After your group flight from Vancouver to Bella Coola you are met by your Expedition Leader and transferred to Tweedsmuir Lodge, a remote but very comfortable base for our wilderness explorations. Set in a river valley at the base of a massive 8,000-foot rock mountain in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, the views from the lodge are dramatic. The deck of the main lodge, as well as the porches and windows of each cabin, overlook a broad meadow that is a well-known bear sanctuary where grizzlies are often seen.

A slow drift down the Atnarko and Bella Coola rivers offers an ideal pace and proximity for wildlife viewing. During the summer, the rivers are crowded with spawning salmon that attract bald eagles and bears, and we may see both on the banks as we float past. The peaks of the Coast Range rise all around, their serrated ridgelines veined in snow and ice. This afternoon you are afforded a different perspective as we soar above them in a helicopter, dipping through passes where mountain goats are often spotted clinging to the granite above timberline. We fly over Hunlen Falls, Canada’s third highest, which offers yet another spectacle as it pours a thousand feet off a sheer rock precipice, its plume freefalling into spray over Lonesome Lake. If time allows, you may explore a secluded trail in Tweedsmuir Park to look for the rare cougar, gray wolves, bald eagles and other northern birdlife.

British Columbia is home to an estimated 6,000 to 14,000 grizzlies, among the highest bear concentrations in North America. The summer and early-autumn salmon runs attract dozens of bears to this area, and though it is very likely you will see them during our other activities, we spend this entire day focused on these magnificent creatures. We take another float trip, pausing along the riverbanks to watch for bears. The floor of the temperate rainforest is covered with giant sword ferns, devil’s club and tangles of huckleberries, blueberries, raspberries, salmonberries and thimbleberries. Though they gorge on salmon, bears love berries, too, and this vegetation is a draw for them. Of course, grizzlies are unpredictable and we can never guarantee their appearance, but the Bella Coola Valley is so rich with their presence that we feel confident in our sightings.

Along with prolific wildlife and spectacular scenery, the Bella Coola Valley is home to a group of First Nations peoples, the Nuxalk, a vibrant culture present here for millennia and still thriving today. On a visit to the village of Bella Coola, you are introduced to the Nuxalk culture through local artisans, storytellers, drummers and singers. You’ll also take a walk to a newly discovered set of petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings) engraved along a forgotten trail through a tract of lowland rainforest.

Where lush coastal forests exist, moisture abounds, and due to the unpredictable weather experienced in the Bella Coola Valley, we are occasionally precluded from travelling by helicopter on the flightseeing excursion. We have arranged a “backup day” in case of bad weather on your proposed flying day. If we have been able to keep your original itinerary, then you may hike a trail upriver on the Atnarko, where we may see eagles and bears fishing for salmon, and other wildlife.

After free time this morning at the lodge, we travel back into town for your group flight back to Vancouver, where you catch your return flights home.
NOTE: This itinerary is meant as a guideline for the activities we have planned. The activities we are able to participate in, the exact itinerary, and the duration and order of the activities will be determined by weather, tides, permits and equipment availability and the guide's discretion

Your base of exploration on this northern adventure is Tweedsmuir Lodge. This classic property is located in one of North America’s most dramatically beautiful settings, situated near the Atnarko River and in the shadows of an 8,000-foot snow-capped peak. It’s not uncommon to watch grizzlies and other wildlife from the porch. The main lodge serves as a gathering area for meals and presentations and guests are accommodated in ten luxury log cabins, each with private facilities. Each cabin features a deck and large windows facing the towering mountain and fields where grizzlies are often seen.

This adventure does not require a high degree of physical fitness although some short walks may be required should you wish to participate in every activity. Please note that the petroglyph walk is relatively long and requires an uphill walk on slippery surfaces, though this, like all other activities, is entirely optional.

We have pre-booked spaces for our travellers on return flights from Vancouver to Bella Coola. These flight times are not determined until late spring. We will notify you when these times are determined so you may book your arrival and departure flights in and out of Vancouver. You will be invoiced for these flights upon booking. Please call us with questions.

For serious bear photography and close up bear viewing, this trip is not as rewarding as our Alaska Explorer or the Grizzlies of Coastal Katmai (Alaska)since we generally do not get as close. Please ask us for these wildlife tour details. This area, however, has its distinct advantages in that the scenery is spectacular and the bears are truly wild, with very few other people around.