Autumn Grizzly Viewing

In September and October we offer our guests fully-immersive grizzly-viewing, nature and wilderness holidays. The focus is on viewing totally wild Rocky Mountain grizzly bears deep in their own habitat.

But we do much else besides – rafting down our wilderness river, walking through the high alpine and watching and tracking other wild animals, such as elk, beaver and moose, and occasionally wolves, cougars and bobcats.

Each day we head out into remote terrain – both in the alpine and down on the river in the rainforest – walking on bear trails, following bear tracks, and viewing bears in their natural habitat.

At this time of year we sometimes view high-elevation bears feeding undisturbed on huckleberries in the high country (until early October).

We also watch grizzly bears – sometimes with cubs in tow – fishing for the salmon that come up our wilderness river.

We are experts at tracking bears and deciphering their prints and other sign. We will show you how to read tracks, rubs and tiny hair samples left on trees and explain how bears read the landscape they are moving through.

The grizzly-viewing we offer is a fully-immersive experience. We head out into the wilderness with no physical barriers between us and the bears and other animals.

Our guides are experts in interpreting bear behaviour and body language and it is this knowledge that allows us to walk with confidence around wild grizzly bears, even mums with cubs.

Our valley is little known and we have the only permit to view bears in our area. Often on our walks we don’t see another person all day.

In the days you are with us we will take you high into the mountains to experience the raw beauty of the Canadian alpine and its unique ecosystem.

We will also take you rafting on one of BC’s most beautiful wilderness rivers offering a chance to watch the spawning salmon as well as bald eagles, kingfishers, mergansers and American dippers.

Our holidays are not especially physically demanding. But you should be able to walk comfortably for a couple of hours at a time over uneven terrain, both up and down, and at different elevations.

You will typically be in a very small group with one expert bear guide and two to four guests. Our age recommendations for the autumn are 14-75.

We do not aim to cater for all tastes. The experience we offer is about as far from a zoo as it is possible to get. Our focus is on viewing bears and other animals naturally.

Some grizzly-viewing operations use wildlife-viewing platforms that can seat a dozen or more guests at a time. Some draw in semi-tame bears with various forms of artificial or natural attractant.

What we offer is a wilder, more natural, and less static experience.

Our autumn grizzly-viewing experiences are not designed for professional photographers or those with tripods.

Many guests do come away with excellent photographs (all the photos on this website are taken at or near the lodge) but the experience of viewing wildlife is always our priority.

Safety is at the core of what we do. As well as being trained naturalists and certified bear guides, we are also trained in off-road driving, swift-water rescue (rafting guides only) and wilderness first aid.

We follow a set of established bear-viewing protocols under the guidance of one of Canada’s top bear biologists. Julius, your lead guide, has well over a decade’s experience walking around wild bears.

In more than a dozen years of operating we have never had an incident, or even a close call.

Wild Bear Lodge is a leading member of the British Columbia Commercial Bear Viewing Association, an organisation which is responsible for promoting safe viewing and bear conservation.