If you are venturing out on your own, please follow the linked guidelines forwildlife and bear encounters.
Update:As a precaution, Copper Sun has chosen to cancel tours for 2020 to ensure the safety and health of their community. The Belarko Wildlife Viewing Area is one of the best places to see bears, free of cost. Required fields are marked *.
Given this, if you plan to explore on your own and not with a guided tour, youll need to rent a car.
Bella Coola is 920 km from Vancouver. If this were a real emergency Bella Coola Grizzly Tours and Adventure Resort Inc. is a Land and Marine based operation out of the port of Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada. There is a games room, a business centre, and an exercise room on site, plus a complimentary airport shuttle.
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Being on the water also means having chances to see all kinds of wildlife, including seals, eagles, and whales! The total experience lasts at least a few hours, more if you see bears, as your guide will stop for you to watch them a bit. However, they prefer to eat nuts, berries, and fruit, as well as salmon and small mammals during certain times of the year.
Copyright 2001 - 2022 Kynoch Adventure Tours, Trail & Ultra Running Camps & Coaching in the Great Bear Rain Forest, Relaxing float on rivers of the Great Bear Rain Forest, Float wilderness rivers among the majesty of Grizzly Bears, Walk & Hike with naturalists in the Coast Mountains, Covid-19 Policy Update. If your group is 5 or more people, pleasecontact us for special group rates. * Private planes and helicopter can also land at Bella Coola Airport.
While bears live in the Bella Coola Valley year-round, the best time to see them is during the salmon run season.
Please arrive 15 minutes early. Just be careful getting very close to the river, and dont attempt to traverse into the nearby woods or cross the river to explore around. *Note: If the weather is not great in Bella Coola, planes will sometimes land in Anahim Lake instead. All Rights Reserved.
Their powerful bodies explore forests, rivers, taiga, and mountains in search of food to store up before winter hibernation. Please check our Disclosure and Privacy Policy page for more information. We offer Deluxe Chalet Accommodations, all-inclusive, multi-night Guided Grizzly Tours, 8 hour Hotspring Boat Tours and local Walking/Wildlife Valley Viewing tours. Nathan used a 100-400 mm lens to get the bear photos in this post. Staying at the Spirit Bear Lodge is a great way to get a glimpse of these wonderfully rare creatures. Activity substitutions are possible based on availability and subject to an upgrade fee. The lodge is run by the local Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nations people and is sustainably and ethically operated.
In addition to September, the month of October is a great time to visit too! Ideally something with four-wheel drive.
The journey to Bella Coola is then completed by taking a 2 hour ride on a school bus down a rather precarious-looking dirt road (The Hill) from the Chilcotin Plateau to the valley floor. In order to purchase a Single Occupancy upgrade you will need to pay for the cost of two packages. We were around 10 meters from him on the opposite side of the river. With habitat incursions and changes, salmon populations are also changing.
While this varies depending on the kind of salmon, the running season typically starts in May and continues until the end of September to mid-October.
We suggest booking a minimum of 4 nights. Like several other communities within B.C.s Great Bear Rainforest(including Haida Gwaii), Bella Coola had closed to tourism in the spring of 2020. By staying for 4 or5 nights you greatly increase your chances of increasing the quantity and quality of bear sightings.
This is a fun way to be active and learn a lot about the local environment! Transfers to and from the Bella Coola airport or the BC Ferries terminal on arrival and departure days, A complimentary bottle of wine upon arrival (one per group), Accommodation (double occupancy) in beautiful, private timber frame chalets at Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, All food and non-alcoholic beverages (hot or cold breakfast, lunch menu or picnic on the trail, apres snacks, and multi-course dinners), Two half-day or one full-day guided activity on each full day of the package (no activities on arrival or departure day), Guide service by certified wilderness and bear viewing guides, All safety equipment; lifejackets, rain gear, radios, umbrellas, binoculars, Use of all self-directed indoor and outdoor recreation equipment, Helicopter Adventures and River Fishing (not available during Grizzly Bear Safari season), > The Magnificent 7 Luxury Wilderness Lodges, > Our Commitment to the Environment and Local Community.
However, the majority of bear safari-goers visit for the chances of seeing a grizzly in nature.
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From one of the boat docks upriver, your guide will launch the raft for you to float downriver. Guests have the option of choosing a Small Group package or upgrading to a Private package.
She is almost 3m wide and 50m tall! (This happened to us in early Sept.).
Kynoch Adventures follows and exceeds guidelines established by the, Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC. Its worth it to purchase the added canister holster. Along with Cutthroat trout, Rainbow trout,Rocky Mountain whitefish and Dolly Varden, anglers can fish the multiple salmon runs in the rivers and streams of the Bella Coola Valley (Chinook, Coho, Chum and Pink). While out and about (or if you are sitting around waiting for your plane), dont miss seeing one of the largest cedars in the valley right at the Bella Coola Airport.
This little oasis is one of the top places to visit to see bears.
- WordPress Theme by Kadence Themes, Visiting Bella Coola, B.C. Remember, these animals are rare and youre never guaranteed a sighting, no matter how great the location is. Insider Tip! A 44 vehicle is highly recommended. Wildlife Viewing/Walking Tours to the east and west of Bella Coola are available with Hanging Glaciers, Huge Old growth Cedars, Historic sites, Beautiful groomed trails, Spawning Salmon and incredible pristine scenery with raw coastal nature and First Nations Culture at its best. Exercise caution whenever you go off on your own! Travelling solo? Because of its location, hanging out by the river banks likely means youll get to spot a bear or two. They belong to local mushroom pickers.
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While not the largest bear on Earth (that honor goes to the Polar bear), grizzlies can still get up to 600 pounds. Bella Coola is a small, isolated valley tucked away in the northwestern reaches of British Columbia.
In fact, the Bella Coola airport is actually in Hagensborg as are a number of nice accommodation providers. This small bear was seen from our raft on the river! Read More, The best tips for planning a trip to the Lofoten Islands, Norway. Wed love to hear about your experience in the comments! Effective 2020, Guests will meet at the following locations to sign in for their tours. We only accept children 12 years and older during Grizzly Bear Safari season. If you have any questions about visiting Bella Coola, I recommend checking out BellaCoola.ca. Leonard, Daniel, Clark and Shannon work very hard to ensure your stay in Bella Coola is comfortable, perfectly safe and full of unique wilderness adventure and west coast hospitality. Visit End or the Road Cafe at our Tour office in Hagensborg for a delicious in-house roasted coffee drink and snacks. Both species of bears, grizzly bears and black bears are common in Bella Coola Valley.
They are a type of black bear with a fur-color mutation, and only about 10% of the bear population is all-white. Youll also have to make the exciting journey down what is known as The Hill. We were told that when it was created, one bulldozer started from the top of the mountain, and the other at the bottom until they met in the middle. If you are looking for a B.C.
Respectfully, they should only be visited as part of a tour with a Nuxalk guide. The experience of seeing bears in the wild on a bear safari is truly incredible.
Note that rafting tours only run from August 15-October 15.
We received 30% off the 3-night Grizzly Bear Safari package a unique deal offered to B.C. There are no electric fences or safety barriers for you to retreat to if you startle a bear. In this post, I will share with you things to do in Bella Coola (starting with Bella Coola bear watching tours), the best Bella Coola accommodation options, and how the heck to get there. They get their special name from the grizzled look that their almost-grey fur tips give them. Few guardrails are built into this winding gravel road that descends vehicles into the valley below.
During a summer of taking small road trips relatively close to our Vancouver home, I happened to read that the Bella Coola Valley was reopening to visitors. Several local lodges offer guided fishing packages including Eagle Lodge and Tweedsmuir Park Lodge. It is considered the gateway to the Great Bear Rainforest, a massive 15.8 million-acre conservation area along the western BC coastline. The cabins are nestled into the edge of the woods and contain a queen bed plus two double beds.
In October, grizzlies occasionally frequent our lower lodge lawn more often than other months in order to graze on the clover. Bear Viewing Tours, August 15 to October 15- Meet at Fisheries Pool Campground, South Tweedsmuir Park. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Itineraries are set and there will be a maximum of 6 guests per guide.
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You have the option of hiking on the coastline or along the river in Tweedsmuir. These tours may involve driving to special locations or doing a boat drift down the Bella Coola or Atnarko Rivers.
With a Private package, we can customize your tours to suit your desires. Note: Bella Coola Grizzly Tours land and marine based adventures leave right from the property.
Instead, the plan was to experience some of B.C.s most beautiful coastal scenery through hiking, spending time on the local rivers, and enjoying quiet evenings around a campfire.
Alternatively, feel free to reach out to me at[emailprotected].
Bella Coola Grizzly Tours offers bear watching excursions and also has charming self-catering log cabin accommodations. This is due to the fact that in late summer and early fall, thebears descend from the alpine to fatten up on spawning salmon in the local rivers before heading into hibernation. Your own car is recommended, or a rental car if required. However, grizzly bears are more commonly seen than black bears on our river guided bear watching tours as grizzly bears are the dominant species and black bears tend to give the grizzlies the right of way on the river, particularly when grizzly bear cubs are involved. Easy - Light walking with a few climbs that are more challenging than a flight of stairs.
