Great Bear Lodge

Getting to Great Bear Lodge is almost half the fun. Landing on a seriously remote and spectacular river estuary after an exhilarating floatplane flight from Port Hardy, you can almost hear the stillness. You scan the edge of the forest – is anything moving? Your journey into the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest has just begun. Waiting on the dock of the floating lodge, the friendly team at Great Bear Lodge are ready to welcome you into the world of the grizzly bear. You’ll be shown to your room (there are just eight in total, all simple but perfectly comfortable, with private bathrooms and shared shower facilities) and after lunch, it’s time to head out on your first wildlife viewing trip. Seeing your first grizzly bear roaming free in its natural habitat is thrilling and humbling at the same time, and it’s not something you are likely to forget in a hurry.

Over the next few days, the small specialist team of expert biologist guides will take you out to explore the magnificently pristine ecosystem. Viewing at close quarters is done either from a hide above the river or from a boat on the estuary depending on where the grizzly bears are. Bears are most visible from late August to early October when the salmon run, but can also be seen in spring and summer. Other wildlife (wolves, otters, bald eagles, black bears, pine martens and mink) may also be seen, and sometimes even a humpback whale breaching in the estuary. In between the morning and afternoon wildlife viewing, other activities are offered, including boat trips, sea kayaking and interpretive rainforest walks to learn about the ecology of the forest. Great Bear Lodge provides all the gear you need, including binoculars, rain gear and rubber boots. It does rain a lot here, but if you’re lucky enough to have a patch of clear weather, the views are simply spellbinding. The BBC in fact used Great Bear Lodge as their base while filming for the series Secrets of Our Living Planet.

Back at the lodge, you can relax with a glass of wine on the wooden deck surrounding the lodge, gen up on your natural history in the library and chat with your fellow guests round the fire in the living room (there is a maximum of sixteen staying at any one time ensuring that the atmosphere is always personal and intimate), before feasting on a superbly prepared dinner that might include fresh-caught crab or salmon baked on a cedar plank. The guides and staff are always available to chat to, and love sharing their passion for the wildlife of British Columbia, either informally or in one of their regular evening presentations. The final night of your bear viewing adventure is spent in Port Hardy as a safeguard against unpredictable weather.

When to go

Great Bear Lodge is open from May to October each year and offers a variety of packages. For bear watching the prime months are late August to October, but they may be seen at other times too. Spring and autumn are often quite mild and pleasant but the rainfall can be heavy, while summers are relatively dry and sunny with warm temperatures.