The spirit bear islands — Gribbell and Princess Royal above all — hold the white-coated black bears the region is famous for. The Kermode is not an albino but a black bear carrying a recessive gene, and on Gribbell a notably high proportion of bears are white. Sightings require patience at a stream and are never guaranteed.

The mainland inlets and estuaries — the Khutze, the Mussel and others — are grizzly country. Bears fish the shallows and graze the sedge flats at the head of the inlets, watched from boats and viewing stands at close range.

The channels between hold the marine life: humpback whales bubble-net feeding in late summer, orca, Pacific white-sided dolphins, and sea otters recovering along the outer coast.

The forest itself deserves attention as much as the animals — thousand-year-old cedars, wolves that swim between islands and feed on salmon, and the coastal wolf population that is genetically distinct from inland wolves.

Late August through early October is the season, tracking the salmon runs. Outside that window the bears are dispersed in the forest and lodges are largely closed.

Practicalities

Access is by float plane or boat from Bella Bella, Bella Coola or Prince Rupert, and there are no roads. Several of the best operations are owned and run by First Nations — the Kitasoo Xai'xais operation out of Klemtu among them — and choosing one puts your money into the communities that fought for this coast's protection and now manage its bear viewing.

Capacity is deliberately tiny and the season is short, so book a year ahead for prime dates.