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See Grizzlies in their natural environment in BC
This is one of the most easy and economical ways to watch grizzly bears. During your 3-5 night experience you will be staying with Ecotours-BC located in the Cariboo Mountains on the south shore of Quesnel Lake
Enjoy this unique experience and see some of Canada’s premier wildlife in close proximity, ideal for photography and just experiencing nature in the raw. Whether you are watching the bears on the rivers by jetboat going about their daily business and enjoying a salmon feast or feeding on Solomon seals and grasses in the high mountain valleys, it is an experience you will remember and treasure forever.
Note from Eco-tours
“On all of our wildlife viewing trips safety is first and foremost for both the wildlife and our guests. We are especially vigilant and safety conscious on our bear viewing excursions. Our guides are experienced, qualified professionals. Knowing and recognizing bear body language plays an important role in safe viewing. The bears we view are wild bears in their natural habitat. They are not habituated bears used to being around people. We keep in mind at all times that we are visitors and guests in their homes and we do everything possible to avoid stressing and impacting them as they go about the usual business of their daily lives and foraging for food. They are intelligent, often playful and very entertaining.”
This itinerary is flexible and can be tailor-made to suit you; if you want to add extra days in one area, extend the holiday or maybe change the direction of travel. Talk to one of our experts about how to make this holiday the perfect one for you.
When to See The Bears
May to August 24th – Spring/Summer Grizzly Bears, Wildlife and Alpine Hiking
Experience incredible grizzly bear viewing as spring brings fresh mountain air and new life to the landscape. In early spring, bears emerge from their dens hungry, searching the valleys, river estuaries, and green mountain slopes for fresh grasses and sedges after a long winter. You may see playful cubs with their mothers and even see courting pairs, reaching these areas by 4×4, ATV, hiking, or jetboat. As summer warms in July and August, you will follow the bears to higher elevations in the Cariboo Mountains, hiking through meadows, boreal forest, and alpine basins while some bears remain along rivers waiting for salmon runs. Along the way you can spot moose, deer, beaver, birds, and possibly wolves or otters. Later in summer, bears gather at berry patches filled with blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and saskatoons. From alpine ridges you enjoy excellent wildlife viewing and photography, and may also see species such as mountain caribou, goats, black bears, lynx, and wolverines in the ancient temperate rainfores – creating an unforgettable Canadian wilderness adventure
Aug 25th to Oct 25 (prime time Sep 15 to Oct 10) – Fall/Autumn – Grizzly Bears and Salmon
In the fall, experience some of the best grizzly bear watching along wilderness rivers during the salmon run. Starting in late August, sockeye salmon return from the Gulf of Alaska, traveling thousands of miles through the Fraser and Quesnel Rivers to reach the spawning grounds of their birth in the Quesnel Lake watershed. As millions of fish arrive, grizzlies gather along the rivers for a crucial feast before winter hibernation. In September and October, you explore these salmon-filled rivers mainly by jetboat, drifting quietly downstream while watching bears fish and observing other wildlife and birds in the surrounding wilderness. In some areas, you reach viewing spots by 4×4 and take short hikes to the riverbanks, giving you an unforgettable front-row seat to one of nature’s most remarkable seasonal events.
Mr Edwards - Travelled to Quebec"It was an amazing experience for us as a family "
We returned from our trip yesterday and I wanted to send a quick thank you as it exceeded our expectations. Your help in putting together the trip and arranging the vouchers etc. meant that it all went smoothly and the places that we got to see were very special indeed; there were some that you would definitely not find yourself. You promised wildlife and it certainly delivered, with 32 whales over the two whale watching trips, a black bear and 7 moose.
It was an amazing experience for us as a family and one that we will remember for a long time and will have to work very hard to replicate.
Itinerary (5 Nights)
Here’s a day-by-day guide to your itinerary. Feel free to ask us to add other days or ideas and excursions by contacting us directly, so we can give you the best price.
Days 1-2
Arrive into Vancouver from the UK and spend a couple of nights exploring this fantastic...
Days 1-2
Vancouver
Arrive into Vancouver from the UK and spend a couple of nights exploring this fantastic city.
This bear tour should be part of a longer holiday. Extend your stay in Vancouver, drive to Whistler and up to Quesnel instead of flying into Williams Lake, or maybe tour Vancouver Island before heading up to see the bears. Talk to us and let us put together the perfect itinerary for you.
2 nights Vancouver
Day 3
Vancouver to Ecotours-BC
Fly to Williams Lake where you will be met and transferred to Likely and your...
Day 3
Vancouver
to Ecotours-BC
Fly to Williams Lake where you will be met and transferred to Likely and your accomodation with Ecotour-BC. Settle in, explore the tiny village of Likely or take a stroll along the Quesnel River. Through spring and summer the high alpine explodes in a cornucopia of colour as the wild flowers bloom – asters, glacier lilies, solomon’s seal, monkey flower, Indian paint brush and a myriad of others. The lush valley bottom ecosystems provide food and shelter for countless species, including Grizzly and Black Bears, water fowl, moose and caribou, butterflies, and a whole other plant world. In the rivers of these valley bottoms the bull trout and rainbow trout share their habitat with the salmon – sockeye, coho and Chinook.
This is area also is rich in history. It is the heart of the 1860’s Cariboo Gold Rush and there are many authentic and interesting historical sites remaining from the gold rush days.
3 nights to 5 nights
Days 4-5
EcoTours-BC
After an early breakfast, you will head off in the 4×4 for your day’s adventure....
Days 4-5
EcoTours-BC
After an early breakfast, you will head off in the 4×4 for your day’s adventure. Depending on the season you will either be looking for wildlife using a combination of an ATV and walking through the forest or a jetboat floating down the Mitchell or Cariboo River.
With Ryan or one of the team as your guide you will meet the Cariboo Mountains grizzly bears in their wild natural habitat. Ryan has been with Ecotour for over 10 years and the head guide. He was trained by Gary Zorn (the original bear whisperer) who devoted his life studying the social hierarchy, habits, habitat and body language of these creatures while communing with them on their turf. Grizzlies, one of the largest predatory and most solitary species with their razor sharp claws, big demeanour, tell-tale hump over the shoulder and dished nose are unmistakable – the undisputed signature species of the Canadian wilderness. Ryan and his team know the grizzly bears here intimately from their unique habits, temperaments, family units and colourings. The best time to see the bears is from late August to early October but they can be seen from mid July onwards.
You will return to the lodge at around 16:30 in time for a shower and a glass of wine before a home-cooked dinner – time to go over the day’s events and share photographs and memories.
Day 6+
Ecotours-BC to Vancouver
Explore further into British Columba or into Alberta and see the stunning Canadian Rockies, Driving...
Day 6+
Ecotours-BC
to Vancouver
Explore further into British Columba or into Alberta and see the stunning Canadian Rockies, Driving down the Icefields Parkway is an experience not to be missed! Let us arrange your complete tailor-made holiday.
