Grizzly Bear Watching in Canada

If one animal represents the spirit of Canada, it is the grizzly bear. Grizzly bear watching in Canada is a possibility across the western half of the country. However, it is the forests and river banks of British Colombia (BC) that are particularly well renowned.

Grizzly bear watching in this Canadian province doesn’t even mean pulling on a jacket. That’s because these apex predators crop the grasses of hotel lawns as much as they roam the surrounding tree cover.

Unsurprisingly, British Colombia’s Great Bear Rainforest has an excellent range of lodges for grizzly bear watching in Canada. Edging the country’s Pacific coast, zodiac inflatable boats are a popular way to track down these ethereal animals.

At Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, accessible only by light aircraft, grizzly bears are often spotted without even leaving the hotel grounds. But river trips and guided walks through the Great Bear Rainforest can get you just as close.

On Canada’s Pacific coast, Berry Island’s Farewell Harbour Lodge is similarly well-placed for grizzly bear watching. Its shoreline location is a favourite haunt of foraging mother bears, while water taxis and zodiacs take visitors right into the heart of bear country.

These half tonne creatures are just as prolific at Knight Inlet Lodge on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. Though spotted from early spring onwards, its August that the lodge’s viewing platforms really come into their own. At this time of year, the resident grizzlies are focussed on the inlet, as it almost bubbles with egg-rich salmon.

Elsewhere, Spirit Bear Lodge is nestled on the coastline between Vancouver and Prince Rupert. It provides exclusive access to indigenous lands where the territory of grizzlies overlaps with that of spirit bears. One of the rarest animals in the world, its spirit bears (a subspecies of black bear with a white coat) make a stay here unique in Canada.