Sea Wolf Lodge
Seven minutes on one of our trips, filmed on a Sea Wolf Lodge stay in May 2026: what we do, and what we offer. All-inclusive and Indigenous entrepreneur-led, from Port McNeill, BC.
The film
About seven minutes. Press play when you are ready, with the sound on or off. Film by Matthew Stephenson.
What you are watching
Sea Wolf Lodge is Sea Wolf Adventures at Sointula Lodge, in May, September and October.
In this film, you are witnessing one of our trips: what we do, and what we offer. Guests feel it is very intimate, and the places we go are very special.
The unique thing about us is that we are from this land and water. When people from around the world come and visit us, they are helping us stay connected to our territories. That is the sacred loop.
Through the season
Every stay is four days and three nights, with twelve guests at most and two groups a week. You start on a Sunday or a Wednesday in Port McNeill and are back in Port McNeill at about 4:00 pm on Day 4. Every cabin has an ocean view, and every meal and drink is taken care of, from the arrival dinner to the departure lunch.
Your guides are Kwakwaka’wakw Knowledge Keepers, and the culture runs through the whole stay: the history of these waters as you travel them, the names of the places you pass, and a guided visit to the U'mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay.
Every stay
The film follows a May group from the start: a welcome and a life jacket fitting, then aboard Mayumi 2.0, where your guide talks the group through the territory on the chart before the boat heads out.
The boat days are long and relaxed, and most of the time you are seated and watching. When the boat comes in, it is about a ten minute drive from town to the lodge.
May
In spring the grizzlies are on the estuaries eating sedge grass, and in May the bear viewing is from the water, at the river mouths of Knight Inlet, Bond Sound and Thompson Sound, from a safe and respectful distance. Black bears turn rocks for crab on the shell beaches at low tide.
Whales are with us through the whole season, and humpback whales feed in Blackfish Sound, most often on the way home.
September and October
From August 1 to the end of the season the salmon are running and we follow the bears up the rivers. The plan can change without notice, and some days reaching the viewing site means a walk of up to about an hour on forest trail and gravel bars with your guides, so please be comfortable with moderate hiking before you book. In heavy rain the rivers can rise to unsafe levels, and on those days we switch to boat-based bear viewing instead.
Bald eagles are overhead all season, thickest when the salmon run. A $100 per person salmon stewardship fee, included in the package price, keeps our salmon restoration work going. Salmon is life.
Every evening
Once the boat is tied up for the night, the evening is yours. Dinner is in the oceanview dining room, with meals that showcase local ingredients and the coast's bounty.
Then the cedar sauna, the hot tub and a cold plunge, hammocks and a fire pit under the stars, or a calm paddle on the quiet water around Malcolm Island. Evenings at the lodge also bring storytelling, a traditional bone game or dancing.
At a glance
Wildlife is wild, and sightings are never guaranteed; refunds are not issued for wildlife or weather conditions.
The package
Grizzly bear viewing, Indigenous culture, a marine wildlife safari and four days and three nights at Sea Wolf Lodge, with every meal and every evening taken care of.
Ask a Lodge Specialist
We check your dates, make sure the trip is the right fit for your group, and help with travel to Port McNeill. Reply within two business days.
Know your dates already? Book online on the package page.
Guest reviews
Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Awards, 2025.
Packages begin on Sundays and Wednesdays, May and September to October. Ask a lodge specialist about your dates.
