Mom and cub in fireweed at Seal River Heritage Lodge. John Lewin photo.
Editor’s Note: John Lewin travelled to Seal River Heritage Lodge for our Birds, Bears & Belugas safari with his family in July 2023. His review from Tripadvisor.com is reposted below. Thank you John! We loved hosting you and your family at Seal River!
by John Lewin
We have been extremely blessed to have been able to travel to some incredible places throughout the world, often at an incredibly luxurious level. That being said, I don’t think we’ve ever had a better experience than we did with Churchill Wild on this trip.
First of all, the accommodations are extremely unique. You are in the middle of absolutely nowhere! It takes several planes to get to the lodge, and when you do arrive, it is the only thing within miles and miles and is only accessible by plane or boat. Given its isolation, you would expect that the accommodations would not be first rate, but that just isn’t true!
Let me start with the polar bears. You are out walking within 100 feet of them. It is all done with the intention of not disturbing the animals in an attempt to be a part of the scenery and the expert guides, Katie, Jess, and Marco were able to do that on every single best interaction that we had.
Some of the best viewing you will get is from the incredible lodge with their huge windows. We saw a huge male bear repeatedly walking within five feet of us through the giant windows as if he was posing on a modeling shoot. We watched a mother and her cub right outside the windows for hours and even repeatedly saw the baby nursing.
The staff was extremely knowledgeable about absolutely everything and Ben and Nicole, the couple who manage the lodge, made every effort to ensure our complete comfort at all times.
That brings me to one of my most important factors for any trip, THE FOOD! The food is simply the BEST I’ve ever had on any vacation, EVER! This was a sentiment shared by our entire family. Every meal was something incredible, and unlike some of the other trips we’ve gone on, they didn’t try too hard to make really strange/bizarre dishes.
They fed you three meals a day plus appetizers, and the menu ranged from special egg dishes and pancakes to homemade cinnamon rolls to every possible kind of pie or sweet you ever imagined, to smoked ribs and chicken They also served the freshest and most delicious vegetables possible! Whether you are a carnivore or a vegan they make sure the food is second to none.
In summary, we could not have had a better vacation!! Sheryl and I are already planning on returning in March, 2025 for their 7 day wolf excursion at their other lodge.
