Top 12 wildlife experiences in Canada

By Canada specialist Hollie

Canada is known for its huge tracts of pristine wilderness, the sheer scale of which has done much to protect its abundance of animals. The nutrient-rich seas attract some of the greatest concentrations of seabirds and also offer some of the world’s best whale sightings. On land, quadrupedal mammals outnumber the human population. Depending on where you visit, you could encounter polar bears out on the shimmering tundra, grizzly bears snatching salmon from fast-flowing rivers, and wolves howling in unison.

Inspired by this diverse cast of creatures, here are my top picks for wildlife experiences across the country, based in the animals’ natural habitats.

1. See polar bears on the tundra of Hudson Bay

From late October to early November, Manitoba‘s Hudson Bay begins to freeze over into stark white sheets of thick sea ice. This annual event marks the start of one of my favorite wildlife phenomena — the great polar bear gathering. Thousands assemble on the shore in anticipation as they wait for the ice to thicken enough for them to begin their long-awaited hunting season.

There are multiple ways to see polars bears during this season, but for me, none quite top the tundra vehicle. Rumbling across long stretches of frost-molded landscape, you have a good chance of spotting a polar bear (or five, as was my case) aboard these giant, heated buggies. And, what’s more, you’re guaranteed a window seat.

For a more relaxed approach to bear spotting, you could stay at Seal River Heritage Lodge. Accessible only by seaplane, this remote lodge is visited frequently by inquisitive polar bears — as well as Arctic hares and foxes — and its expansive picture windows enable you to watch them from the comfort of indoors.

Alternatively, you might try out a walking safari. Offered year-round, these experiences allow you to (safely) get closer to the Arctic wildlife. Visit in summer and you could capture photos of polar bears among the wildflowers.

Get me there: This trip to Churchill combines time out on the tundra searching for polar bears with a dog-sledding experience.

2. Cruise by humpbacks & orcas on a boat trip from Victoria

What I love about the Salish Sea is that it positively pulsates with marine life. Gaggles of geese, schools of salmon, and consortiums of octopuses all call this stretch of water home. But it’s the pods of orcas and humpback whales that really bring spectacle to the area.

You can see them breaching waves on a kayaking trip, or sometimes gathering in groups along the shore. But, for a more educational experience, I recommend taking a boat trip from Victoria Harbour.

Led by a passionate group of naturalists, you’ll learn all about British Columbia’s whale population (and our environmental responsibilities toward them) as you cross an area of water that remains relatively under-the-radar.

This tour is offered from mid-May until the end of September, but the experience is wildly different depending on the time of year. Most people rave about the later months, when the whales are well fed and at their most hyperactive: jumping out of the water, slapping their fins, and getting into all sorts of odd angles for trap feeding.

But, I also think there’s a certain charm to the earlier season, when you’re most likely to spot those beautiful heart-shaped blows spearing the skies. The quieter waters also make it a great time to listen out for orcas communicating through echolocation, which you can hear through the on-board hydrophone.

Get me there: You can enjoy a journey aboard a whale-watching boat on this trip across the wilderness of British Columbia.

3. Spot grizzly bears at a wilderness lodge on Berry Island

As the name suggests, there’s no greater place to experience Canada’s bear activity than the Great Bear Rainforest. I was so captivated with this area that I later decided to volunteer here for three months. During this time, I found that the best way to get the full rainforest experience — and increase your chances of spotting a grizzly — was to stay at a wilderness lodge.

There are plenty around, all with different specialisms. You might stay at Klahoose Wilderness Resort for a First Nations perspective on bear watching, or Knight Inlet Lodge with its many platforms and photograph spots.

The one I like best, though, is Farewell Harbour Lodge on Berry Island, a remote expanse of forested land just off Broughton Archipelago. Its isolated location and wild terrain make it rife with wildlife (including grizzlies), which you may spot on a guided hike, while paddling a kayak, or even on a heli-hiking trip.

The best time to visit depends on what you want to see. I love to go in June, when the mothers are just starting to venture out with their newborn cubs. Another popular season is early October, when grizzlies of all shapes and sizes are out getting their claws into salmon during the fish’s migration upstream.

Get me there: Spend three nights at Farewell Harbour Lodge as part of our bears and whales of Vancouver Island trip.

4. Search for black bears on a 4x4 tour of Whistler

Lush cedar forests, startingly blue lakes, sheer glacier-capped peaks… Whistler’s natural setting is a major draw for both visitors and wildlife alike. I’ve spotted white-tailed deer, mountain goats, and numerous birds from ravens to bald eagles in the mountains surrounding the town — but no sight is quite so iconically Whistler as a foraging black bear.

It’s possible to spot black bears from a safe distance along one of the area’s many mountain-biking and hiking trails. But if you have the time, I recommend taking a private 4x4 tour around the Olympic Park. With more area covered, you’re much more likely to come across the elusive animal, particularly under the guidance of an expert, who’ll show you how to look out for its tell-tale tracks and tree markings.

If you aren’t planning to head quite as far west as Whistler, you could try your luck at bear tracking out in the Canadian Rockies instead. We can arrange for you to join a wildlife tour in either Jasper or Banff National Park. Alternatively, you might head out east to Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park, which is only a three-hour drive from Toronto.

Black bears are especially fond of berries, so wherever you go, I recommend visiting in May, June, or July when the vegetation is at its most fertile.

Get me there: Our self-drive itinerary of Western Canada includes several days in the year-round resort of Whistler.

5. Observe beluga, blue & minke whales in Tadoussac

The confluence of Québec’s St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers is a krill-rich feeding ground where warm waters merge with cold. Over 13 whale species live or migrate through this region, including rare white belugas, titanic blues, and the streamline-looking minke.

Thanks to these conditions, whale sightings are common. But to increase your chances, I can arrange for you to take a Zodiac boat trip from the nearby village of Tadoussac.

You’ll spend two hours on the vessel looking out for huge 9 m (35 ft) blue whale spouts, listening for the clicks of social beluga whales, and searching for all the different kinds of whale pods. A certified naturalist guide will also be onboard to narrate the experience and answer any of your questions.

Alternatively, you could try a similar experience further up the coast at Les Escoumins. After your whale-watching cruise, you can stay at the waterside Natakam Condo-Hotels on the Essipit reserve. Here, binoculars are provided for each condo to help you observe whales from your terrace or balcony.

Technically speaking, whales are found in these waters year-round, but for prime wildlife viewing, you should aim to visit in July or August for blue whales, or between May and October for beluga and minke whales.

Get me there: Ideal for nature lovers, this trip around Québec includes a whale-watching boat tour, hiking in Maurice National Park, and wine tasting in the Charlevoix region.

6. Camp within wolf territory in Tlatlasikwala Nation

Wolves are found across many parts of the world, but the coastal wolf is only endemic to the Pacific Northwest. I’m fascinated by this smaller species, which lives a semi-aquatic lifestyle, swimming long distances for hours at a time and surviving largely on marine life.

I can arrange an exclusive private experience focused on interacting with these wolves. Based in the territory of the Tlatlasikwala First Nation in British Columbia, you’ll spend three days with a Tlatlasikwala guide, who’ll take you out to track them by land and sea. At night, you’ll camp within their territory — at a safe distance, but close enough to hear their howls.

Grey wolves are another common sight throughout Canada. For a chance to spot one, you could visit Alberta’s Bow Valley Parkway (near Lake Louise) or Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario.

Get me there: You might add a wolf-tracking experience to this trip that takes in Western Canada’s highlights.

7. Hike by moose & caribou in Gros Morne National Park

A trip to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Gros Morne National Park is like a journey into another world, with steep, perpendicular cliffs and cavernous fjords carving up the landscape. Thousands of moose have taken up residence on this diverse land in the past century. In fact, the park now has one of the highest moose populations in the world.

One of your best bets for spotting a moose — or its cervid cousin, the caribou — is on a hiking trail. We can arrange for you to take a guided hike with an expert on Gros Morne’s geology, flora, and fauna. Moose, for the most part, are typically seen at dusk or dawn in wet, boggy woodland. But depending on your preference and fitness level, you could also find yourself summiting the peak of Gros Morne Mountain, delving into the sea-faring history at Trout River, or traversing the Earth’s actual mantle at the Tablelands.

If Newfoundland is a bit too off the grid, you might instead try your luck searching for moose in Canada’s more populous provinces. One location I often recommend to clients is Gaspésie National Park in Québec, nestled within the dominating Chic-Choc Mountains.

Get me there: Keep a lookout for moose and caribou on a self-drive journey through Newfoundland’s precipitous hinterland.

8. Look for rare spirit bears on Princess Royal Island

Bears are a fairly shy species to begin with, but the spirit bear is an even rarer find. Actually a variety of black bear, they inherit their distinctive creamy coat from a double-recessive gene passed down through a small population in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest.

Like with grizzlies, the best time to spot one is in September, when the salmon are spawning. The fish draw the bears from the surrounding forests down to the rivers, where they’ll gorge themselves before winter hibernation.

You can increase your chances of sighting a spirit bear by visiting Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy on Princess Royal Island. Escorted by a Kitasoo guide, you’ll learn all about the history of the land and the significance of the spirit bear to the local First Nations community. You might also spot black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and Sitka deer along the way in the island’s forest-shaded inlets.

Get me there: Include time in the Great Bear Rainforest as part of a trip around Alaska and Western Canada.

9. Sail by puffins in Bay Bulls & Witless Bay

Imagine you’re cruising along brilliant blue seas, passing by great white icebergs and tumbling rock pillars, when a blur of black and orange zips by. And then another. And then another. This is your experience at Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bay Bulls when the puffins are at their most active.

Arriving in early May and staying until mid-September, Atlantic puffin colonies congregate around the town to have their young. Walking along the shore, you might be able to spy the birds nesting with their pufflings in the bluffs of the cliffside. But for a near-guaranteed view of a puffin parade, I suggest joining a catamaran trip around Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.

On board, you’ll pass by four of the reserve’s islands, including pockmarked Gull Island, where thousands of puffin burrows dot the land, and visiting in summer, you’re likely to spot icebergs drifting along the waves.

Humpback, fin, and minke whales, as well as over a quarter of a million seabirds (including guillemots, gannets, and kittiwakes) also migrate through the reserve — and along the way you’ll learn about the wildlife and geology of the region through live commentary.

If your appetite for birdlife hasn’t fully been whet, you might then head to Québec for more avian experiences. Percé, located on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is a magnet for Québécois bird lovers, with over 110,000 northern gannets calling its distinctive looming arches home.

Or, you could spend a day with your binoculars in the marshes of Magog in the Eastern Townships, where you might happen upon the whistles of a chickadee or the bass-toned honks of a Canada goose.

Get me there: For your chance to see Canada’s Atlantic puffins, you could take a day trip to Bay Bulls from St John’s as part of a self-drive trip around Newfoundland.

10. Explore the shores of Port Hardy with sea otters

One of my all-time favorite stories of modern-day conservation efforts is that of the sea otter. Locally extinct for over half a century, in the last five years the button-nosed sea mammal has returned to the Pacific shores of British Columbia.

Although it’s still early days in their return, small bevies of otters have been seen by our clients and specialists alike on recent trips to this side of the Canadian coastline.

You might spot one — as well as Dall’s porpoises, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Steller sea lions, and humpback whales — on a guided boat tour in the wildlife-rich waters around Port Hardy on Vancouver Island.

Or, I could arrange for you to stay in Haida Gwaii, a sparsely populated chain of islands just off the northwest coast that teems with animal life. Here, you can look out for sea otters paddling in the archipelago’s unusually warm currents, and afterwards learn about the history of the Haida Nation at its UNESCO-designated archaeological sites.

Get me there: Include time on Vancouver Island as part of a trip to Western Canada shaped around your interests.

11. Experience the salmon run at Campbell River

If you’re in or around Vancouver Island in mid-summer or early autumn, I’d urge you to check out the salmon run. An annual event, it’s when the rivers become awash with salmon (and salmon-adjacent species) on their way to lay the next generation of roe.

Keen anglers should head to Campbell River, snaking up the east coast of the island and often described as the “salmon capital of the world”, for unbeatable fishing during this season. Taking a high-speed boat or Zodiac, you’ll weave between islands to popular salmon-run spots amid emerald forest.

As you fish, you’ll also learn about the culture of the Homalco First Nation who live in this area.

Get me there: Draw inspiration from our trip around Western Canada’s wilderness hotspots, including a two-night stay in the town of Campbell River.

12. Find beavers on a wildlife tour in the Laurentian Mountains

There’s no animal more quintessentially Canadian than the beaver. The buck-toothed rodent is a national symbol of Canada, and its likeness graces the back of the Canadian nickel. It’s so beloved that it lends its name to one of the country’s trademark desserts: the beaver tail (a flat loaf of fried dough topped with a sweet garnish of your choice).

You can find beavers all over Canada, but for a specialized experience where you can learn about the animal in its natural habitat, I recommend taking a wildlife tour in Québec’s Laurentian Mountains. Basing yourself in the log-constructed Hôtel Sacacomie, you’ll head out into the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve with an experienced tracker, who’ll share techniques for spotting beavers and what their daily habits are.

Beavers are most typically spotted between May and September, and they’re at their most active at dusk and dawn.

Get me there: Put your own spin on this Eastern Canada route by adding a few days beaver spotting in the Laurentian Mountains, a two-hour drive from Montréal.