The Canadian province of Manitoba, located at the country’s geographic center, offers visitors a wide range of experiences, including its culturally diverse urban capital, its distinctive wildlife, and its vast expanses of tundra stretching north to Hudson Bay. In Winnipeg, the provincial capital, you can explore unique museums, including the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and Qaumajuq, a contemporary Inuit art center; see the renowned Royal Winnipeg Ballet; or eat your way through the city’s Ukrainian, French, and Indigenous cuisines.

Other Manitoba attractions include the town of Gimli, which spotlights its Icelandic heritage. In Riding Mountain National Park, you can hike through the marshes and grasslands; look for bison, moose, and elk; and cool off in the lakes. In the far-north community of Churchill, you can spot polar bears, beluga whales, and, on a clear night, the Northern Lights. The sand dunes at Spruce Woods Provincial Park, the wooded trails of Whiteshell Provincial Park, and the canoe routes through Nopiming Provincial Park provide more ways to enjoy the outdoors among provincially protected lands.

Late summer and early autumn are the best times to travel across much of Manitobas. Summers can be hot and humid, and especially in spring and early summer, Manitoba’s mosquitoes are legendary. In September and early October, the weather cools and the leaves take on their fall colors, making them ideal months for booking one of the area’s cabin rentals. October and November are the peak months of Churchill’s polar bear season, while the best times to spot beluga are July and August. A late summer or early fall Churchill trip can, if you’re lucky, allow you to see both whales and bears. Winters across Manitoba are extremely cold and snowy, with temperatures in Winnipeg averaging only minus-13 degrees Celsius.

Winnipeg

Winnipeg highlights include the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and Qaumajuq, the Inuit art centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, which houses the world’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit artworks. There’s also the historic Forks District at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, which now has a popular food hall; and St. Boniface, Western Canada’s largest Francophone community, where you’ll find the ruins of a grand cathedral and sites related to the history of the Indigenous Métis people.

Churchill

Manitoba’s prime destination for wildlife viewing is the remote community of Churchill, where polar bears pass through in the fall en route to their winter hunting grounds on Hudson Bay. In summer, it’s beluga whales that travel through the Churchill River to mate and spawn.

Riding Mountain National Park

Three hours northwest of Winnipeg, Riding Mountain National Park is another spot for wildlife lovers, where you might see elk, wolves, black bears, and bison as you road trip across the park or walk its 400 kilometres (250 miles) of hiking trails. Swim or boat at Clear Lake, or go fishing for yellow perch, northern pike, and walleye.