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Sights and landmarks in Churchill

12 sights worth seeing in Churchill: landmarks, galleries, monuments and viewpoints.

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

Wapusk National Park, Churchill
Photo: Ansgar Walk, CC BY 2.5 (licence)

Sights and landmarks in Churchill

  1. See

    Wapusk National Park

    This huge national park is difficult to visit, owing to its remoteness, and the fact that it houses a polar bear colony! (Wapusk means white bear in Cree.) Other animals include the usual suspects in this area: foxes white and red, arctic hare, snowy owls, and a few grizzlies that have been moving into the southern reaches as the temperature warms. The visitor center is in Churchill's train station. There are only three reasonable ways to get out here: a helicopter tour through Hudson Bay Helicopters, or a tour through Frontiers North or Wat'chee Expeditions. See our Wapusk National Park page for details.

  2. 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

  3. 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!

  4. SeeMuseum

    Itsanitaq Museum

    Formerly known as the Eskimo Museum, it has one of Canada's oldest collections of Inuit artifacts despite its small size (opened in 1944 by Catholic missionaries and still operated by the Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson), this museum has well detailed exhibits of all sorts of weird and interesting Inuit archaeological finds and sculptures. You will want well over an hour for the exhibits, and then some for the gift shop.

    Jul-Oct: Mon 1PM-5PM, Tue-Sat 9AM-noon and 1PM-5PM; Nov-Jun Mon-Sat 1PM-4:30PMSuggested donation $2

  5. 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.

  6. See

    MV Ithaca

    Another wreck, this time a big 260-ft steamship that ran aground in this tidal flat in 1960 with 3,000 tons of ore in its hold (the crew all survived this wreck too). Locals took advantage of the ore bounty, stripping the ship down! It is possible to hike out to the wreck in the summer in low tide, but seek local advice first to make sure you will be safe. You get a great view from the helicopter.

  7. See

    Goose Creek Observation Tower

    It's only really worthwhile to come down this way if you rent a car, but it is a nice spot for a picnic in the summer. The observation tower looks out over Goose Creek towards the Churchill River, and is a good spot for birdwatching (it's also popular with aurora watchers).

  8. See

    Inukshuk

    Inukshuk roughly translates to "representing a person" in Inuktitut, and is a predominant symbol of the Canadian North, in the form of a humanlike stone-cairn. While there are a few inukshuit in the area, this one is by far the most popular for its striking location on the shore of Hudson Bay, and is especially popular for aurora photography.

  9. See

    Miss Piggy

    Filled with Coca-Cola and a snowmobile, this cargo plane crashed in 1979 (the crew survived), and has now become a tourist attraction. The odd name came from the rotund shape of the plane and the curious rumour that it did once transport a cargo of pigs. You will need a car to get you here. You're not really supposed to, but you can even go inside!

  10. SeeMuseum

    Eskimo Museum

    242 Laverendrye Ave

  11. SeeLibrary

    Churchill Public Library

    180 La Verendrye Avenue

    Open now · closes 4:45 pmWi-Fi

  12. 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.