Palmerville Adventures | Bear Country

Bear watching is popular in the wilds of Northern British Columbia. The establishment of the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, the only one of its kind in Canada, has drawn visitors to see these magnificent creatures in their natural surroundings.

The Khutzeymateen was established as Canada's first sanctuary for grizzly bears in 1994. The sanctuary is a 443 sq km Provincial Class A Park. It takes its name from the Tsimshian First Nations word that means "sheltered place of fish and bears". Click on the map to see where the Khutzeymateen is.

To reach bear country, we fly 45 km northeast of Prince Rupert, crossing over the rugged terrain of the Coast Range Mountains and land in the sheltered waters of Khutzeymateen Inlet. There, our float plane waits for us at the dock as we set off for a two-hour boating expedition in search of bears.

We are particularly careful not to interfere with the bears in any way, and observations take place quietly, from the boat. As a result, our guests are often rewarded with endearing scenes as mothers train their young and the bears interact with other animals.