Overview
Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the part of Canada most Americans fly over. That is a mistake if you like wide skies, wildlife and places without crowds. Winnipeg is a real city with one of the country's best museums and a French-speaking quarter. Churchill, on the shore of Hudson Bay, is one of the most reliable places on Earth to see wild polar bears, and in summer its river fills with white beluga whales.
Saskatchewan gives you the prairie at its most elemental: a national park where plains bison graze among badlands, dark-sky preserves with some of the blackest night skies in southern Canada, and an Indigenous heritage park outside Saskatoon that has been a gathering place for thousands of years. The northern halves of both provinces are boreal forest and lakes, closer to Minnesota's Boundary Waters than to the wheat fields people picture.
For Alberta's prairie, from Calgary to Drumheller, see Calgary; for Churchill's aurora, see northern lights.
How big and empty it is
Manitoba and Saskatchewan each cover about 250,000 square miles (650,000 km²). Together they are nearly twice the size of Texas and hold fewer than 3 million people, most of them in the southern band within a few hours of the US border. Winnipeg alone has more than 800,000 people in its metro area; Saskatoon has about 300,000 and Regina about 250,000.
Out on the land, towns are small and far apart, marked from miles away by grain elevators. North of the farm belt, roads thin out and then stop; Churchill has no road at all.
Different from home
The southern prairie looks a lot like North Dakota and Montana, and the US border runs straight across it. What changes is the services: in rural Saskatchewan, gas stations and restaurants can close by early evening and on Sundays. Fill up when you see a station, and carry water and snacks.
Winnipeg to Riding Mountain, Saskatoon and Grasslands is already about 900 miles (1,450 km) of driving, so pick a focus.
Getting there from the US
By air
Winnipeg's James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (YWG) is the main gateway. US nonstops are limited and change by season, with Minneapolis the most consistent connection; otherwise you connect through Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver or a US hub. Saskatoon (YXE) and Regina (YQR) have mostly domestic service plus a few seasonal US flights. See flights for how routes and US preclearance work.
By car
From the Upper Midwest, driving is easy. I-29 north from Fargo becomes Manitoba Highway 75 at the Pembina–Emerson crossing, open 24 hours, and Winnipeg is about 220 miles (355 km) from Fargo, roughly 3.5 hours plus the border. For Saskatchewan, US 52 from Minot reaches the North Portal crossing, about 2.5 hours from Regina. Check border crossings for wait times, and driving in Canada for US license, insurance and rental-car rules.
Watch out
Many small prairie crossings are not open around the clock; some close in the late afternoon or evening, and a few keep shorter hours in winter. If you are using anything other than Emerson, North Portal or another 24-hour port, check the CBSA directory for that crossing's hours before you set out.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg sits where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet, a gathering place for Indigenous nations for about 6,000 years and later the hub of the fur trade and the railways. It is a friendly, unpretentious city with strong arts, good restaurants and low hotel prices, and its long, very cold winter is something locals embrace on skates.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
The national human rights museum, opened in 2014, is the glass-and-stone building with the spire in every Winnipeg photo. Long ramps of backlit alabaster lead through galleries on Indigenous rights, the Holocaust, residential schools and civil rights movements. Adult tickets cost C$23 (about $16), youth 7–17 C$11 (about $8) and seniors C$18 (about $13); children 6 and under and Indigenous visitors are free, and admission is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month. It is closed Mondays outside special periods, so plan around that.
The Forks
The old rail yards at the river junction are now Winnipeg's public square: a market hall with a food court and local bar, shops, a riverwalk, a skate plaza, and summer concerts. In winter it is the base for skating trails on the frozen rivers. The site has been a National Historic Site since 1974 and is where many visitors start.
Exchange District
About 20 blocks of early-1900s warehouses and terra-cotta office buildings from Winnipeg's boom years as the grain capital of the West, now a National Historic Site and a favorite film location. The streets around Old Market Square have cafés, galleries and some of the city's best restaurants.
Saint-Boniface
The largest French-speaking community in Western Canada, across the river from The Forks. Visit the ruins of the Saint-Boniface Cathedral, the grave of Métis leader Louis Riel, who led the creation of Manitoba, and the Saint-Boniface Museum. You will hear French in shops and bakeries; "bonjour" is appreciated.
Qaumajuq at the Winnipeg Art Gallery
The Winnipeg Art Gallery's Inuit art center, opened in 2021, holds the world's largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art. Its glass vault of carvings, visible from the main floor, is one of the most striking museum displays in Canada.
Assiniboine Park and Zoo
A big urban park with gardens, a sculpture garden and a zoo whose Journey to Churchill exhibit lets you watch polar bears swim overhead through an underwater tunnel. If Churchill is out of your budget, this is the next best thing.
Winter: skating trails and Festival du Voyageur
When the river ice is thick enough, usually from January into late February, The Forks clears a skating and walking trail on the Red and Assiniboine rivers called the Nestaweya River Trail. In good years it has run for miles, with architect-designed warming huts along the way. Its opening date and length depend entirely on the ice, so check The Forks' trail updates before you build a trip around it. You can rent skates at The Forks.
Festival du Voyageur, the largest winter festival in Western Canada, celebrates the fur-trade voyageurs, Métis culture and francophone Manitoba in Saint-Boniface. The 2027 festival runs February 12–21 at Voyageur Park, 233 Provencher Boulevard. Expect snow sculptures, fiddle music, maple taffy on snow, and heated tents serving pea soup and caribou, a sweet fortified-wine drink. Tickets for 2027 were not yet on sale in October 2026, and some days sell out. Parking costs C$10 (about $7) and is limited, so take a bus or taxi. Manitoba's Louis Riel Day holiday falls during the festival, which makes it a busy long weekend.
Watch out
Winnipeg is one of the coldest big cities in the world. January highs average around 12°F (-11°C), and nights below -20°F (-29°C) are normal, colder with wind chill. Bring a real parka, insulated boots, a hat that covers your ears, and mitts. Exposed skin can freeze in minutes on the worst days. See winter in Canada for clothing.
Summer in Winnipeg
Summers are warm, around 79°F (26°C) on a typical July afternoon, with long evenings. The Winnipeg Folk Festival fills Birds Hill Park north of the city in July, and Folklorama, a festival of pavilions run by local cultural communities, takes over early August. Bring mosquito repellent for any evening outdoors.
Save money
Winnipeg hotels are among the cheapest of any large Canadian city. Good downtown rooms often fall in the $$ range even in summer, and restaurants cost noticeably less than in Toronto or Vancouver. Remember that Manitoba's 12% sales tax is added at the register.
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town of fewer than 1,000 people on the west coast of Hudson Bay, where the boreal forest gives way to tundra. Every fall, hundreds of polar bears gather along the shore nearby, waiting for the bay to freeze so they can return to the ice to hunt seals. Travel Manitoba puts the number at about 600 bears active near the coast in the season. In summer, belugas fill the Churchill River estuary, and in late winter the aurora takes over.
Polar bear season
Bear season runs from about mid-October to early or mid-November, depending on when the ice forms. You see the bears from tundra vehicles: oversized, heated buses on huge tires, with viewing platforms at the back, that drive designated trails in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. The province limits how many operators and vehicles can work there. The two big names are Frontiers North, which runs Tundra Buggies and the Tundra Buggy Lodge, a train of bunk cars parked out on the tundra, and Great White Bear Tours. Most trips include one or two full days on the tundra.
It is expensive, and it sells out. As a real example, one Churchill-based operator's 2026 three-night package cost C$5,199 (about $3,700) per person in a double room plus GST, with the round-trip flight from Winnipeg an extra C$1,580 (about $1,130). Its one-day fly-in trip from Winnipeg, leaving at 6:15 am and returning at 10:45 pm, cost C$2,249 (about $1,600) plus GST, and every 2026 date was sold out by late October. Lodge-based and specialist photography trips generally cost more. Most of that operator's 2026 departures were sold out by late October, so for 2027, start shopping now.
Insider tip
The tundra days are the point of the trip. Choose a package with two if you can, since weather and bear activity vary from day to day. Late October usually balances bear numbers and daylight best.
Belugas in summer
From early July to late August, more than 55,000 beluga whales move through western Hudson Bay, and thousands enter the Churchill River to feed and calve. You can see them from a boat, a kayak or a stand-up paddleboard, and some operators put you in a drysuit to float or snorkel among them. The whales are curious and vocal, and on a calm day you hear their whistles through the hull. Trips often add Prince of Wales Fort, an 18th-century Hudson's Bay Company stone fort across the river. Summer packages cost less than bear season but still book up; check operators' current rates.
Northern lights
Churchill sees aurora on roughly 300 nights a year. The best viewing is on clear nights from January to March, with a smaller window in late August and early September; expect -20°F (-29°C) and wind. See northern lights.
Getting to Churchill
There is no road. You have two choices, and most packages include the first.
- Fly. Calm Air flies from Winnipeg, about 2.5 hours. During bear season, many tour companies charter their own flights as part of the package. Flights are expensive: one tour operator charged C$1,580 (about $1,130) round-trip as a package add-on in 2026.
- Train. VIA Rail's Winnipeg–Churchill train covers about 1,060 miles (1,700 km) and takes roughly 45 hours, so two nights each way. It has recently run twice a week from Winnipeg, leaving around midday on Tuesdays and Sundays, with sleeper and economy cars and meals in the sleeper fare. The route crosses farmland, then hundreds of miles of boreal forest and muskeg. Schedules and fares change, so check VIA Rail's site before planning around specific days.
A cheaper middle route is to drive or fly to Thompson, about 470 miles (760 km) north of Winnipeg, and take the train from there, which cuts the rail portion to one night instead of two. Arrange secure parking in Thompson before you go.
Watch out
Polar bears do walk into Churchill. The town has a Polar Bear Alert program, and bears that won't leave are held in a holding facility, known locally as "polar bear jail," then relocated away from town. In season, never walk beyond the edges of town or along the shore, don't walk around after dark, and obey the warning signs. If someone tells you to get inside a building or vehicle, do it right away.
In town, the Itsanitaq Museum has an outstanding collection of Inuit carvings and artifacts, and Parks Canada runs a visitor center in the train station with exhibits on Wapusk National Park, a major polar bear denning area visited only with licensed operators. During bear season, nearly every room in Churchill is held by tour companies, which is one more reason to book a package.
Riding Mountain National Park
Riding Mountain rises about 1,500 feet (450 m) above the surrounding farmland on the Manitoba Escarpment, about 3.5 hours northwest of Winnipeg. It is an island of aspen forest, meadows and lakes, with elk, moose, black bears, wolves and a small herd of plains bison in an enclosure near Lake Audy that you can view from a drive-through road.
The park's town, Wasagaming, sits on Clear Lake: a summer-cottage village with a beach, log-cabin-style buildings from the 1930s, ice cream, and rentals of bikes, canoes and kayaks. The park has hiking trail networks ranging from short lakeside walks to multi-day backcountry routes, and campgrounds with serviced sites and oTENTiks. You need a park pass, sold at the gates.
Watch out
Zebra mussels have been found in Clear Lake. If you bring a canoe, kayak or boat, clean, drain and dry it before and after launching, and check the park's current watercraft rules before you go.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan's south is grassland and wheat, broken by river valleys and badlands; the north is boreal forest and lakes. The cities are pleasant bases, and the parks are the draw.
Saskatoon
Saskatoon, the larger city, spreads along both banks of the South Saskatchewan River, linked by bridges and a long riverside trail system run by the Meewasin Valley Authority. Remai Modern, the city's art museum, has a large collection of Picasso linocuts. Broadway Avenue and the Riversdale neighborhood have the best cafés and restaurants, and the Delta Bessborough, a 1930s railway-style château, is the landmark hotel on the river.
Wanuskewin Heritage Park
Just north of Saskatoon, about 15 to 20 minutes from downtown, Wanuskewin is a First Nations heritage park in the Opimihaw Creek valley, where people have gathered for more than 6,000 years. Archaeological sites include bison kill sites, tipi rings and a medicine wheel. Plains bison returned to the park in 2019 after an absence of about 150 years. The visitor center has galleries, Indigenous-led programs and a restaurant serving contemporary Indigenous dishes, and you can book tipi sleepovers in summer. Hours change with the seasons, so check before you drive out. See Indigenous Canada for respectful visits.
Regina
Regina, the capital, is a government and RCMP town. The RCMP Heritage Centre tells the story of the Mounties beside the force's training academy, and the domed Legislative Building looks over Wascana Lake in one of the largest urban parks in North America. The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is free (donations welcome) and has a strong dinosaur and natural history gallery. An hour west, Moose Jaw has a historic downtown and guided tours of underground tunnels linked to Prohibition-era stories.
Grasslands National Park
Grasslands, on the Montana border in the southwest, protects one of the last large pieces of mixed-grass prairie in North America. The West Block, near the village of Val Marie, has the Ecotour Scenic Drive, a gravel road with pull-offs past colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (the only place in Canada they live) and free-roaming plains bison. The East Block, reached by gravel roads south of Wood Mountain, has the badlands of Killdeer and Rock Creek Campground. Both blocks have campgrounds with oTENTiks.
Grasslands is also one of the darkest places in southern Canada and a designated dark-sky preserve. On a moonless night in late summer the Milky Way stretches from horizon to horizon. Bring a red flashlight and give your eyes 20 minutes.
Watch out
Grasslands is remote. There is little or no cell service, the roads are gravel or clay that turns slick after rain, and there is no drinking water on most trails. Carry plenty of water, watch for rattlesnakes in summer, and keep well back from bison: they are faster than they look and injure people every year in North American parks. From October to May, Parks Canada warns that you should be prepared to be completely on your own.
Nearby, the T.rex Discovery Centre in Eastend tells the story of Scotty, one of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever found, and Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park on the Alberta line is another dark-sky preserve.
Prince Albert National Park
Prince Albert, about 2.5 hours north of Saskatoon, is where the prairie turns to boreal forest. Waskesiu Lake, the park's town, has a beach, golf course, cabins and restaurants in summer. The classic trip is to Grey Owl's Cabin on Ajawaan Lake, home of the 1930s conservationist Grey Owl: about 12.5 miles (20 km) each way by trail or by canoe, so most people camp overnight.
Good to know
The free-admission Canada Strong Pass ended on September 7, 2026, and normal park fees apply again. See national parks for passes and reservations.
Driving the Trans-Canada across the Prairies
Highway 1, the Trans-Canada, crosses both provinces in a mostly straight, mostly divided line from the Ontario border to Alberta. Winnipeg to Regina is about 357 miles (575 km), around 6 hours. Regina to Calgary is about 470 miles (760 km), around 7.5 hours. The more northern Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16) links Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton, and is the better route if you are heading toward Jasper.
Most of the divided highway is posted at 100 or 110 km/h (62 or 68 mph), and two-lane roads are usually 90 or 100 km/h (56 or 62 mph). Watch for lower limits through towns. The driving is easy but monotonous, so trade off drivers and stop every couple of hours. Good breaks include the sand hills of Spruce Woods Provincial Park in Manitoba, Moose Jaw, and the Cypress Hills before the Alberta line.
- Gas is sold by the liter and towns can be 60 miles (100 km) apart on secondary roads. Fill up at half a tank.
- Deer are common at dawn and dusk; moose and elk live in the parklands and forests further north.
- In winter, blowing snow can close Highway 1 with little warning. Check Manitoba 511 or the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline before you set out, and carry a winter kit.
Where to stay
Prairie hotels are cheaper than in most of Canada and rarely sell out outside festivals. Park campgrounds and oTENTiks open for booking in winter; see where to stay.
The Fort Garry Hotel
A 1913 railway château downtown with a Turkish-style hammam spa. The classic Winnipeg stay at a price that would be much higher in Toronto.
Inn at the Forks
A modern hotel at The Forks, steps from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the market and the winter river trail. Ideal in February.
Delta Bessborough
The castle-like 1930s hotel on the South Saskatchewan River, beside the riverside trails.
Hotel Saskatchewan
A grand 1927 hotel facing Victoria Park downtown, the most characterful base in the capital.
The Convent Country Inn
A former convent turned into a B&B in the village by Grasslands' West Block. Rooms are few, so book ahead for summer.
Churchill lodges and packages
Churchill has a handful of small hotels and lodges, including Lazy Bear Lodge and the Tundra Inn, but in bear season nearly all rooms are sold as part of tours. Outside bear season you can book directly.
When to go
| Season | What's good | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|
| June–August | Parks, festivals, long evenings, belugas in Churchill (July–August), wildflowers on the prairie | Mosquitoes, thunderstorms, occasional wildfire smoke from the north |
| September | Harvest colors, golden aspens in Riding Mountain and Prince Albert, quiet parks, dark skies | Some park services wind down after Labour Day |
| Mid-October to mid-November | Churchill polar bear season | Cold, short days, and the highest prices of the year in Churchill |
| December–February | River skating in Winnipeg, Festival du Voyageur (Feb 12–21, 2027), aurora in Churchill | Deep cold; roads can close for blowing snow |
| March–May | Churchill aurora into March, spring migration of snow geese and other birds | Muddy trails, many seasonal services closed until late May |
For province-wide weather, holidays and long weekends, see when to go.
Money, safety and practical notes
- Taxes. Prices are shown before tax. Manitoba adds 12% and Saskatchewan 11% at the register; hotel bills may also include a city accommodation tax. See money.
- Tipping works as in the US: 15–20% in restaurants, and guides on Churchill tours expect a tip at the end.
- Safety. Winnipeg has higher property crime than many Canadian cities, so take normal big-city care downtown at night and leave nothing visible in a parked car. Outside cities, the risks are weather, wildlife on roads and remoteness. See safety.
- Health. Your US health insurance and Medicare usually won't pay Canadian bills, and you will be charged non-resident rates. Buy travel medical insurance with evacuation coverage for Churchill, where serious cases are flown to Winnipeg. See health.
- Cell service is good in towns and along the Trans-Canada but disappears in Grasslands, the north and much of the railway to Churchill. Download offline maps. See staying connected.
Itineraries
Churchill polar bears (5 days from Winnipeg)
- Day 1
Winnipeg
Fly into Winnipeg the day before your tour starts; northbound flights leave early and connections are not worth risking. Most packages include a group dinner or briefing.
- Day 2
Fly north
Morning flight to Churchill. Town tour: the Itsanitaq Museum, the Parks Canada center, the polar bear holding facility from the outside, and the shipwreck and old military sites along the coast.
- Day 3
Tundra day
A full day on a tundra vehicle in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Dress in layers; you will step onto the open-air back deck often.
- Day 4
Second tundra day or dog sledding
Take a second tundra day if your package offers one. Otherwise, a dog sled outing, a helicopter flight, or a talk at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. Watch for aurora at night.
- Day 5
Back to Winnipeg
Afternoon flight south. Allow an overnight in Winnipeg before flying home, since northern flights can be delayed by weather.
Saskatchewan parks loop (7 days)
- Day 1
Saskatoon
River trails, Remai Modern and dinner on Broadway.
- Day 2
Wanuskewin
A half day at Wanuskewin, then drive 2.5 hours north to Prince Albert National Park and Waskesiu Lake.
- Day 3
Grey Owl's Cabin
Hike or paddle to Ajawaan Lake and camp at the backcountry site, or take shorter forest walks and swim at Waskesiu beach.
- Day 4
South to Regina
Drive about 5 hours to Regina. Royal Saskatchewan Museum and an evening walk around Wascana Lake.
- Day 5
Moose Jaw to Val Marie
Tunnel tour in Moose Jaw, then continue southwest to Val Marie. Check in, buy supplies, and drive the first part of the Ecotour Scenic Drive at sunset.
- Day 6
Grasslands
Prairie dogs and bison in the West Block in the morning, a hike to a butte, and a night of stargazing.
- Day 7
Eastend or out
Visit the T.rex Discovery Centre in Eastend and continue to Cypress Hills, or cross into Montana at a border post south of the park; check its hours first.
Add it to a route in the trip builder, or ask us to plan the hotels, trains and guides for you.