Guests at Bear’s Den Lodge will feel at home in the heart of the French River Delta. The lodge was built in 1925 and is accessible by boat and plane. Bear’s Den Lodge is a family-run oasis for the last four decades. Brenda, Art and their son Joe combine their skills and knowledge to offer a wide range of services in a family atmosphere.
Full-service plans are available and include meals by an executive chef and master butcher with garden to table produce and homemade desserts. This French River lodge offers boats and motors rentals to those seeking the gem of the North and escape into the Canadian wilderness with their cottages and modern lodging.
“Many of our returning guests come through the door and just say, ‘I’m home!’” Brenda recounts, noting some guests have been returning annually for 60 years.
Trophy game and fish keep hunters and anglers coming back while endless rivers and provincial forests continue to attract canoeists, photographers and those seeking relaxation.
It’s always about location and the Bear’s Den is a short float away and located in the French River Provincial Park, near the Pickerel River, Wahnapitae River and Northeastern Georgian Bay.
Big musky fishing is their speciality and home of several line class world record musky. They offer a tackle shop available for those seeking homemade lures and plenty of advice about how to fish, navigate the waterways and secrets for success. Trophy walleye, northern pike, large and small-mouth bass, crappies, salmon and catfish among many other game fish are also lurking in the depths of the French River.
With an area as remote and pristine as this Ontario Park, cell service can be “a bit spotty” in the area but it’s considered a positive by some. There is cell service and Wi-Fi at the main lodge.
In 2006, the Bear’s Den was part of an award-winning river clean-up initiative with the French River Delta Association for the Northern Ontario Tourism Outfitters (NOTO) Conservation Award. The Lodge has a reputation for getting involved in conservation projects such as fish hatcheries, netting and tagging of fish for scientific research for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), as well as partnering in past with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, massasauga rattler research for endangered species and bear management work to name a few. Bear’s Den Lodge was the forerunner for advocating the idea of slot limits for Ontario. “We’re trying to protect what’s here and want the people to come enjoy the wildlife, scenery and the fishing.”
