Canada Bear Watching Holidays

Where to watch bears in Canada?

The Great Bear Rainforest

The Great Bear Rainforest is home to some of the best bear watching in Canada. This huge temperate rainforest stretches along British Columbia's coast from the top of Vancouver Island up to Alaska. This pristine environment is home to towering cedars, salmon-filled rivers and plenty of bears. Grizzlies and black bears live here, as well as the elusive white Spirit Bear or Kermode bear. You'll also find some bear-watching hotspots like Bella Bella, Bella Coola, Sonora and Knight Inlet. British Columbia is one of the best places to spot grizzlies fishing for salmon as there are lots of great grizzly bear viewing locations in the area.

Vancouver Island

Don't let the name "island" fool you - this place is as big as Scotland. Its lush forests are a hotspot for black bears and it has its own subspecies - the Vancouver Island black bear. Bear watching tours from Tofino, Port Hardy and Campbell River can take you to see these larger, blacker cousins of the mainland bears. They are easily spotted along the coast as they forage along the rocky shoreline looking for crabs and molluscs.

The Rocky Mountains

No trip to Banff or Jasper National Parks would be complete without spotting a bear by the roadside! You can frequently see black bears as you drive the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper. The Lake Louise Gondola is a fantastic high vantage point to spot bears foraging in the vegetation below. Revelstoke is another hotspot for bears and you could see them as you mountain bike through the forests.

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Where to watch bears in Canada?

Hudson Bay

In Northern Manitoba, just outside the town of Churchill on the shores of Hudson Bay, an incredible wildlife spectacle occurs. Polar bears congregate here en masse waiting for the sea ice to freeze so they can resume hunting. Hudson Bay is one of the best places in the world to see the largest land predator. Specially adapted tundra buses transport you across the frozen landscape for a close-up glimpse of these majestic animals.

Kluane National Park

Kluane National Park sits in the southwestern corner of Yukon and borders Alaska. It acts as a gateway to incredible bear watching in both countries. The Alsek River is home to grizzlies and you could be lucky enough to spot one while rafting, horse-riding or on a flightseeing trip. A driving holiday through untouched and less crowded wilds of Alaska and Yukon is another great way to spot this region's incredible wildlife.

Things to know

The best time to see bears in Canada

Bears - with the exception of polar bears - hibernate over the winter months, so the best time for a bear watching holiday in Canada is from around May to September. During the summer period, the bears should be active as they look for food to gain fat that helps them survive the winter. Polar bears are most active in October and November as they wait for the sea ice to return.

Bear species in Canada

Canada is home to three species of bear and several exciting bear subspecies. The three main species are black bears, grizzlies (North American brown bears) and polar bears. The white Kermode bear is a rare subspecies of the black bear, endemic to coastal BC. The bear's rare colouring caused by a recessive gene. The Vancouver Island black bear is a bigger and blacker subspecies, and Alaska's Kodiak bear is the largest subspecies of brown bear.

Bear behaviours

Bears are usually most active at dawn and dusk, and both are good times to spot them on bear-watching tours. Bears have quite a varied diet; eating shoots, nuts, berries, ants and other insects. Both black bears and brown bears will eat fish, although it is usually grizzlies who are the best at fishing salmon! Although often curious, bears are mostly non-aggressive and human-bear encounters are very rare, particularly if you follow the safety advice of park rangers.

Tips & info

Respect a bear's space

To have positive animal encounters on a wildlife holiday in Canada, respect the animals' space. Bears can often be spotted by the side of the road, so if you wish to watch them, give them plenty of space and park your car a good distance away. When hiking, make noise by singing, clapping and shouting so you don't surprise any bears. If you are lucky enough to see one from a couple of hundred metres away, don't get any closer.

Keep your campsite BARE

Parks Canada will provide plenty of information about their BARE campsite policy if you are camping in the national parks. Make sure that food is stored in the bear-proof lockers provided or in a hard-sided vehicle. Don't leave any food lying around or anything that may smell like food, such as cooking equipment and clothes you wore while cooking. Make sure all food waste is disposed of correctly in the bins provided.

Find information from Parks Canada

In every national park you visit, the rangers will be able to provide information about the animals that live there. In Banff and Jasper National Parks, its common for rangers to hand out leaflets on bear safety and they will be on hand to answer any questions. You should also report sightings of bears to rangers. When you're hiking and walking, pay close attention to information at trailheads which will tell you about wildlife sightings and any closures or restrictions. Before you book your bear watching Canada holidays, you should read up about bear safety before you travel.

Trips & tours

Grizzly bear tours

• Discover Grizzly Bears in Banff - Enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of the top attractions a short drive from Banff. Visit a grizzly bear refuge and meet ‘Boo’ the bear. Ride a gondola to the top of the Purcell Mountains for a delicious lunch at Canada’s highest restaurant.
• Grizzly Bear Tour of Telegraph Cove - One of the best bear watching day trips in Canada, enjoy the majesty of the coastal mountains as you explore spectacular Knight Inlet to find grizzly bears in the spring, a two hour drive from Campbell River.

Black bear tours in the West

• Bear watching in Tofino or Ucluelet - Board a covered vessel or zodiac boat from one of Vancouver Island's most popular towns to view black bears in their natural habitat along the shore.
• Whistler bear viewing - Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains support up to 50 black bears that have adapted to the ski area habitat. Ride in a comfortable 4x4 to bear feeding sites, daybeds, rub trees, and old growth trees where bears have hibernated during the winter.

Black bear tours in East Canada

• Black bear observation in Tadoussac - This guided tour in Quebec offers a 90% chance of seeing wildlife like bears and maybe beavers.
• Little Big Bear safari in Acadieville - This unique Bear Safari lets you watch and photograph black bears from the safety of an 8m observation tower while they feed and interact in their natural environment.
• Bear watching and canoeing in Saguenay - Paddle Lake Como, learn about moose and beavers and observe black bears in Quebec.

Wilderness retreats

Knight Inlet Lodge

Knight Inlet Lodge is set in a wonderfully peaceful and remote location. Tucked into Glendale Cove in the longest fjord on the BC coast, the area surrounding the floating lodge has one of the highest concentration of grizzly bears in the province. Your days here are filled with excursions led by experienced local guides to see the bears both on foot or by kayak.

Great Bear Lodge

Located in the remote coastal Nekite Valley, Great Bear Lodge is one of the best places in the world to see grizzly bears. The Lodge is committed to low-impact ecotourism and is powered by wind and solar energy. Delicious organic local fare makes up your dinner and evenings are spent relaxing on the wooden decks. The number of guests at the eco-friendly lodge is limited to 16 so you are always guaranteed a truly personalised and memorable experience.

Tweedsmuir Park Lodge

The private log cabins here are one of the most relaxed places for bear watching in Canada, so keep your eyes peeled for bears simply wandering by. Tweedsmuir Park is a fantastic place to stop at as part of a Canada self-drive holiday along Highway 20 in central BC. It nestles alongside a tributary of the Bella Coola River in the Tweedsmuir Provincial Park. Take some time out and truly appreciate the surroundings of the Great Bear Rainforest.

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Wilderness retreats

Sonora Resort

Sonora Resort offers unmatched splendour, comfort and natural thrills in the famed beauty and tranquillity of the Great Bear Rainforest. This Relais & Chateaux property offers BC's magical coastal setting along with five-star accommodation, extraordinary service, gourmet dining and a spectacular spa - complete with mineral pools and a water journey. It nestles in the pristine environment of BC's Discovery Islands, with sumptuous rooms, suites and private villas.

Spirit Bear Lodge

Nestled in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest, the Spirit Bear Lodge is unsurprisingly one of the best places in the world to see the beautiful Spirit Bear – a white bear that is part of the black bear family. The Lodge is a community-based ecotourism venture owned and operated by the Kitasoo / Xai’xais First Nations people. All bear watching excursions are led by a certified biologist and an aboriginal skipper.

Pyna-tee-ah Lodge

Arriving at Pyna-tee-ah Lodge at the base of the Cariboo Mountains is like being welcomed into the home of close friends. The lodge only ever has a maximum of 12 guests so the atmosphere is always relaxed and homely. The large surrounding area around Quesnel Lake offers a lot of great viewing opportunities both on foot or by boat. Every tour is accompanied by the resident ‘bear whisperer’ with his 30 years of experience.

Speak with our experts

Have you decided you'd like to see bears in the wild? Good choice - nothing beats the thrill of watching a black bear's breath mist the morning air or seeing grizzly brown bears catching salmon. Just call our friendly team of experts to discuss your dream Canada bear watching holiday and we'll help you plan the perfect trip. We can advise on the right wildlife lodge for you or the perfect wilderness hotel. We'll help you with flights, transfers and excursions to get the most out of your time in Canada.

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