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Historic places in Churchill

6 historic buildings, sites and memorials in Churchill.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

York Factory, Churchill
Photo: Canada. Dept. of the Interior., Public domain

Historic places in Churchill

  1. See Not mapped

    York Factory

    Possibly the most important historic site in Northern Canada is this extraordinarily remote, decommissioned factory/office building, which was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company. As its central base of operations, this white building was for over 100 years essentially the capital of Rupert's Land, which comprised the majority of present-day Canada! The initial settlement established in 1670 was at the mouth of the Nelson River just west, and moved to the present and extant site in 1684. Up until 1957 York Factory remained a northern trading post. Getting out there is not a simple affair, but can be done from Churchill as a day trip through Hudson Bay Helicopters (see below), for a rather steep price!

    mid-July–30 Aug

  2. See

    Prince of Wales Fort

    Built by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1717, Prince of Wales Fort is the most northerly stone fort in Canadian history, and is in good shape structurally, following a couple of restoration efforts in the 20th century. The restoration continues today, and if you time your visit right, you can watch stonemasons working on the structure using traditional 18th century methods. It was a complete flop of a fort, though, falling to the French in 1782 without so much as a defensive shot being fired, its small non-military force surrendering immediately to the vastly superior French force.

    July–August (Beluga whale season), tours by requestAdmission fee changes annually, and the Parks Canada's website admits not to knowing what it is!

  3. SeeHistoric site

    Cape Merry

    An old cannon battery was set up in 1747 to protect the Hudson Bay Company's business on the Churchill River, rather stupidly, as the cannons there could be captured by an enemy and used to fire upon Prince of Wales Fort across the river. Nonetheless, it is a great scenic spot to look out on the bay and river and fort, with a genuine tundra ecosystem. The battery has been reconstructed with original stones found on location, with a single cannon left as a reminder of the site's history. Keep an eye out in bear season, as polar bears frequent the area when heading out onto the sea ice. It's not safe to walk from town, because of the bears, so take a taxi, get someone to give you a ride, or rent a car.

  4. Do Not mapped

    Helicopter tours

    Hudson Bay Heli

    Hudson Bay Helicopters is the only helicopter operator in town. Their one-hour Animal Tour is by far their most popular option, and they often guarantee to see wildlife. Caribou and polar bears are the most exciting, since they are big enough to see easily! The Animal tour takes you out to Cape Churchill and Wapusk National Park, and you will see polar bears that no one else gets to see—it's a unique ecosystem to see from a helicopter, and it is worth the money. The tour will also take you over the town, by Miss Piggy and the shipwreck, and Prince of Wales Fort. Photography isn't fabulous from the helicopter, but really, you will want to spend your time looking out the window anyway. Minimum three people. In the summer months they also will offer a day-long charter down to York Factory (see above). Specialty tours require advance notice, but you can just walk up to the door and get on an Animal Tour. Advance payment is never required, as weather can spoil a trip.

    Animal Tour: $500/person

  5. Do Not mapped

    Sea North Tours

    Sea North is a dedicated tours-on-the-water company, with a bunch of different options for summer visitors. A really cool tour is the June Flow Ice Tour (which depends on sea ice conditions), which will take you on a two-hour animal spotting tour among the breaking ice, $105. The more standard tour, of course, is the July–August Beluga and Fort Tour, 2.5-3 hours in a Zodiac, $105 adults/$52.50 kids under 13. Kayak and standup paddleboard tours also run July–August at $160/person and $170/person respectively for three hours.

  6. SeeMemorial

    Jens Munk Expedition Memorial

    Built 1920

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Churchill (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Place data from Overture Maps.