Fall on Knight Inlet’s many rivers is a time of plenty. The salmon start to arrive in mid-August and our lodge is permitted to proceed up the river to the viewing stands after August 25. On this wilflife tour day we have a good view of a “large” grizzly bear enjoying its catch. This bear does not move off the river as some of the small grizzly bears do rather it stays with the salmon. Why leave the good fishing and risk losing your spot on the river?
The lodge’s grizzly bear watching area in Knight Inlet contains a few large grizzlies. Nick-named the “boss bears” as they go were and when the want. Although it is nice to see the larger grizzly it is not always the best thing for long-term viewing. If a large bear is in the area of the lodge viewing stands it is often the only grizzly bear you may see. The best is to have them make and appearance then move off to the surrounding forest.
This grizzly bear is about thirty feet (ten meters) away. It is not looking at us but is more interested in the activity in the river just beyond the seagulls and whether it is safe to go for lunch. I know it is lunch as our tour viewing time is between ten and noon. OK it could be a late breakfast. The road behind the bear runs between the viewing stands on this section of Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The viewing stands are used after August 25 until the end of the season.
The tours from the lodge travel up Knight Inlet by boat and then take a short van ride to the viewing stands on the Glendale River’s spawning channel. The entrance to the viewing stands is made from steel posts and heavy gage wire. The stands are about ten feet (three meters) off the ground. Occasionally the juvenile bears are curious and would like to visit which is not a great idea but good for pictures.
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
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
Visit our Blog