Best time to see Grizzly Bears in Canada on your wildlife holiday
Published on: July 15, 2021
This expert guide from our wildlife consultants who have been visiting Canada since 2003, looks at the different seasons for grizzly bear viewing and how to maximise your grizzly bear safari experience. A grizzly bear safari in Canada is one of the premier wildlife experiences, but like all wildlife safaris it is important to understand the different seasons in order to plan you Canadian wildlife holiday in such a way to maximise your grizzly bear viewing.
Grizzly bear tours in Spring
The first bears will emerge from their winter dens in early April and after their long hibernation and several months ‘fasting’ you can imagine that feeding and putting weight back on will be their primary goal. This is particularly important for female Grizzly Bears with cubs who she will still be suckling.
Although it is possible to see them during April, it is by far the most difficult time of year to see them, as they prefer to stay in the forests eating berries and other early fruits. In addition, the weather in April on the Pacific coast of Canada is still quite cold and changeable so unless you are already in this part of the world on a trip, or visiting family, we would not recommend grizzly bear viewing in the Easter holiday period.
By the month of May the grizzly bears will move out of the woods as the berry season will be over and they will start to be seen by visitors at the many rivers, fjords and estuaries which dominate the beautiful west coast of British Colombia. Many of these coastal inlets are accessed by full day Grizzly bear tours from Vancouver Island, with the chance of good whale watching as you travel to the inlets to the bears feeding grounds. Many people are not aware that one of their primary food sources at this time of year is grass, to be more specific sedge grass, which is highly nutritious and a crucial part of their diet. Another important food source for them is crustaceans which are abundant in these remote estuaries and easy for the bears to open and feast on. Many grizzly bears can be found feeding ‘together’, with as many as 10 in one large estuary, but females with their spring cubs will stay on the outer edges to protect their offspring from large male grizzlies.
Some of the best Canadian lodges on Vancouver Island have wildlife viewing programs designed to maximise what is called the ‘Spring bear viewing season’ and during a good year the months of May and June (June is also regarded as the Spring Season) in British Colombia can result in seeing multiple bears and females with cubs. Here at Wildlife Trails we feel due to a number of factors, including global warming, that the spring bear viewing season can now be as productive as the more famous Autumn bear viewing season which follows the annual salmon run.
Allans top tips
Plan your Canada wildlife holiday for the end of May and early June so you have more chance of enjoying warmer weather on Vancouver Island and as well as some amazing spring grizzly bear viewing you may encounter more whales such as Orcas in the waters off Vancouver Island.
Vancouver Island Grizzly Bear Tours in the Summer
If we roughly take the summer as being the months of July and August – the peak season for human visitors to Canada – you can say that while grizzly bears are still seen during the day, the number of encounters dropped off compared to the spring and autumn bear viewing. This is due to less available food resources for the bears during the heat of the summer. The more dominant bears and skillfull mothers will already have put significant body mass on during the spring ‘feast’ and they can easily avoid the heat by staying in the dense shady forests. That said, grizzly bears are real opportunists and you will still see them around the rivers and estuaries, searching for crustaceans, or feeding on roots and grasses.
Of course those travellers restricted to the summer holidays – as we were when we visited Vancouver Island with the kids – may be concerned that they will not get much bear action of their Canada wildlife holiday. However, we did see a good number of bears by including multiple destinations during our Vancouver Island wildlife tour and the bonus is this is peak season for Orca safaris in Johnstone Strait where there are many family pods of Orcas. It is also a great time to see Humpbacks and Sea Otters off the northeast of the island, or in the beautiful waters of the Great Bear Rainforest.
Allan’s top tips
There is no way round the fact that the summer holidays in Canada and on Vancouver Island are busy with both local and international visitors so maybe avoid the real honeypot locations like Tofino and Campbell River and book a Canada wildlife lodge in a more remote area, like Hidden Cove, or Zeballos. You can still take wildlife trips from these smaller towns but without so crowds.
Grizzly Bears Fishing for Salmon in September
With a huge coast line bordering the vast Pacific Ocean, western BC has some of the largest salmon runs in the world and the importance of this annual migration cannot be underestimated for Canada’s apex predators, such as Grizzly Bears, Wolves and Orcas. When we started organising Canada wildlife holidays back in 2003 the salmon runs – there are 4 different species of salmon which return at different times – started strongly in late August and continued through to early October. However in recent years we have noticed a shift to the best salmon runs occuring in September and often extending well into October. So when you are planning your grizzly bear safari, the month of September is a very attractive proposition; fewer human visitors, still decent weather and a chance to enjoy some spectacular grizzly bear viewing.
It is important to note that Wild Salmon populations off the west coast of North America face many challenges. This starts at birth and when they start their first migration out to sea as the poorly positioned and often badly managed Salmon farms increase the populaton of lice which can cause death on small salmon fry and weaken the larger fish making them more suceptible to predators or dying on their long migration out into the Pacific Ocean.
On their return to the many large rivers which empty their waters from the west coast of British Colombia, they may be faced with very low water levels due to climate change, which makes their passage upstream very challenging and sometimes impossible; until the rivers receive more rainfall. This is another reason that when we design our Vancouver Island wildlife tours, we try to include at least two different locations for the Grizzly Bear viewing to increase the chances of a successful wildlife tour.
Allans top tips
Don’t be worried if availability of Grizzly Bear Lodge is limited to early October, as this is still a great time to see bears at Knight Inlet and other locations. Yes, the weather may be a little cooler than early September but the bears are still fattening up before their winter hibernation and take advantage of all available food sources in the inlets along western British Colombia.
Best Places to see Grizzly Bears?
For the spring season we would recommend two different styles of Vancouver Island wildlife holidays for our clients, depending on their budget and also if they felt comfortable to self-drive. If you rent a car in Vancouver or even on the island at Nanaimo, or Campbell River, you will have more flexibility to stay in some stunning Canada lodges with ocean views and located close to the harbours where the grizzly bear boat safaris and Vancouver Island whale watching tours depart from. Both our families and many of our clients include visits to Campbell River, Telegraph Cove/Port McNeill and finisg off their tour in Tofino on the west coast, which is the best places to see black bears and also Gray Whales. Because this tour also includes accommodation where you can self cater and less expensive whale watching tours, you can easily organise for around £2000 per person including car hire, but not international flights. Here is an example of one of our most popular Vancouver Island wildlife tours.
For those visitors who have a larger budget and prefer the fly-in bear viewing lodges and not having to drive then we have two stunning Canada lodges to recommend which we have personally visited. The first is Grizzly Bear Lodge, which is accessed by a stunning floatplane journey from Campbell River and is one of only two lodges which has the right to visit the world famous, Knight Inlet grizzly bear viewing stands. Here is is possible in a good season to see more bears in 2 hours than you would in an entire week spent on Vancouver Island. Check out the amazing Grizzly Bear lodge here
For the summer season it is important to have realisitc expectations for the number of bears you will see and undertake more than just one day focused on grizzly bear viewing in locations like Knight Inlet and the Great Bear Rainforest. We would recommend combing an estuary grizzly bear tour from Port McNeill with a grizzly bear safari from Campbell River where you will take a boat over to an inlet and then be transported to viewing stands on a river for your grizzly bear viewing experience.
Bella Coola Grizzly Tours: Silent drifting on the water with Bears and Bald Eagles for company
We often talk to our clients about the different types of grizzly bear viewing we offer in Canada, so they can find the right fit for them. Some wildlife photographers want as much action as possible and prefer to visit the bear viewing stands at Knight Inlet or Bute Inlet. However, other travellers find that experience a little detached from the true Canadian wilderness they were looking for and this is where Bella Coola grizzly tours come in. Imagine yourself in a private boat with no engine and an expert boatman and wildlife guide rolled into one. You push the boat off into the cool waters of the Atnarko river and are gently pulled along by its current into a corridor of beautiful trees with many Bald Eagles perched on their branches. At one moment you can see a local fisherman on the river bank trying his luck with some fly fishing and then just 100M downstream you will see a female grizzly bear with two spring cubs. No engine or diesel smell to spoil the intimate connection with river and nature, and a chance to see grizzly bears in a gorgeous landscape.
By far one of our clients favourite destinations to see bears and a good choice of rustic and luxury accommodation to suit all budget. Most travellers take the Pacific Coastal airlines flights from Vancouver south terminal direct to Bella Coola and the views as you approach the coastal mountains are stunning.
Allans top tips
Why not consider a longer road trip to Bella Coola if you have the time? There are two options we have road tested ourselves. The first is to enjoy a self-drive Vancouver Island wildlife holiday and then take the ferry from Port Hardy to Bella Coola with BC Ferries (whale watching opportunities during the voyage!). On arrival at Bella Coola harbour, it is only a short drive to your accommodation close to the Atnarko river.
The second option is to drive north from Vancover to Williams Lake – there are other grizzly bear viewing options close by you can try – before heading west via Nimpo Lake to the infamous ‘Hill’ and a slow descent to the community of Hagensborg where most of the Bella Coola lodges are based.
There are many different ways to put together a Bella Coola Canada wildlife holiday and if you contact us by email we can create a bespoke itinerary with the bst dates to maximise your bear viewing in Canada. Here is an example of the type of Bella Coola grizzly tour we can create for you.
