Great Bear Rainforest

North America’s Coastal Safari

Discover the raw beauty of the Great Bear Rainforest, a protected natural wonder larger than Ireland.

Great Bear Rainforest

North America’s Last Stand of Temperate Rainforest

The Great Bear Rainforest is a land of fjords, islands and great river estuaries. It’s the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest where bears and wolf packs thrive as they have for millennia.

Get ready for days of adventure and wildlife, supported by a very comfortable expedition ship, gourmet chef and welcoming guides. Maple Leaf Adventures is a pioneer of tourism in the Great Bear Rainforest, having designed tours here starting in 1991 and advocated for its protection.

Highlights

Explore the wildlife, the waterfall-filled wonder, and the human history of one of the planet’s most spectacular coastlines.

Welcome to Bear Country

Healthy populations of bears, including the rare, white spirit bear.

A Place to Feel Small

Sail the fjords where 4,000-foot cliffs rise above you.

Magnificent Old-Growth

Walk in protected, unlogged and ancient rainforests and wildflower meadows.

Rich Cultures

You’ll visit villages, meet locals, and see ancient art traditions still in place today.

Experience the Great Bear Rainforest

See the Great Bear Rainforest through the eyes of our guests.

Activities

Great Bear Rainforest tours rated “Best of the World” by National Geographic.

Moderate walking
Bear viewing
Natural history through hands on experience
Sailing (on a sailing ship)
Village sites

Small boat rides
Marine mammal viewing
Talks with your naturalist and any scientists encountered
Kayaking and fishing (optional)
Beaches and hot springs

What People Say

What guests like you loved about Maple Leaf Adventures in the Gulf Islands.

“What a magical and awe-inspiring adventure!”

– Jane Robinson, Vancouver, BC

“What a wonderful trip. Mountains and sea, stories and songs, bears and hot springs, salmon bennies and lamb loin, and raven puppets. A great crew too. A chance to be in the moment on the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest. Thank you all!”

– Sharon Adelman, Vancouver, BC

“My most favourite adventure ever! Great crew and wonderful co-passengers”

– Bob Douat, San Antonio, NM

“It’s so easy to say that an adventure is a “once in a lifetime event”. What’s hard is to find words that describe how one trip can be packed with so many once-in-a-lifetime moments. I just returned from the Great Bear Rainforest, having spent 6 days on Passing Cloud. From the minute we stepped on board, the crew made us feel like family. They took care of us, taught us, encouraged us, and laughed with us”

– Jeff Coulter, Washington, DC

Featured Wildlife

As Seen In The Nature Documentaries

Expeditions offer visitors a true safari while supporting a conservation-based economy.

Grizzly Bears

The largest bears in North America. Observe their natural behaviours in pristine habitats.

Spirit Bears

Found exclusively in the Great Bear Rainforest, a remarkable sight to behold.

Humpback Whales

Keep an eye out for their unique feeding behaviour known as bubble-net feeding.

Coastal Wolf (Sea Wolf)

Elusive and adapted to the coastal environments of the Great Bear Rainforest, exhibiting a semi-aquatic lifestyle.

Cultural History

Explore with the invitation the worlds of several northwest First Nations: the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Haisla, Gitga’at and Henaaksiala. Everywhere is evidence of their civilization. You’ll have the opportunity to visit the remote towns and communities that shape Alaska’s Southeast as part of your expedition.

Fish traps, bark-stripped trees and longhouse remains give testimony to a way of life tuned to the rhythm of nature.

You’ll visit modern villages, talk with local residents, and see the ancient art traditions still in place today.

Nature and Landscape

The Great Bear Rainforest is a land of fjords, rainforests, islands and great river estuaries. There are no roads. Instead, people travel by water.

The many protected, unlogged and ancient rainforests, and the quiet, nutrient-rich ocean, support wildlife and ecosystems as they would have been thousands of years ago across the continent – where grizzly bears and wolf packs roam free and live from what they naturally have always lived from, including abundant salmon runs.

Seasons of the Great Bear Rainforest

Our experienced crew and naturalist will take you to areas where you’ll be able to witness peak nature and wildlife events.

Spring brings bird migrations, newly awakened grizzly and black bears grazing on green sedges, pink salmonberry blossoms, spectacular snowcapped mountains and deep fjords where mountain goats come down almost to sea level, hot springs, and calmer weather.

In summer, we see humpback whales, fin whales, killer whales, porpoises, other marine mammals, seabirds, mountain goats, porpoises, and dense intertidal life. West coast, sandy beaches beckon, some of them home to elusive wolves.

In the fall we witness the return of the salmon to spawn, which draws grizzly, spirit and black bears to the estuaries, along with whales, sea lions, seals, eagles and coastal wolves.