Tours & Cruises Focusing on Grizzlies in British Columbia Forest
August 4, 2002
Stalk grizzly bears—with a camera—in the wild backlands of British Columbia’s Coast Range on an unusual daylong nature tour that includes orcas, gray whales, eagles, wolves and churning tidal rapids.
The excursions, available now through mid-October, focus on seeing grizzlies on their home turf. “The salmon are running right now, coming into the rivers to spawn, and that brings the bears out of the woods to feed on fish,” said biologist Tom Rivest, co-owner of Great Bear Nature Tours. The area, known as the Great Bear Rainforest, stretches over 8 million acres. Trips begin in Port Hardy, near the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Participants take a morning boat ride to see whales and the Nakwakto Tidal Rapids and then travel by skiff up the Seymour River to grizzly-bear viewing sites. During salmon runs, participants view bears from tree stands and river blinds that have been constructed to allow safe photo opportunities. The tour concludes with a flight over the Coast Range back to Port Hardy. Overnight trips are also available.