Walking With Wild Polar Bears: How A Dramatic, Arctic Safari Will Change Your Life Forever

The blizzard hit at first light, as freezing temperatures plummeted far below zero. One step outside and the icy winds stole my breath, along with my hopes of ever seeing polar bears in this blinding, relentless, white abyss. My fingertips froze in seconds, despite the layers upon layers of kit, and the swish of my fancy snow pants. 

Within minutes, our gun-toting guide stopped the SUV, and there she was…an enormous female polar bear, just a few feet away. She playfully dove down a bluff, face first, as a pair of heads popped out of their snow cave. Two babies, transfixed on their mother’s teachings, watched and waited as their mom rolled on her back, and slid on her nose, all the way back up to their den. As she burst into action with great abandon, while she expressed love and tenderness for her little ones, you would never know this mom had not eaten in more than eight months.  

Bears gather in great numbers and wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze, so that they can hunt for seals all winter.  The world’s largest polar bear migration on the planet is the big draw, for the tiny Canadian town of Churchill, where majestic beasts outnumber the residents. Fifteen thousand tourists book more than a year in advance during the high season, which lasts just a few weeks.  The flight over from Winnipeg on Calm Air is half full of cargo because everything in this remote town has to be flown in (even the doctors). You can also access Churchill by train, but the ride is long and often delayed.

I embedded with scientists and researchers at the Churchill Northern Studies Center, where they specialize in the study of wild bear behavior. University of Manitoba’s dynamic Dr. Jim Roth, and his lovely wife, Dr. Jane Waterman, connected us to some of the most fascinating academics there, all with a remarkable dedication to these majestic creatures.

Immersive education is the focus of the Science Center, which offers basic accommodations.  Guests overnight in bunk beds, use shared bathrooms, and dine with the researchers in the cafeteria.  There is a grand dome on the roof, which offers 360-degree views of the Northern Lights that appear more here than anywhere else on earth.  Scientists guide visitors during afternoon safaris and evening lectures.  

Dr. Doug Clark, from the University of Saskatchewan, sat with us to share his research on the conflict between humans and bears. He showed off remarkable images, shot on digital trail cameras, which track wildlife through movement.  His research uncovered grizzly and black bears in the same vicinity as polar bears, on the west coast of Hudson Bay.  Despite doom and gloom scenarios in the media when it comes to climate change, he noted that the population of polar bears in the area is considered stable.  

We spent the day out trekking polar bears with Nature 1st Guide Dave Allcorn, and Phillip Shimel, a graduate student of Dr. Jane Waterman, who collected data for her study on whiskers, to create a massive database of each bear’s unique identity.  The bears we saw looked healthy, active, and ample.  They move lightning fast and sneak up on their prey in a matter of seconds.  Males can weigh as much as 1500 pounds, their skin is black, with fur that is actually clear, but turns white in the sun’s reflection.  These arctic animals generally remain solitary, and are famous for their “poker face,” as it is nearly impossible to tell when these mostly gentle giants become agitated.  

It is illegal to lock your car doors in this small town, just in case you have to escape a polar bear’s hot pursuit.  Residents also keep their front doors open, and pound hundreds of nails into “welcome mats,” left upside down for unwanted intruders.

There is a polar bear jail, which temporarily houses troublemakers, who break into the bakery looking for food or linger too long on the streets, and the animals are eventually airlifted and sometimes released onto the ice.  Residents can call into a 24-hour hotline to report activity, while conservationists drive alert vehicles, on constant watch.  They shoot blanks and blare horns instead to avoid the risk of injury to the bears.  

We hired Custom Helicopters for a VIP tour high above the Hudson, the world’s largest saltwater bay.  Our luxury aircraft heated up in seconds, and featured sliding windows which open, for camera-toting passengers.  Our spectacular bird’s eye view of the arctic made this my favorite day, as we took off in the early hours, and soared above an infinity of frozen ice, to spot solitary, starving, polar bears that made the long trek in search of seals.  I will never forget the impact of a solo bear who patiently hovered over a hole in the ice, and could wait up to one week for a seal to pop up.

I was fortunate to stay at the Lazy Bear Lodge for the second half of this adventure, which is the only luxury lodge in the town of Churchill.  Friendly staff makes you feel at home inside this beautifully designed log cabin.  Guests enjoy large beds, and cozy, private rooms (no bunk beds or shared bathrooms and showers like other lodges). Wood fireplaces crackle alight throughout the lodge, and an extremely popular restaurant and coffee bar buzzes with excited visitors, sharing their polar bear stories and sightings from the day.  The eclectic crowd even draws polar bear whisperers, dog sledders, and Inuit natives all coming to enjoy the best food, desserts, and hot chocolates in town.  

While there are a couple of alternative lodge options to choose from around Churchill, none are as fully loaded as the family-run operation at Lazy Bear Lodge. Their personal touch and expertise offered up an exclusive experience, which is not normally available to luxury travelers.  I longed for a unique experience, instead of joining throngs of tourists, tucked inside Tundra buggies, which seem to be the vehicles of choice to view wildlife in the area.

Lazy Bear designed a remarkable experience, with knowledgeable, interesting, and intelligent, gun-toting guides, who whisked us away to the most inaccessible, far-flung locations, in a luxury SUV.  These desolate areas were devoid of people’s footprints as far as the eye could see.  The exclusive access enabled us to marvel up close with countless polar bears, cubs, Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare, and other wildlife.  Our Lazy Bear guides were a dynamic duo of professional photographers, Deb and Jason, who created an unforgettable journey.  

Lazy Bear also arranged an extraordinary dog sled ride in the dark, to see the Northern Lights above, with Bluesky Expeditions.  Gerald Azure runs Bluesky and grew up in communities which relied on dog teams as a form of transportation.  I am still not certain whether Gerald is more in love with his dogs than they are enamored with him.  He treats his pups like they are his family, and has remarkable relationships with each and every one of them.  Gerald’s fur family are happy, enthusiastic, and utterly affectionate with visitors.  His lovely wife Jenafor, also bakes the best cookies I’ve ever tasted with wild cranberries she picked herself.   

While a private, VIP experience might not be in your budget, Lazy Bear offers their brand new, custom-built, state of the art, Arctic Crawler Tundra vehicles for close up Polar Bear viewing.  Curious and far from shy, the bears will sometimes come right alongside the vehicles to sneak a peek at their visitors. 

The design and construction of the Lodge came about in the 1980s.  Wally Daudrich, Owner and Founder of Lazy Bear Lodge, was a local polar bear tour guide, who saw the potential of turning two tragic forest fires into a positive experience for visitors to this Arctic wonderland.  Most of the logs used for construction are recycled and harvested from the fires which ravaged the area decades earlier. Lazy Bear also runs a 40 acre Boreal Forest Research Facility that houses the Lazy Bear Organic Greenhouse, where they grow all our own organic produce.

It was difficult to leave Churchill, despite its harsh, frozen tundra and the small town that feels lost in the past. The windy, desolate shore remains in my mind as I spent countless hours studying the wildlife and listening to powerful stories about the areas history and legendary polar bear adventures. Everyone I came in contact with shared how this magical landscape forever changed them.

I am already planning my return to see the thousands of friendly Beluga whales that populate the area in the summer, as well as the sleepy polar bears returning from a long cold winter with their bellies full.