Bear Viewing at Glendale Cove

The eastern portion of Knight Inlet is stunning.

The Broughtons provide opportunities to see and experience a wide variety of terrain and wildlife, everything from low-lying islands and islets, to fjord-like channels and majestic mountains. Similar to Kingcome Inlet and Tribune Channel, Knight Inlet is stunning and remote. Knight Inlet is big, 70 miles long, 2 miles wide and 1,500 feet deep. The eastern portion of Knight Inlet is absolutely breathtaking and is home to Glendale Cove, a world-renowned grizzly bear viewing area.

Tourists come from all over the world to stay at Knight Inlet Lodge

Knight Inlet Lodge, located on the eastern shore of the cove, has gone from being a fishing lodge to a high-end Eco-tour lodge. Seventy percent of their guests come from Europe and twenty percent come from Australia; a handful of guests are Canadian and U.S. citizens. Two other nearby lodges also provide Eco tours of Knight Inlet.

Glendale Cove has one of the highest concentrations of Grizzly Bears (Brown Bears) on the west coast of British Columbia. Bears making their way from the high mountains above, appear in the spring and forage along the grassy tidal areas of Glendale Cove. By mid-August, the bears are feeding on salmon. Glendale Cove is the territory of the Da’naxda’xw Native Band, who moved to New Vancouver in the 1960’s (see blog post dated July 23rd). 

Band members working at Glendale Cove provide visitors with written guidelines for bear viewing. These guidelines are important to maintain the preservation of the bear habitat. When bears feel disturbed or crowded, they often become displaced. For these reasons, bear viewing is allowed from dinghies and kayaks, keeping at least 50 meters (165 feet) from shore. It is best practice to turn off the motor when viewing bears to reduce noise and disturbance.

Vessels viewing bears along the shore are limited to 6 at a time. Maximum speed within the Cove is 5 knots. Going ashore is not allowed within the Cove, all viewing is done from your vessel, dinghy, or kayak. For boaters who have pets that need to go ashore, dogs can be taken to Duncan Bight, located east of Glendale Cove. Tour operators as well as pleasure boats all abide by the same rules to ensure the protection of these bears.

While these bears are used to seeing water craft in the Cove, viewing time should be limited; if a bear looks up and stares at you, it’s time to leave; they have become stressed at that point.

We were thankful to see that tour guides and pleasure boaters were all being very careful, abiding by the rules set down by the Commercial Bear Viewing Association and First Nations. There’s no need to hurry, Grizzly Bears are so concentrated here, that you’re almost guaranteed to see a bear. We saw a mother with two little cubs feeding along the western shoreline.

Anchorage at Glendale Cove

When pleasure boaters visit Glendale Cove, you are to hail the “Glendale Cove Guardians” on VHF Ch 68 to announce your arrival; they will provide written instructions for bear viewing once you have anchored. Anchorage can be taken along the western shore in two small bights in 50-80 feet of water at the required distance of 200 meters (656 feet) from shore for anchoring.

After our visit to Glendale Cove, we motored north across Knight Inlet to Naena Point to find another reported Native pictograph. Located along a wide, white-colored ledge about 10 feet above the waterline, we found the pictograph, a drawing of four boxes with markings inside each box. It appeared that there had been a string of many boxes, which have faded over time. These pictographs serve as testament to the long-standing occupation of First Nations people.

Continuing back down Knight Inlet, we stopped once again to anchor for the night at Tsakonu Cove. If not planning an overnight stay at Glendale Cove, Tsakonu Cove serves as a good staging point for a visit to and from Glendale, with well-protected anchorage for overnight stays. Anchorage is also possible closer to Glendale Cove behind Tomakstum Island in a small, unnamed cove.