remote “Arctic” luxury ecologies on Canada’s Hudson Bay coast. Churchill Wilde March to November offers an unparalleled wilderness experience: walking with polar bears.
Churchill Wild co-founders and owners Mike and Jean Reimer pioneered the world’s first polar bear walking safari at Seal River Heritage Lodge in 1993, but their family history along the Hudson Bay stretches back more than 80 years. Blending luxury and wilderness adventure into 11 unique, all-inclusive polar bear walking safaris, Churchill Wild has earned more than 460 five-star reviews and numerous prestigious travel awards for their lodges on TripAdvisor.
Your trip with Churchill Wild begins with a flight from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba, where you’ll stay at their soon-to-be new property, the Blueberry Inn, before boarding a flight to one of their three fly-in polar bear lodges: Seal River Heritage Lodge, Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge, or Diamond Lake Ecolodge. All three beautifully finished lodges were built with local lumber and recycled materials and are primarily solar powered. They are also located directly along Hudson Bay along the “Polar Bear Highway” where bears travel from July to November.
Seal River Heritage Lodge is located 60 kilometers north of Churchill and offers sightings of polar bears, beluga whales, arctic foxes and more. Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge is located 250 kilometers southeast of Churchill at the confluence of three distinct ecosystems represented by the boreal forest, Hudson Bay, and vast tundra plains, making it the only place in the world where polar bears, black bears, moose live. , and wolves co-exist. Diamond Lake Ecolodge, 30 kilometers north of Churchill, offers sightings of polar bears, moose, snowy owls and wolverines. The Northern Lights are also regularly seen at the lodge.
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A stay at any of the Churchill Wild Lodges is characterized by exceptional comfort, warm, family-style customer service and delicious tundra-inspired cuisine.
Churchill Wild Lodges offers comfortable, well-appointed rooms with private ensuite bathrooms, beautiful wood-frame lounges with fireplaces and picture-window views of the Hudson Bay waterfront. The culinary experience at the lodge is based on the award-winning “Blueberries and Polar Bears” cookbook series written by Jean Reimer’s mother Helen Weber and her friend Mary Woolsey. Meals are prepared using locally sourced ingredients and fresh produce from their prairie wild orchards and gardens.
Walking with Polar Bears at Churchill Wild Lodge is a carefully planned and safely managed ethical wildlife viewing experience. Their extensively trained polar bear guides are among the best in the world and use a series of non-aggressive barriers to guide guests on daily walks, maintaining a safe distance and handling any overly curious bears. Their specially designed three-guide system and safety protocols have resulted in a pristine safety record spanning more than three decades.
Churchill Wild’s commitment to excellence is reflected not only in its presence among repeat guests and luxury travel providers, but also in its numerous accolades. Both Seal River Heritage Lodge and Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge were among the original members of the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World Collection, and Churchill Wild has also received the Pure Life Experience Award, the Transat Sustainable Tourism Award for contributions to experiential travel. Several TripAdvisor Travelers Choice Awards.
Churchill Wild’s lodges are the world’s preferred destinations for filmmakers and professional photographers seeking rare ground-level encounters with polar bears and wolves. Footage from the lodge can be seen in films by National Geographic, the BBC, and most recently the National Audubon Society. Churchill Wild also has a very active social media presence on Instagram and Facebook – the latter of which is the Churchill Wild Women’s Travel Group – and additional social profiles including YouTube, Twitter, Threads, TikTok and LinkedIn.
The appeal of Churchill Wild’s Polar Bear Safari lies not only in the unique opportunity to walk with polar bears, but also in the uniqueness and immersion in nature of the experience. Unlike traditional polar bear tours that rely on buggies or ships, Churchill Wild’s intimate ground-level encounters allow small groups of guests to deeply connect with polar bears and other Arctic wildlife in their home environment. This kind of luxury is not about opulence, but about the rarity and authenticity of the experience.
Churchill Wild sets the gold standard for polar bear tours and safaris. With its luxuriously remote accommodations, exceptional customer service, unparalleled safety record and the opportunity to see polar bears at ground level, it offers an experience that is immersive, exclusive, transformative and rare.
For those seeking a bucket-list luxury wilderness adventure, Churchill Wild offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk with polar bears and create cherished memories…
It will last forever.
Now booking for summer 2024 and 2025. Limited availability.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Churchill Wilde.
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