Churchill Manitoba is the Polar Bear Capital of the World - bears have been know to migrate right up the main street

Churchill, Manitoba - This town has earned its reputation as the Polar Bear Capital of the world. It's right on the migration route of the bears who like to come into shore during the warm summer months, and then head back out onto the ice flows of Hudson's Bay to feed on seals over the winter. Around the month of October as many as 100 will migrate near town, occasionally one will walk right up the main street. There's even a Polar Bear Jail where unwanted guests are accommodated until the ice on Hudson's Bay is solid enough for them to continue their journey. Special giant-wheeled tundra vehicles take tourists out for safe viewing/photography sessions. Photograph courtesy Travel Manitoba.

Where: There are no actual roads to Churchill, so the two ways to travel there from Winnipeg are by air (2 hours) or rail (48 hours.) You could also drive to Thompson, Manitoba and then fly or take an overnight train.

In the News: I visited Churchill Oct 27th, 2011 to view the polar bears close up from a Tundra Buggy on an adventure with Frontiers North. It was a fabulous experience. The first day on the Tundra Buggy we spotted a dozen of the great white bears, the second day we sighted 15. Read about the experience, and check out the Tundra Buggy live webcam.

Canada’s Coolest:

Welcome to a new feature on Canada Cool. I'll be presenting different 'Coolest' lists with my favorites and I encourage you to nominate suggestions from your own experiences. You can Twitter @CanadaCool or email [email protected]. Let me know what makes your suggestion exceptionally cool. Remember, by contributing your comments you are giving Canada Cool permission to quote you. Only a selection of submissions will be included, but all comments and submissions are greatly appreciated!

The first feature is: Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives

Here are some of my favorites...

The Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta - This 229 km (142 mi) Rocky Mountain route from Banff/Lake Louise to Jasper passes 100 frozen rivers and nudges the base of the Athabasca Glacier - the most accessible glacier in the world. You can stop and explore it. It spills down from the Columbia Icefield, an area of ice so massive that you could fit the entire population of North America on it with each person getting at least a square metre of space.

The Corridor, Algonquin Park, Ontario – this 56-km stretch of Hwy 60 cuts through the southwest section of Algonquin Park. Less than three hours north of Toronto the park is a nature-lover's paradise with 7,725 km of lakes, rivers, forest, trails, camping, comfortable lodges and 2000 km of canoe routes. Offers hiking trails to stop and enjoy, but what makes it really cool is that it’s one of the best places in North America to spot moose (especially in May and June). And, on Thursday nights in August up to 600 cars will gather to listen to wolves howl.

The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia – Driving this 303 km (187 mile) route is like riding a roller-coaster: the road snakes around hairpin turns, rises to heights over 365 metres (1200 ft), weaves around headlands revealing spectacular coastal scenery, and plunges down to sea level taking you into the heart of small fishing communities. The most dramatic scenery is between the Cape Breton Highlands National Park entrance near Cheticamp and Pleasant Bay, so go slow. And, plan some flexibility into your schedule, so you can drive it on a clear day.

And here are some of your nominations for 'Canada's Coolest Single Day Scenic Drives'...

More from Canada’s Coolest

'Canada's Coolest' topics we'll be publishing in the future:

• Golf Course Features
• Haunted Hotels
• Hotel Special Services

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