Introduction

Knight Inlet Lodge offers wildlife viewing packages ranging from two to eight nights for our spring, summer and fall bear viewing and eco-adventure seasons. All of our packages begin with your arrival in Campbell River and include a one night stay there. You must stay the night prior to departing for Knight Inlet in Campbell River, B.C. as your float plane journey starts too early in the morning to make connections from anywhere.

Grizzly Bear Viewing

Glendale Cove in Knight Inlet is home to one of the largest concentrations of grizzly (brown) bears in British Columbia. It is not uncommon for up to 40 bears to be within a few miles of the lodge during the peak fall season when the salmon are running up the Glendale River.

And while the bears are abundant in the fall, it is not the only season that grizzlies frequent the area around the lodge. Starting in April, both black and grizzly bears begin emerging from hibernation and head to the cove and the estuary to feed on the succulent new spring growth. Even in mid-summer, when many of the bears have moved into the surrounding timber clearings to feast on berries, we see several bears each day as they move in and around the estuary and along the logging roads.

The spring season is highlighted by the presence of up to 15 different grizzly bears and 5 different black bears, feeding on sedge grasses, mussels and barnacles along the cove's shoreline and in the estuary. Fresh from hibernation, this season offers a wonderful opportunity to see newborn cubs as they first venture out with their mother into the natural world.

Our spring viewing is done from boats, and allows you to get remarkably close to some of these wonderful animals at eye level without disturbing them. The spring season offers some of the year's best photographic opportunities, with the bears moving about in a lush green environment with spectacular backdrops.

Our early summer program continues on the water as well, but moves to the logging roads and to the viewing platforms along the river whenever the opportunity to view bears in those areas arises. This season often has the best weather and is the most relaxing, offering you the chance to view the bears from a small group (the summer program also offers some of the year's best whale watching opportunities).

Our fall season begins in late August, as hundreds of thousands of pink salmon begin surging their way up the Inlet into the Glendale River, attracting dozens of grizzlies who converge on the spawning channels to fatten their already burgeoning bodies in preparation for the coming winter.

The spectacle is as incredible as it sounds and has to be experienced in person to really appreciate it. Guests embark on their adventure from the lodge, traveling across the cove by boat and then riding a small bus along an old-time logging road through lush northern rain forest to the spawning channels. It is not uncommon to see 10-15 bears on the river and the channels at a time.

Photographic opportunities abound as 5 different viewing platforms, in 3 different areas, have been specially constructed to provide a safe and comfortable viewing base to work from.

Inlet Cruises

In addition to our regular bear and whale watching tours, you can enjoy a wide variety of other trips and tours while staying at the Lodge. The highlight for many of our guests is the three hour Inlet tour, a beautiful scenic cruise that takes in the natural wonders of Knight Inlet -- tremendous waterfalls plummeting out of sheer rock faces, ancient glaciers with trails carving through the mountains, and wild and forlorn rivers teeming with life. Our staff is well-trained in the local history of the area, keeping you entertained and informed with local lore and legend. You will learn the tale of the cursed Indian maiden, discover 'Spirit Water', view centuries-old native pictographs and visit the mystic Annuhati River.

Rainforest Walk

Take a walk in an old-growth forest. The Kwalate valley is a 20 minute boat ride from the lodge. This is one of the few pristine watersheds left in this area. Over the past three seasons, Knight Inlet Lodge has been building a trail alongside the beautiful Kwalate River. We will walk up the valley to large moss-covered old growth trees and stunning waterfalls. Your guide will inform you about the rainforest and the various plant life that abound.

The walk is mostly along the valley floor so anyone who is comfortable walking at a leisurely pace for a few hours will find this a very pleasant experience. The trail is rough and uneven and winds around rocks and logs but we feel this trail would suit the abilities of most of our guests. We often plan this walk for the morning so we can take a packed lunch and enjoy a picnic beside the river, returning to the lodge in time for an afternoon activity.

Whale Watching

From May to mid-October, as part of our wildlife and photography adventure packages, we offer daily  marine wildlife watching tours to world renowned Johnstone Strait.  Beginning in mid-July, the focal point of our marine tours is a visit to the boundaries of the Robson Bight Marine Orca Sanctuary, an area frequented by 16 different pods of killer whales and rated as one of the world's best spots to observe and photograph these magnificent mammals. Our groups are often rewarded with close encounters with these intelligent creatures, as well as with porpoises, playful white-sided dolphins, sea lions, seals, and occasionally, humpback or minke whales.  Please note that guests must chose a KILGB 4 package or greater to participate in our marine tours.

In addition to our regular bear and whale watching tours, you can enjoy a wide variety of other trips and tours while staying at the Lodge. The highlight for many of our guests is the three hour Inlet tour, a beautiful scenic cruise that takes in the natural wonders of Knight Inlet -- tremendous waterfalls plummeting out of sheer rock faces, ancient glaciers with trails carving through the mountains, and wild and forlorn rivers teeming with life. Our staff is well-trained in the local history of the area, keeping you entertained and informed with local lore and legend. You will learn the tale of the cursed Indian maiden, discover 'Spirit Water', view centuries-old native pictographs and visit the mystic Annuhati River.

Our estuary float trips are a relaxing way to spend a few hours closer to home at the Lodge in the company of an experienced naturalist. There are few experiences in the wild like floating silently down a river and hearing the wing flaps of a bald eagle as it flies above you. The Glendale River and Estuary are home to bald eagles, loons, geese, swans, river otters, and seals, and it is not uncommon to see a black or grizzly bear out on the tidal flats.

Sea Kayaking

Drifting quietly in your sea kayak, you will witness these powerful creatures as they quietly forage amongst this fresh sedge growth in the protected waters near our lodge. While grizzlies are generally not social animals, spring viewing often affords the opportunity to observe courtship ritual and even mating activity. We are frequently fortunate to see new cubs, fresh from their winter den. Be sure to have a camera as photographic opportunities are excellent. And be assured that our guides are trained in minimum impact bear viewing etiquette which respects the needs for bears to feed undisturbed at this critical period in their feeding season.

No experience necessary! Our trained guides will coach you in the fundamentals of sea kayaking to allow you to very quickly gain a measure of confidence in these seaworthy crafts. We will give you instruction in the fundamentals and give you any added coaching you may desire. We use stable, roomy, single and double kayaks designed by Necky Kayaks.

Very different from expedition style sea kayaking, our lodge based excursions are designed for those with little or no kayaking experience. Returning from a day's paddling to our hot tub, gourmet meals and a comfortable bed energizes you for the next day's adventure. And our experienced, safety-conscious guides are skilled interpreters of the natural world and have extensive knowledge about grizzly bears, giving you a deeper understanding of these magnificent creatures.

By using our kayak transport vessel as a mobile launch point, we will venture ever further afield each day exploring remote corners of Knight Inlet and Broughton Archipelago and return back to the lodge in time for dinner. Our kayaks allow us unique access to estuaries and intertidal regions of ancient river valleys that grizzlies inhabit during the spring as they await the return of the salmon.

As well as bear viewing by sea kayak, we also offer a number of other tours including hiking explorations of the lush temperate old growth forests near our lodge. As a sea kayaking guest you have the option of participating in any of our other tours at no extra cost. Other options include jet boat tours up the mighty Klinaklini River or grizzly tracking tours which allow you an in-depth look at grizzly behaviour and ecology and perhaps the opportunity to make a plaster cast of a grizzly pawprint!

Jet Boat Tours

The Klinaklini River is one of only two rivers that cut through the huge Coast Mountain range and flow into the inlets adjacent to the Inside Passage. Our jet boat is a flat-hulled boat moved by a jet rather than a conventional propeller. This enables us to travel up the shallow Klinaklini River and access scenery rarely seen by any one.

The Klinaklini valley is home to the grizzly, wolf, cougar, moose (this is one of the few places moose are seen this close to the BC coast), and the ubiquitous bald eagle. Other mammals that reside in this area are the wolverine, lynx, marten and mink. We could see sightings of a few or many of these animals on our jet boat tour. Evidence of their movements are seen in the numerous tracks we find as we make our way up the river.

This is an all-day trip. Departing the lodge after breakfast, we make our way to the head of the Inlet. Once entering the river system you enter into a different world. Past the village site of Tswadi where the First Nations still collect eulachon (an oily herring-like fish) in the early spring and on up the braided channels of the lower Klinaklini. The views here are spectacular as you see hanging glaciers and the snow-covered peaks of the Silverthrone ice fields in the distance. The trip ends 20 km up the river at the beginning of the Klinaklini Canyon up which only the most intrepid explorers will ever go. There we eat lunch and return the way we came.

Salmon Fishing

April 28 - June 12:
Maximum groups of 10 fishermen in the lodge. River fishing for steelhead and trout. Unlimited salmon and bottom fishing, fully guided.

June 12 - July 24:
Maximum groups of 10 fishermen in the lodge. River and lake fishing for trout and unlimited salmon and bottom fishing, fully guided.

August 1 - August 20:
Maximum groups of 10 fishermen in the lodge. River and lake fishing for trout. Unlimited salmon and bottom fishing, fully guided.

Boats: 5 - 20’ fiberglass Olympic boats with windshield, raintops and 100 H.P. Yamaha 4 stroke engines. All fishing boats with fish finders, VHF radios, downriggers and all required safety equipment.

Guides: Experienced and conscientious - two guests per boat in 20’ boats, all trips fully guided.

Tackle: Top quality rods and reels for exciting trolling and jigging for salmon. Bottom fishing, river tackle and good chest waders also available.

Rain Gear: Floater suits, rain gear and boots provided. We’ve got you completely covered.

River/Lake Fishing: 2 trucks for fishing on our classified rivers. Two boats on isolated lakes.

All fishing packages include: 1 nights accommodation in Campbell River in a superior hotel, all hotel transfers, 1⁄2 hour scenic floatplane ride from Campbell River to Knight Inlet Lodge and return. Accommodation, all meals, unlimited guided fishing, safe boats, all tackle, bait, rain gear, floater suits. Expert fish care with vacuum sealing of your fresh and smoked catch. Use of our fully equipped private conference and recreation room. Smoking of your catch. All of the tour inclusions of our eco-adventure packages.

Not Included: Bar, fishing licenses, gratuity, Canadian GST.