grizzly sow and cubs fishing for salmon

My husband and I had the most spectacular vacation in September at Knight Inlet Lodge. The entire trip in and around Vancouver was great, but Knight Inlet Lodge was definitely the highlight. I’ve always been a “bear lover” and the opportunity to view them in the wild was a dream come true. My husband researched a variety of places to do this, and consistently found KI Lodge listed at the top. Now we know why – it was everything we hoped for and more. We saw so many bears I lost count, as well as having a fantastic nature walk, boating excursions, etc. The staff were all delightful and knowledgeable. The setting was beautiful beyond words. This was such an incredible experience!

We were fortunate enough to see a mother with two cubs quite frequently, as well as some older youngsters (“teenagers”). At one point the mother was casually strolling along the stream with her cubs nearby when a large male bear came down the stream. It was fascinating to watch how instantly her demeanor, and that of her cubs, changed. The cubs had been wandering around, easily distracted, but now suddenly sat down side by side on the edge of the stream as close to their mother as they could. She stayed between them and the male bear, in a very alert and tense pose. The male bear never really showed much interest but she did not relax until he moved off a bit and then she herded her family further around the corner of the stream. We saw a lot of “snorkeling” by the bears. This was fun to watch, and so different than the salmon fishing you see the bears do most frequently on TV. We went out to the bear stands many times, and were rarely without a bear somewhere in sight. The most difficult thing was leaving each time!

We primarily focused on the bears, but did experience a number of the other options and all were incredible. The rainforest nature walk was probably top (after the bears, of course). The guide knew so much about what we were seeing. There had been a huge storm just days before we arrived, which had literally changed the landscape of the walk. He told us about how some of the river crossings were changed, and guided us around areas with fallen trees. We saw a number of paw prints in the mud, and even a wet paw print on a wooden plank crossing a creek, so we know the bears were nearby. The eagles were everywhere. Even a slug we found was beautiful!

I cannot imagine a more perfect vacation. Thank you to all the staff at Knight Inlet Lodge!

Glendale Cove, Knight Inlet, British Columbia,

Photos courtesy of Daniel Goldammer