"Imagine a vibrant wilderness where the landscape is a lush mosaic of rolling aspen and spruce forests, prairie meadows filled with wildflowers, sparkling blue lakes, wetlands filled with wildlife and crystal-clear streams linking necklaces of beaver ponds. Imagine awakening beside a secluded lake to the call of a loon in a cozy country home.  Add to this your anticipation of wildlife encounters as you set out at first light on a safari to see wild creatures in their natural habitat. Or just imagine the thrill of sitting in a safe blind and secretly watching bears and other animals, at close range, go about their normal activities."

We’ll take you on wildlife safaris, share our knowledge of the intricacies of the Riding Mountain ecosystems and the amazing adaptations and interrelationships of its inhabitants.  We’ll show you nature, up close and personal, on short forays into the wilds, including taking you to a vacant bear’s den and revealing some of the bear’s fascinating biological secrets.

On safari, you might see—bears, beavers, bison, moose, elk, deer, wolves, coyotes, lynx, raccoons, porcupines, squirrels, hares, badgers, otters, mink, skunks or fishers. You might even  see a cougar but these stealthy individuals are only seen by those who are extremely lucky. Birds? There are over 260 species found on Riding Mountain. Chances are you’ll see the Common Loon, Great Gray Owl, Osprey, White Pelican, Bald Eagle, Piliated Woodpecker, Great Blue Heron and a host of others. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch, you’ll have the unique possibility of observing Black bears at close range.  But don’t worry. You’ll be in the comfort and safety of a blind we fashioned from a recycled school bus. It’s like a safari except it is very quiet and the animals come to you rather than you going to them.  However, it lets you get a lot closer and it takes a lot less fuel, which is good for the environment.  At the blind, there is also a chance you might see raccoons, coyotes, lynx, fishers, mink, skunks and squirrels.

And, if for any reason you need some assistance in the photography department, we’re always there to help.  We’re well versed in this area. 

If you get the urge during our mid-day slow period, you can go canoeing or kayaking on the lake and perhaps check out the family of loons or the big beaver lodge.  You can also go exploring and stroll through our meadows, along the lakeshore, creek banks or woodland trails.  If mountain biking is your thing,  we have miles of beautiful undulating, winding country roads with spectacular hilltop panoramas - where peak traffic is likely to be one vehicle per hour. 

If you’re an animal lover, you can wander about our yard and visit the friendly horses, Billie our tame Whitetail deer, Cha-chi and Rio our inseparable, affectionate donkeys, Mickey and Sonny our overly-friendly dogs, Peaches—a love-starved cat and our assorted, somewhat aloof flock of ducks and Chadwick, a friendly Canada Goose. 

Relaxing on the porch overlooking the lake is always an option.

As for accommodation, we’ll do our best to make you feel at home in our big but cozy country house and pamper you with Candy’s great home-cooking.

Maximum number of people at one time in October/November: 10*

    * Accommodation in our main house is on a first come basis. Once the capacity is reach, clients making subsequent bookings will be required to commute to and from our 3-bedroom bungalow, located at the north end of the ranch, which is about a ten minute drive from the main house.  A vehicle is supplied for this purpose.

Minimum Age: Minimum age for participants joining others booked for a specific departure date is 15 years old.

Information on Black Bear Watching: Although we often see bears on our safaris, Black bears are timid creatures and usually disappear quickly into the underbrush at first sight of a person or vehicle. In order to observe these shy animals at close range, it is necessary to sit quietly in a blind/hide and await their arrival. Clients should understand that, although there are bears visiting our viewing site virtually every evening, these bears are free-roaming wild animals and we can not control the exact times when they visit our blind nor can we guarantee that bears will visit any particular day.  Bears start appearing at our blind early in May and can usually be expected virtually every day until mid October, except during the last week of August and first week of September when their appearances have been erratic in some years. Bears start going into hibernation in the middle of October, so the prospects of seeing bears diminishes from that time onwards into the first week of November. 

For more details, pl

Home    Wildlife Vacations    Custom-Guided Tours   Photo Albums and Videos

Guests' Remarks   Nature and Wildlife of Riding Mountain  About Our Ranch  

 Ranch Location  About Us   Contact Us   Registration Form