In September and October we offer an opportunity to view completely wild grizzly bears deep in their natural habitat.
What we specialise in is quite unlike anything else in western Canada or Alaska, where many bear-viewing operations offer canned bear-viewing around a managed attractant.
Our Rocky Mountain grizzlies, by contrast, are completely wild. We head out on foot, travelling deep into the backcountry, or raft our beautiful blue-green river to view these elusive silver-tipped grizzly bears.
We strive to give you remarkable wild grizzly bear viewings that you will never forget.
They may include the experience of watching a lone high-elevation bear feeding undisturbed on huckleberries in the untouched alpine .
Or a mother with cubs moving along our river viewed from one of our river rafts, as she scours the shallow sections for the red autumn salmon.
Unlike the large national parks, our area is remote and little known.
Often on our walks we don’t see another person all day. We limit the numbers of guests to ensure the experience remains personal.
As well as grizzlies, the valley is home to dozens of bald eagles.
Our guides are experts in interpreting bear behaviour and body language and it is this knowledge that allows us to walk with confidence around wild grizzly bears, even mums with cubs.
You will usually be in a small group with one guide and one to three other guests.
We do not use viewing stands, or entice the bears to come to us. We prefer to make our own way through grizzly habitat on foot.
For us this is an integral part of the experience, a chance to immerse in the bears’ world with no physical barriers between us and them.
Because we view totally wild grizzly bears in their own environment without a managed food source to attract them, we have become experts at tracking bears and deciphering their tracks and other sign.
As part of your holiday with us we will show you how to use tracks, rubs and tiny hair samples left on trees to determine the size and type of bear that you are trailing.
Our autumn grizzly-viewing holidays are not designed with photographers in mind.
Many guests do come away with excellent photos (all the photos on this website are taken at or near the ranch) but viewing and the experience of meeting grizzly bears in their world is our priority.
These holidays are not especially physically demanding.
But to get the most out of them you should be in fairly good shape and be able to walk comfortably for a couple of hours at a time over uneven terrain.
Our age recommendations for the autumn are 14-75.
We follow a set of established bear-viewing protocols under the careful guidance of one of Canada’s top bear biologists. Your guides carry bear-deterrent.
Grizzly Bear Ranch is an active member of the British Columbia Commercial Bear Viewing Association, an organisation which is responsible for promoting safe viewing and bear conservation.
A four-night holiday at Grizzly Bear Ranch in the autumn begins at $3,350. The exact price depends on the cabin that you choose. Our rates are in Canadian dollars, per person, and include all meals, drinks, accommodation and guided tours. These prices are based on double occupancy. They include a $100 donation to our grizzly bear conservation fund. They do not include 5% tax.