Grizzly bears thrive here and the viewing opportunities are spectacular. We have operated our Grizzly Bear Lodge for decades and know the prime spots for bear watching. The ultimate grizzly bear photo opportunities.
This photo of a grizzly bear must be before all the fish appear in Knight Inlet’s Glendale River, as I do not see many fish in the water. Maybe why we have a “standing lean”, at least a better chance of seeing fish when they come. Our grizzly bear tours after August 25 leave the estuary and take place up the river where there is better chance of viewing bears as that is where the salmon are going to spawn.
Is photo by Tim O’Neil of a brown bear or a grizzly bear? It’s either or both, because these are common names that have no scientific basis. Grizzly bears received their name because their brown fur can be tipped with white. This gives them a “grizzled” look, especially when blacklit by the sun. All the bears in North America are the same subspecies except one subspecies that occurs in the Kodiak Island. The bears in BC’s rainforest are known as grizzly bears. The Knight Inlet grizzly’s colour ranges from a very light brown which is almost yellow in some bears and almost white in others to a dark brown which may appear black.
After August 25 the grizzly bear watching takes place from viewing stands on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. A classic pose after a good catch. A salmon in the mouth is the reasons the bears come to this part of British Columbia’s coast and also the reason we come.
Grizzly bear and in this case black bear cubs stay pretty close to mum especially when they are new born or first year cubs. They are not quite in step but never far behind. The first photo was taken on one of the “first evening in camp” trips that is normally a guests first boat trip of their stay. A good low tide and the bears come out to play / eat. The second photo is from the morning grizzly bear tour up Knight Inlet all safari trips whether for grizzlies or whales often involve black bears in this case a mother and three cubs.
The previous day’s blog show the food grizzly bears eat in the spring. Our guests frequently comment on the quality and quantity of good food provided for meals. From the seafood dinners served by your guides (we are versatile employees) to the self-serve picnic lunches. Although our “wilderness lodge” requires a floatplane flight from Campbell River it does not mean we “rough-it” for meals.
Some days the grizzly bear watching on July and early August are quite warm it is unlikely this was a “bath” rather think back on a hot day that you may have experienced and add a heavy fur coat. That is the likely reason mother and cub are in the water. They are in the Glendale River estuary which is a mixture of fresh and salt water so their coast will not contain allot of salt when dry. The sedge grass along the shore is the main reason for the grizzly bears to be in the area as the salmon to not appear until late August.
Again photos from Grant and Judith Fuller of Bangor NSW Australia. No these are not grizzly bears even if one appears to have a brown tinge to its fur, just two good-sized black bears. Whether on a whale safari or a grizzly bear tour we are constantly looking for black bears and other wildlife while we scan the shore from the boat. On your first evening in the lodge we do a black bear tour for about and hour and a half if the tide is low enough. Low tide is required, as it is hard to find bears on the beach if there is no beach.
The morning run up Knight Inlet on the grizzly bear tour is always interesting. It is a spectacular view, the lodge is located approximately 20 miles from the mouth, and the grizzly viewing area starts another 25 miles up the inlet, which is about 90 miles long. Eagles are abundant on the morning run this one being in the Glendale estuary the primary grizzly bear viewing area. Eagles are not always in trees it is not uncommon to watch them pick up a fish from the water and then land on shore to eat the “catch of the day”. Grant and Judith Fuller of Bangor NSW Australia provided the photos of the inlet and bald eagle.
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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