We offer an exceptional fly-in lodge for Grizzly Bear Watching and Whale Watching in British Columbia.
Learn about What’s happening at the Lodge, view our British Columbia’s Wildlife Report, read our Grizzly Bear Watching Blog and Whale Watching Blog. Learn more about a Day on the River Blog, see Our Tour Guide’s Photos & Blog and Photos from Our Guests.
The rivers along the BC coast, in the area of Knight Inlet are subject to extreme water level changes, which may wash out a bridge. This was not the case with Rick’s river rather it was an engineer who had a section of a bridge removed. After the fact no other official agrees with the decision but it takes time to have an error corrected. Until then we use a boat. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 10-11
On the extra day in camp we cross Knight Inlet through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick. This river is located on the BC mainland and we travel by road to Rick’s cabin. On the way to Rick’s we occasionally view Grizzly Bears on the road. We followed this grizzly bear down the road for five or six minutes and he stayed on the road until we reached the river. He made no attempt to head for the bush rather we were ignored until he got to HIS destination which also happened to be ours. If time permits and you have the interest river fishing can be enjoyed and in August catching is almost a sure thing. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 9-11
The morning grizzly bear viewing tour up Knight Inlet is always more memorable after an encounter with a Big grizzly. Guests like to compare the size of the bears they view on their day trips however a truly big grizzly bear will tend to keep other bears away until they have had a good feed. So maybe size is not a good thing. Is this one eating grass it is possible even though this picture was taken in September bears are still eating grass and berries along with salmon. Salmon along the BC coast and notably Knight Inlet arrive at the rivers in mid August and remain until late October.Bruce comments “Although prior to our visit we had read about the thousands of salmon that congregated up river at the end of “The Salmon Run”, the wall-to-wall density of the fish was an amazing sight.”Photos by Bruce & Carole Cripps 8-11
The grizzly bears we view on Knight Inlet are different than the Alaskan grizzly, as they are well fed and or not competing for food. It is estimated that there are over forty bears on the Glendale and enough food that serious fights are rare. Unlike their northern cousins Knight Inlet grizzly bears do not have open wounds or scares from previous years fights. Because of this it viewing “play fighting” on a regular bases is quite common.“We felt so privileged to be able to experience the bears up close in their own environment and Grizzly Bear Lodge’s exclusive use of the viewing stands at Glendale Cove enabled everyone in our group to get fantastic sightings.”Photos by Bruce & Carole Cripps 7-11
Your grizzly bear tour day up Knight Inlet to the viewing stands in the fall allows you an opportunity to view a variety of bear activity and behaviour. In this case this grizzly has eaten the head first, as it is high in mineral content. It appears that a better view is necessary to look for more food, possibly competition is near, or if you stand up it shows how big one is and you keep your fishing area. In this case Bruce provides the answer in his comment.“We had been watching this female grizzly bear catching the salmon on the weir for quite some time then it suddenly stood up to its full height when it picked up the scent of an approaching male!” Photos by Bruce & Carole Cripps 6-11
Knight Inlet runs approximately 100 kilometers into the BC mainland and is located off the East Coast of Vancouver Island about 100 kilometers north of Campbell River. There are seven rivers running into Knight Inlet but only the Glendale River has a “man made” spawning channel which means many more salmon than some of the other rivers and therefore grizzly bears come from the surrounding area to feed on the Glendale at the base of the viewing stands we use. Even though there are lots of salmon the first step is to catch the salmon. These grizzly bears seem to have that part of their job completed. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 5-11
Your day for grizzly bear watching you leave the lodge by 8:00 in the morning with a picnic lunch for a run up BC’s Knight Inlet to the grizzly bear viewing area of Glendale Cove. We use a boat made by Double Eagle, which means a lot to the guides as they are likely the best made boat on the BC coast. We share the tie up with a company from Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island. It is nice to have friends around when you are in a remote area. A pause and a picture break on the floating dock before heading to the viewing stands. Photos byBruce & Carole Cripps 3-11
The staff at Grizzly Bear Lodge has all been with the lodge for more than ten years each. They shall remain nameless until you arrive. These pictures remain small to hide the true identity of the staff. The cook, ever present maintenance man / deck hand and the guides all enjoy their work and spend allot of time with the guests. Share meals and hours of conversation around the same table. We all live on Vancouver Island and have spent our live along the BC coast. Photos by
Bruce & Carole Cripps 2-11
Grizzly Bear Lodge is located on Minstrel Island a small island part way up Knight Inlet. This is one of the largest inlets on BC’s coast and is located off the East Coast of Vancouver Island. It is a short plane ride from Campbell River.
If you return to the main website and go to “About” and then to “Guest Book” you will be able to read what past guest say about the lodge. Photos by
Bruce & Carole Cripps 1-11
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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