I’m standing at the edge of an emerald green forest and all my senses are alert. I can taste salt in the air, I can smell the pine, citrus and woodiness of this forest and feel its connection to nature. As I listen, I can hear the wind whispering through the trees and see the leaves as they dance across the forest floor. I am hiking in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia, home of the magnificent Grizzly Bear.
This is a trip I have been wanting to do for several years and staying at Tweedsmuir Park lodge has made this once in a lifetime experience possible. I am here with my husband and two daughters, one intrepid in nature and eagerly awaiting the sight of the Grizzly Bear and the other incurious, tepid and petrified at the thought of seeing a grizzly in the wild. Over the next 3 days, our caring, intelligent and expert guides will make us all feel comfortable in this relatively untouched wilderness, as we hike and paddle through Tweedsmuir National Park, learning about nature, the indigenous peoples of the area and the incredible Grizzly Bear.
Each morning we wake up in our cozy cabin with the sun shining over the mountains, this is such a beautiful and hidden piece of British Columbia. The day starts relatively early here at Tweedsmuir Park Lodge and as we leave our cabin, we notice a flattened patch of grass to the left where our guide tells us a Grizzly Bear slept the night before.
We head to the main lodge for breakfast and a menu is put before us. It is full of six different options for breakfast. We soon learn that this is the norm for Tweedsmuir Park Lodge - at each meal we are offered several different gourmet style options. They call it “inspired dining”. We call it delicious food beautifully presented in the most romantic of settings.
We learn that Tweedsmuir Park lodge offers a variety of activities to keep us all active. The lodge has Icelandic ponies which you can ride through the property. There are a variety of hiking options based on your fitness and ability level. You can float or paddle silently down the River all the while looking out for Grizzly Bears or wander through the ancient Rainforest and learn about the Nuxalk First Nations people and the history and significance of the Petroglyph Gardens buried deep in the heart of an Old Growth Forest. The lodge is home to a variety of lodge based activities, try out Archery for the very first time, swim in the River that runs through the property or take a book to the wildlife viewing platform and alternate reading pages of your book with looking out across the river for the majestic Grizzly Bear.
As we head to our cabin for our last night, I think back to our time here at Tweedsmuir Park Lodge. We have witnessed the great and unparalleled beauty of this land; it has unleashed our inner adventurer and we had a lot of fun participating in a variety of experiences. For some who come to Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, their goal is to photograph and see the incredibly Grizzly bear and if they come during the late Summer when the Salmon arrive to spawn, this an almost daily occurrence. For others, its a chance to reconnect with their family, experience one of the most beautiful places on the planet and simply breathe.
For more information on the experience, see our more detailed post here: https://www.northsouthtravel.com/tweedsmuir-park-lodge