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Overview
Tweedsmuir Park Lodge is just 3 hours from Vancouver and the easiest of the bear lodges to get to and Tweedsmuir Park Lodge makes an ideal base to see grizzlies.
During the autumn as the salmon return to spawn, Bella Coola has one of the highest concentrations of grizzly bears on the planet as they feed ready for their winter hibernation and you can see these magnificent animals as they hunt along the local rivers, and their expert guides help you navigate the old growth forests, pristine rivers and stunning peaks of the Bella Coola Valley on a number of excursions by foot or boat during your stay.
- Observe grizzly bears feasting on salmon
- Float the pristine Atnarko River in a non-motorized McKenzie Drift Boat or Raft!
- Explore the ancient Great Bear Rainforest in the company of a local guide
- Explore Nuxalk First Nations culture and visit the petroglyph gardens
- Stay in private chalets at the award-winning Tweedsmuir Park Lodge
Choose from a private tour, or as part of a group of up to 6 people. Shorter stays are also available – simply ask us to arrange the right stay for you.
Bella Coola
Mrs C - Travelled to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & PEI"This was our 3rd Canadian holiday with Frontier Canada"
This was our 3rd Canadian holiday with Frontier Canada – we always come back to them as we know we will get a good quality holiday with no nasty surprises. Our latest holiday was arranged by Joanne, who provided an excellent service. She was able to advise us on which of their tours was the best fit for the sort of holiday we were looking for and then help us to tailor it to our exact requirements, changing flight days, removing bits from the suggested itinerary and adding others, arranging pre-booked tours and anticipating potential pitfalls (for instance when the ferry timetable changed, meaning we had to add in a night at Saint John as it was too long a drive to the next location). She really knew the area – even down to where we would get the best breakfasts by pre-booking at our accommodation and where we were better off going into town.
Itinerary (8 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.
Day 2
Tweedsmuir
Take a 70 minute morning flight from Vancouver to Bella Coola, where you will be...
Day 2
Tweedsmuir
Take a 70 minute morning flight from Vancouver to Bella Coola, where you will be met by Tweedsmuir Park Lodge staff to transfer you the 45 minutes to the lodge, showing you some of the sights along the way, or make your own way by car to the lodge to arrive by 2pm, ready for your first bear viewing tour at about 3pm. After checking in, you will be given a lodge orientation and a bear awareness seminar to help prepare you for the rest of your stay.
Your bear viewing will begin with a late afternoon Scenic River Drift along the Atnarko River. Enjoy the dramatic mountain scenery and keep watch for the wildlife. With the salmon spawning, there are easy meals for bald eagles and grizzly bears, and river otters and black bears can also be spotted. With the bears busy fishing they ignore you as you drift along the river, allowing you to see them at their most natural and capture some amazing photographs. You then return back to the lodge in time for a delicious 3 course dinner.
Day 3
Tweedsmuir
Head out to the Wildlife Viewing Station before breakfast, then return to the Atnarko River...
Day 3
Tweedsmuir
Head out to the Wildlife Viewing Station before breakfast, then return to the Atnarko River for another drift along with your guide. With the bears most active in the morning and evening, there’s good chances to see more bears as you head along the river.
After a nutritious lunch at the lodge you will head off with your guide to explore Tweedsmuir Park. The knowledgeable and friendly guides will take you around several superb vantage points to look down over the Atnarko River to see the spawning salmon, as well as the eagles and bears fishing for them!
Day 4
Tweedsmuir
Head down to the Wildlife Viewing Station in the morning for another chance to spot...
Day 4
Tweedsmuir
Head down to the Wildlife Viewing Station in the morning for another chance to spot bears, with the raised viewing platforms giving you a clear view up and down the river. After breakfast, it is then time to head out for a guided nature walk through the old growth forests of Tweedsmuir Park. Your guide will show you how to track bears, showing you various bear signs including rub trees with claw and bite marks and the places bears dig out in the forest floor for their naps, known as day beds.
After a picnic lunch, you continue exploring the Park with a drive along the Tote Road past old abandoned homesteads. At the end of the road, take a short hike to Stillwater Lake, a beautiful, pristine place not to be missed. Return back to the lodge and relax for a bit, before heading back to the Wildlife Viewing Platforms for another look for bears before dinner.
Day 5
Tweedsmuir
After breakfast, today you will be driven by your guide down valley to see a...
Day 5
Tweedsmuir
After breakfast, today you will be driven by your guide down valley to see a grove of ancient cedar trees on Walker Island. These trees are in excess of 800 years old and were used by the Nuxalk First Nation for smoking salmon and to help build their long houses. The cultural modifications are still visible today.
Enjoy a picnic at Clayton Falls Park overlooking the fjord before having a tour with a member of the Nuxalk, who will take you to the ancient petroglyphs hidden in a magical site tucked away in the woods, though to be 3000 – 5000 years old. You will also have time to visit the Bella Coola town site to see the totem poles and to shop at the art gallery for First Nations jewellery and masks.
Day 6
Tweedsmuir
Head out to the Wildlife Viewing Station before breakfast, then return to the Atnarko River...
Day 6
Tweedsmuir
Head out to the Wildlife Viewing Station before breakfast, then return to the Atnarko River for another drift along with your guide. With the bears most active in the morning and evening, there’s good chances to see more bears as you head along the river.
After a nutritious lunch at the lodge you will head off with your guide to explore Tweedsmuir Park. The knowledgeable and friendly guides will take you around several superb vantage points to look down over the Atnarko River to see the spawning salmon, as well as the eagles and bears fishing for them!
Day 7
Tweedsmuir
Today you will head up onto the Chilcotin Plateau for a hike along the stunning...
Day 7
Tweedsmuir
Today you will head up onto the Chilcotin Plateau for a hike along the stunning Rainbow Range trail. The peaks of the range, or “Tsitsutl” in the local dialect, meaning painted mountains, form an enormous dome of eroded lava and fragmented rocks that display and astonishing spectrum of reds, oranges, yellows and lavenders.
It is also lake country, with hundreds of large and small lakes dotting the area. The Rainbow Range is in strong contrast to the rugged Coast Mountains, with smaller pine and fir forests. After large fires in 2010, a wide variety of alpine flowers are reclaiming the ground in between the blackened and burnt forest.
Day 8
Tweedsmuir to Vancouver
Have one last visit to the Wildlife Viewing Station for one last look for the...
Day 8
Tweedsmuir
to
Vancouver
Have one last visit to the Wildlife Viewing Station for one last look for the bears before breakfast. Check out will be at 11am, and after a leisurely morning taking advantage of the facilities at the lodge the staff will shuttle you back to the airport for your onward journey. Fly back to Vancouver for one final night before heading back to the UK.
1 night Vancouver.
