Stretching along the southern shore of Hudson Bay in northern Ontario, Polar Bear Provincial Park covers roughly 2.4 million hectares, making it the largest park in the province. Long before it gained that status, however, this vast expanse of tundra and wetland served as the seasonal hunting grounds of the Cree, one of Canada's many Indigenous peoples. Archaeological evidence suggests that Cree communities travelled and lived across the region for thousands of years before European traders reached the bay in the seventeenth century. The area's rivers and coastline drew trappers and fur merchants who exploited the land for economic gain, and the region's resources still shape the local economy today.
By the middle of the twentieth century, conservationists and northern residents began to recognize the value of protecting this remote landscape, not only for future generations but also to shield its fragile wildlife from over-hunting and unchecked development. Persuading the provincial government to act took years of effort, as more pressing matters occupied officials' attention. The park was finally established in 1970. Because it can be reached only by air, and because no roads cross its interior, the park has never been developed for ordinary tourism and is managed chiefly as a protected wilderness rather than a recreational destination.
