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Knight Inlet is located in the southern
section of the Great Bear Rainforest, which begins just 125 miles
north of Vancouver, and contains some of British Columbia's most
popular Grizzly Bear destinations. It is a mountainous and densely
forested area with little or no human habitation and an almost
total absence of roads, so despite its relative proximity to major
urban areas to the south, the most convenient access is by boat
or floatplane from northern Vancouver Island where the towns of
Campbell River, Port McNeill and Port Hardy are much closer than
any on the mainland. The only viable access to the interior of
this vast swathe of temperate rainforest is via a number of deep
inlets or fjords that run as far as 100 miles inland, and it is
in these major watersheds with their network of converging rivers
and streams that Coastal Grizzly Bears are found. 
The
most famous of these fjords is Knight Inlet which was the first
location to promote commerical grizzly bear viewing.
The best time to observe the bears is during the autumn salmon run from mid to late August through to mid October when they gorge themselves on spawning salmon in preparation for their long winter hibernation. The spring months of May and June also offer excellent viewing opportunities as the bears emerge hungry from their winter dens to graze on sedge grasses or forage for crustaceans close to the shoreline. In July and early August the bears disperse deeper into the forest to feed on roots and berries and are a lot less conspicuous, though a small number continue to patrol the shoreline.
Knight Inlet is perhaps the best known Grizzly Bear Location in Canada having featured in National Geographic and a number of documentaries. During the autumn salmon run bear viewing is conducted from two secure viewing stands overlooking a spawning channel, and it isn't uncommon to see half a dozen bears competing for the best fishing spots. While viewing sessions are limited to 6 people per viewing platform and 2 hours to minimise disturbance to the bears, it's an action packed 2 hours with a rarely a moment when there isn't at least a couple of bears in close proximity to the platform. Knight Inlet is one of the few places in North America where these normally solitary animals congregate in large numbers, and interaction you see here between multiple bears competing for the best fishing spots is rarely seen elsewhere. Outside of salmon season the bears are found feeding on the shores of the estuary and viewed from a boat sitting just offshore.
We offer lodge based stays in Knight Inlet inclusive of return floatplane transfers from Campbell River, a varied program of bear and whale watching, and all meals, as well as day trips by boat from the Port McNeill area. The journey across to the mainlandKnight Inlet is a particularly scenic one, . When travelling by boat you way encounter Black Bears, Orcas, and other wildlife en-route, and travelling by floatplane is a quintessential Canadian experience evoking that evokes the spirit of the pioneer bush pilots of a bygone era, and the Canadian wilderness of childhood imagination.
So let Bear Trails organise a once in
a lifetime visit to the world famous Knight Inlet and provide
you with a chance to photograph some of the most interesting Grizzly
Bear interaction to be found in British Colombia
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