I was visiting Banff, Alberta in June 2025 and we took the opportunity to drive out to Golden, BC to see Boo! SCHEDULE Due to the gondolas being down for repairs since last year, transportation up is using the ski lift. As a result, they are only open Friday through Sunday! So check their website before you head out! BOO THE BEAR Boo is an adorable 24 years old grizzly bear. On the day that we visited, he came out for breakfast at 09:00 AM, then promptly went to take a nap until about 2:00 PM! If you are not fortunate enough to see Boo on your visit, Kicking Horse is wonderful and will issue you a return ticket to come back (at no further charges). We were fortunate enough to see Boo, follow him around, and stayed to chat with the rangers about him. We were only able to stay about an hour, as the Refuge closes to the public at 3:00 PM! read more

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Ohhhh Boo, I love you! Boo is the resident grizzly in a 12 acre natural habitat on the kicking horse resort property in conjunction with the resort and the non-profit Kicking Horse Country Grizzly Bear Society. I think he's probably got the best digs of any captive bear I can think of. Not that I think bears should be captive but in this case, Boo and his sister were orphaned very young by a jerky poacher and wild survival was unlikely for them so this really was their best shot at a good life. One of the cool things about this set up is they can find out what grizzlies learned from mom and what's instinct. The actual process of building a den is instinct but the skills required to do it are learned they believe as Boo and his sister (no longer with us) struggled to build a den in their early years and people had to help make sure they have a safe place to hibernate. It's pretty reasonable to just get a chairlift ticket up to Boo and listen to the tour. We did the Ranger assist which cost $55 or so and gave us an extra private hour with the ranger while Boo was getting dinner. The regular tour is great but I LOVED the ranger assist. We watched him shell peanuts and schuck corn. He eats apples whole. We also learned a ton of extra stuff about him as the Ranger was just a wealth of information about him, bears, conservation and biology. Hubby liked the extra opportunity for photos because he got quite close at this time for an extending period compared to only a brief sighting on the regular tour when he went for a bit of a tub time in his little self dug pond he has which is quite deep into his habitat for viewing. If you love animals this is a must do detour when you're around Golden. Kicking Horse Resort has a few packages that include Boo time so you might want to think about making a day out at the resort. I believe Boo is only accepting visitors from the end of June to early September in any given year so please check before making the trip just to visit him. read more