Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/59721
132 Spectacular Parks and Outdoor Places Bakers Narrows Provincial Park is an ideal spot for camping, fishing and boating. There are also playgrounds, boat launches and three beaches. A scenic tower with interpretive signs accessed by a short climb, allows one to see for miles in all directions. Open May to September. location: 19 km/12 mi south of Flin Flon on Hwy. 10 p: 204-945-6784 toll free: 1-800-214-6497 Churchill, the Polar Bear Capital of the World, is the only human settlement where polar bears can be observed in the wild. The bears tip the scale at over 1,300 pounds, stand 10 ft tall and can move with surprising speed and agility. Best viewing time is October to early November. In summer, white beluga whales surface and plunge in the blue-green waters of the Churchill River. More than 3,000 beluga whales come in early July to feed and calve. Seals can also be seen in the harbour and caribou are frequently sighted along the coast. Visitors are awestruck upon seeing the haunting beauty of our aurora borealis (northern lights). Blue, green and white in colour, they swirl and dance in the still northern sky with performances that can be seen on clear nights. Snow Lake – Sunset Churchill is a birdwatchers' paradise – some 250 species of birds nest or pass through on their yearly migrations. Bird Cove is an excellent spot for bird- watching. The wreck of the Ithaca, caught in a windstorm in 1960 while carrying nickel ore from Rankin Inlet to Montreal, is at the western tip of the cove. Akudlik Marsh and Harbour Board Ponds are also very good spots for birdwatchers. On the tundra, lichens and miniature shrubs and flowers bloom each spring and fall. A short distance inland are patches of taiga (subarctic) forest, with black spruce, scattered white spruce and a thick mat of lichens. Twin Lakes is an island of boreal forest rising out of the surrounding subarctic tundra. Established in 1957, the Churchill Rocket Research Range is a National Historic Site located at the geographic centre of northern light activity. Churchill Trilobite Beach is a fossilized tropical beach nestled below the billion year old cliffs of Churchill quartzite. Four million years ago, this was the shoreline of a warm tropical sea located near the equator. The world's largest trilobite fossil, 72 cm long, was excavated in 1998. w: www.churchillchamberofcommerce.ca Boreal Gardens are green houses and gardens growing local produce. Free tours are offered Sunday 2 – 4 p.m. in July and August, other times by appointment. Admission charged for groups. location: east of town on Shore Rd. p: 204-675-8866 (6-9 p.m. Monday to Friday) Cape Merry Battery features the remnants of a gun powder magazine from the fur trade era, circa 1746. The battery was dismantled and rebuilt in 1749 on its present site. One lone cannon stands today, a stark reminder of its intent. Plaques remember Rev. Rasmus Jensen and the Fort Churchill fur trade post. Guided tours are available. location: on the east shore of the Churchill River across from Prince of Wales Fort p: 204-675-8863 w: www.parkscanada.gc.ca Churchill and Kaskatamagan Wildlife Management Areas along with Wapusk National Park protect significant tracts of Hudson Bay coastline from Churchill south along Hudson Bay and east to the Ontario border. They protect fragile coastal and tundra ecosystem that provide habitat for polar bears, caribou and geese. NOR TH OF 5 3 ° PHOTO: TANIS GRANDMONT