The Journal · Bear Viewing Lodges
I've flown into Glendale Cove twice now, camera in my lap, to photograph the largest gathering of grizzlies in British Columbia. This is what the viewing-stand season actually looks like — and how to time your own trip.
The Journal
Backcountry Lodges
I've flown into both Purcell and Mistaya with a drone case in one hand and skis in the other. Fifteen helicopter minutes from Golden, a full world away from it — here's how BC's heli-access backcountry lodges work, and how to choose between meadow and glacier.
Ben Taft ·
Dive Resorts
Jacques Cousteau called this stretch of current-swept coast the best cold-water diving in the world. I spent a week on Hurst Island with cameras topside and below deck to see what a quarter-century of family-run diving actually looks like.
Ben Taft ·
Sea Kayaking Tours
Orca and humpback move through Johnstone Strait all summer, and the best seat is eighteen inches off the water. I paddled and filmed with Spirit of the West out of Quadra Island — base camps, expeditions, and the hot tub that ruins you for ordinary camping.
Ben Taft ·
Fishing Lodges
Fifteen private lakes in the Interior, a heli-fishing lodge on the Gold River, and a charter fleet working Tofino's open coast year-round. I've photographed all three — here's how to choose between them.
Ben Taft ·
The collection
Sponsored placements are labelled. Ordering never affects our research.
BC Interior · Fishing Lodges
5.0 · 11 TripAdvisor reviews
Boat-access fly-fishing lodge on fifteen interior lakes, max twelve guests, all-inclusive from $1,740 per person.
mid-June to the end of August · sleeps 12 · Road, Boat
North Vancouver Island · Dive Resorts
5.0 · 46 TripAdvisor reviews
Off-grid dive resort on Hurst Island working Browning Passage, reached by boat or seaplane from Port Hardy.
not published; visibility is best from late autumn to early spring · sleeps 14 · Boat, Float plane
Great Bear Rainforest · Bear Viewing Lodges
4.0 · 605 TripAdvisor reviews
Indigenous-owned floating lodge at Glendale Cove; boat-based bear viewing in spring, viewing stands from late August.
spring to mid-October; viewing stands in use from late August to mid-October · sleeps 36 · Float plane, Boat
Southern Gulf Islands · Coastal Retreats
4.0 · 20 TripAdvisor reviews
Oceanfront guesthouse, farm and spa on Salt Spring Island with four suites, a private beach and breakfast included.
not published; assumed year-round · sleeps 8 · Ferry, Road
BC Interior · Backcountry Lodges
5.0 · 42 TripAdvisor reviews
Heli-access lodge in the Wildcat Creek basin near Golden — ski touring in winter, alpine hiking in summer.
late December to late April for ski touring, and early July to mid-September for alpine hiking · sleeps 14 · Helicopter
BC Interior · Backcountry Lodges
5.0 · 317 TripAdvisor reviews
Heli-access backcountry lodge fifteen minutes from Golden, with guided and self-guided ski touring and hiking.
December to April for ski touring and snowshoeing, June to September for hiking · sleeps 30 · Helicopter
Discovery Islands · Sea Kayaking Tours
4.9 · 247 TripAdvisor reviews
Quadra Island sea kayaking operator running four- to eight-day base-camp and expedition trips from $1,695.
late June to late September for the British Columbia departures · sleeps 12 · Ferry, Road
Nootka Sound · Fishing Lodges
Year-round riverfront fly-fishing lodge near Strathcona Park, all-inclusive from $780 per person a night.
year-round · sleeps 18 · Road, Helicopter
Clayoquot Sound · Guided Fishing Charters
Year-round Tofino sportfishing charters sold by the boat for up to five guests, from $800 for a half day.
year-round; peak salmon and halibut mid-May to the end of September, winter chinook and prawns from October · sleeps 5 · Road
9 properties · 0 fully verified · updated 31 July 2026
Every listing is compiled from the operator’s own published material and public records, then rewritten in our own words — we never republish marketing copy.
Each property carries a last-verified date. Anything we could not confirm is marked unverified rather than guessed at.
Operators pay us for qualified enquiries, never for placement. Sponsored positions are always labelled as such and never change the underlying ranking.
Enquiries are reviewed by a person before they reach an operator, and are shared with one operator at a time.
Operators pay us when we send them a qualified enquiry. Placement in listings and comparison tables is never for sale; sponsored positions are labelled and pinned, but the underlying research and ordering are unaffected.
No. You book directly with the operator at their published rate — there is no aggregator margin added on top, and we never handle your payment.
Every listing shows a last-verified date. We re-check properties on a rolling schedule and re-verify rates and season windows ahead of each booking season.
It is reviewed by a person, then sent to the operator you selected. If they cannot accommodate your dates, we may offer it to up to two similar operators — and only ever one at a time. Your details are never sold to advertisers or list brokers.
