Wapusk National Park

A lowland expanse of spongy muskeg and bogs, Wapusk (“white bear” in Cree) hugs the Hudson Bay coastline, offering prime denning habitat for polar bears and likely the best place on Earth to see one in the flesh. It’s a pit stop for rare migratory birds and home for Arctic foxes, timber wolves and the Cape Churchill caribou herd. Just to the south, historic York Factory still stands on the permafrost, one of Canada’s first and most important fur-trading posts.