This is why the grizzly bears come to Knight Inlet’s Glendale River in the fall. The metal posts are from the weir, which controls the water level in the man made spawning channel. If you look closely you can see the legs and nose of a grizzly trying to make a selection.
When you book an extra day at our lodge on Knight Inlet it comes with a trip to the Kakweikan River. This is a remote river, about forty-five minutes from the lodge. Few people that are not our guests visit this area. It has fantastic scenery, occasionally grizzly bears and river fishing if your are interested. The day is spent with Trapper Rick who has earned his living on the river for better than twenty years. Photo byPeter Palstring 6-6
Resident orca spend their summers in the area between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland and are likely to be found near Robson Bight which is part of the Johnstone Strait. A good orca photo will try to capture the bulk of the orca out of the water with their eye patch showing. Success! Wildlife normally viewed on a “whale watching tour” included orca, humpback whales, stellar sealions, seals, eagles, a variety of ducks and frequently black bears. Photos by
Peter Palstring 4-6
A common question on a grizzly tour is ” Is that a male or female grizzly bear?” If it has cubs or if it is a really large bear not to hard to answer. If not you need a grizzly to do what this one is doing on the beach: females urinate backward and males forward. Other than that often your guess is as good as mine unless it is a bear we see frequently and are able to identify. As the grizzly viewing part of the tour comes to an end it is time to head back to the lodge. Still on the look out for wildlife on the shore, in the air or coming out of the water. Photos by
Peter Palstring 3-6
Some of the Knight Inlet grizzlies are bigger than others and this is an example of a healthy grizzly bear. The good sized hump, belly a little closer to the ground (a fall belly rather than a June belly) and a good set of claws all indicate a larger bear. Grizzlies in the estuary accept our watching as long as we remain outside their comfort zone they pay little attention to our “annoying” picture taking. Photos by
Peter Palstring 2-6
Just like that another season has come to an end. We are grateful for all the wonderful staff and the guests this season. It was an excellent season and we are already looking forward to next May.
One of the highlights of the season was all of the new cubs out. It was awesome to see so many new cubs of the year and that is great news for our bear populations moving forward. We had great spring viewing and this continued through summer. On our river trips we started to see salmon arriving in August and enjoyed some great shoulder season viewing. The fish at the viewing platforms were a little late showing up this year, but viewing during late September at the platforms was great and the estuary viewing remained strong throughout the season.
Out in the whale watching world it was another year that saw large numbers of resident Orca who remained in the area right into October. The Humpback viewing was also great with large numbers feeding in Blackfish Sound. It is so amazing to have these magnificent animals back in our waters in such numbers.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We rebuilt the front deck last spring, utilising cedar cut on site. We will continue with some siding, rooms improvements and hopefully a floating sauna ready for the start of our season.
2026 is already looking like a very busy season for us. We only have limited high season availability so please book early to ensure we have space for your group.
Looking forward to seeing you next year
Angus Reid
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