Canada: Kayak British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest

The Great Bear Rainforest lies tucked between the Pacific Ocean and the Coast Range on the western edge of British Columbia. It is a wilderness area of striking proportion and majesty, where verdant islands are backdropped by towering mountains covered in thousand-year-old cedars and 300-foot-tall Sitka spruce, and emerald fjords slice into 3500-foot granite cliffs.

This is one of the largest tracts of endangered temperate coastal rainforest left in the world. It is home to Native cultures that date back 10,000 years, and hundreds of species of plants, birds and animals. Rich salmon streams weave their way through the valley bottoms, providing food for orcas, eagles, wolves and bears. Grizzly bear, black bear and grey wolves wander along these rivers and estuaries to feed, while eagles and seabirds feast on the remains. The Great Bear Rainforest is also home to the legendary white Kermode bear, the “Spirit Bear” of B.C.’s northern coast. These magnificent bears are actually a subspecies of black bear and are found nowhere else in the world.

Orcas and humpback whales are abundant in these waters, and we may see them as we paddle. Steller sea lions bellow from the rocky shore, and we may spy bears feeding on barnacles. Groups of sandhill cranes and Canada geese cry overhead, while migrating turnstones, common murres, hooded mergansers, scoters and harlequin ducks dot the water and perch on the rocks.  

Located in part along the Inside Passage, the famous inland waterway that stretches from Vancouver to Alaska, the Great Bear Rainforest is home to the Heiltsuk and Gitga’at, members of the Tsimshian culture. Sir Alexander Mackenzie became the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean traveling overland on aboriginal grease trails used by First Nations people who traded boxes of eulachon grease for moose hide and obsidian. Fur traders followed, arriving by ship in the 1780s. A century later, this large pre-contact Native population had dropped to just several hundred, decimated by western disease and impacts. Today the Heiltsuk and Gitga’at nations are striving to retain their lands and culture while they continue to harvest their traditional foods, especially salmon.

Our trips to the Great Bear Rainforest in late August and early September are scheduled to coincide with the salmon runs. Upon arrival in the coastal village of Bella Bella on Day 1, we get organized for our 6-day sea kayaking expedition in the Haikai area, camping in the wild each night along our passage. We paddle an average of 5 hours a day, covering 8 to 10 miles on some days. Weather permitting, we will cross open channels to several islands, hopefully seeing sea otter, humpback whales and orcas, perhaps even hearing the elusive coastal wolf.

On Day 8 we will board our chartered sailboat, which will be our mobile base for the next five days as we explore the Inside Passage and tranquil estuaries where we hope to see wolves and bears fishing in the salmon streams. We launch kayaks from aboard, paddling for a few hours each day beneath vertical granite cliffs where waterfalls pour from on high. Although the ship-based portion of this trip is rated easy, changeable weather and a rugged shoreline make for intermediate-level sea kayaking excursions. 

Paddling the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest is a wilderness adventure steeped in primitive beauty. Some of the highlights that will remain with us long after we return to more civilized climes may include wolf howls at dawn, rivers teeming with salmon, the quiet surprise of a bear coming into view, a bald eagle in flight, and getting to know local people and learning about their rich cultural traditions. The raw majesty of the world’s last great temperate rainforest has a power that many who experience it find life-changing.

13 Days

2012 Dates

Aug. 27-Sep. 8

Sep. 8-20

Trip Difficulty: Level 4

2012 Fees
Land Cost*

Group size 8-10: $4,990

Small Group Surcharge: $500

Single Supplement:  $200

Internal Flights
R/T from Vancouver, BC, Canada: $350 - $600

*Price does not include international airfare, internal flights or mandatory trip insurance. A 5% GST will also be applied. Visitors to Canada are eligible for a 50% refund on the GST. Price does not include international airfare or mandatory trip insurance. Prices are given in US dollars.