Bear watching

The season starts at the beginning of April with a white blanket of snow, continuing through the green summer, ending with the colours of autumn until October.

The bear watching season lasts about six months, starting when the first bear arrives to the hide area after hibernation, ending in autumn when the last bear leaves for winter hibernation.

This far north, the sun sets and rises slowly and the spring nights are slightly longer and darker. With each day, daylength increases towards summer and the nights of Midsummer are bright enough for watching and photographing throughout the night.

Patience is the key

Remember that bears are wild animals and they move with free will and to their own schedule. Sometimes one night is enough to see bears. The probability to see a bear is 90-99 % , depending on the month.

Each season about 20-30 bears visit the hide area. Some evenings several bears may be seen at the same time and the nearest bear may be a few meters from the hide. In addition to bears, the hide area is regularly visited by 1-4 different wolverines, foxes and 1-2 times per week by the local wolf pack.