Personalised Bear Viewing away from the Crowds. As featured on New Lives in the Wild with Ben Fogle, in The Sunday Times, the FT, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Travel & Leisure and the Wall Street Journal.
A Small, Remote, Wilderness Lodge
Wild Bear Lodge is a Canadian bear-viewing lodge unlike any other.
Deep in the interior of British Columbia, far from the bustle, the trails that we use and the locations where we watch bears are ours alone. Few of them have ever seen a tourist.
We believe the most authentic bear-viewing experience comes from tracking bears through their habitat on foot, picking out signs of their passing, and then quietly watching them as they feed on grasses, berries or salmon.
We specialise in taking very small groups (usually 2-4 guests per guide) deep into bear terrain in remote valleys.
And we incorporate into our offerings a lot more besides: walks in the stunning sub-alpine, hikes through ancient forests, and rafting trips down our river to watch bald eagles and the spawning salmon.
Wild Bear Lodge (Grizzly Bear Ranch until 2019) has been running since 2006, making it one of the pioneer bear-viewing lodges in British Columbia.
It is owned and run by Julius Strauss, a veteran British war correspondent who has spent most of the last two decades living off-grid deep in bear country, and still does much of the guiding.
Some of the locations he will take you to see bears he has scouted from his bush plane. Others he has discovered on foot.
About a day’s drive from Vancouver, Calgary or Spokane in the US, the lodge is accessible by rental car.
As well as grizzly and black bears you may also get a chance to watch deer, moose, elk, bald eagles, porcupines, and, rarely, cougars, bobcats, coyotes and grey wolves.
We are surrounded by hundreds of square kilometres of unpeopled wilderness where animals interact with their habitat in the way they have since the last Ice Age.
Your own luxurious Riverside Cabin
We pride ourselves on the rugged professionalism, versatility, and perfect safety record of our guides. But we also offer old-fashioned hospitality as well as high-tech modern amenities.
Each guest or couple is given their own luxurious riverside log cabin with a wood-burning stove. There is high-speed internet in every cabin, tea, coffee, slippers, piping hot showers, fresh towels, binoculars and a bird guide.
Every evening our guests join us for dinner where we discuss what we have seen over a glass of wine and a fresh, generous meal.
After dinner guides often lead an interactive discussion about bears and wildlife in an atmosphere that is collegiate and relaxed.
We are extremely active in conservation and charity work.
Our signature achievement is spearheading a successful campaign to end grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia.
We have also taken part in a ground-breaking science project to develop facial recognition for grizzly bears.
Most recently the lodge has initiated a programme for wounded military veterans from different parts of the world.
Wild Bear Lodge has had extensive media coverage.
The FT, the Sunday Times, Travel & Leisure and the Guardian have all written about the experiences we offer.
The story of how Julius reinvented himself after a decade on the world’s frontlines as a war reporter has also featured on New Lives in the Wild with Ben Fogle.