2024 Glamping season open May 16th to October 13th
About the Retreat
Located in the West Kootenays, Bear Spring Eco Retreat offers novel canvas glamping accommodations, nestled in the Selkirk mountains. With stunning river views, our property includes an event venue, perfect for intimate concerts or weddings, an outdoor shower and edible food gardens. Our 300 acre property is perfect for urbanites seeking an outdoor experience immersed in nature without foregoing any of the comforts of home. Located just 12 minutes from the artist city of Nelson, we're close enough to town to feel connected, yet far enough away to gaze at the Milky Way. Our mostly off-grid, eco-friendly retreat offers modern luxuries including queen size beds and linens, solar lighting and a communal cooking and campfire area. You don't even need to bring food. Add a Glamper Meal Kit to your stay. Enjoy nature walks, foraging, hiking, biking, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing and wild life viewing at or near our sustainable retreat. (Night sky photo above by Dustin Lalik, an amazing photographer.)
We respectfully acknowledge that we live, gather and farm on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sinixt Peoples and many diverse indigenous persons, and we honour their ongoing presence on the Land.
We're BC Green Certified!
BC Green Business is a certification program that supports businesses looking for practical and affordable ways to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to their local communities. Businesses can be certified as Silver, Gold or Green (the highest level) and, in eligible regions, can also be certified as an Ocean Friendly Business based on ‘Surfrider Approved’ actions that focus on direct and positive impact for our oceans and waterways. The program has sector-specific certifications for the restaurant, retail, office, spa/salon, fleet, grocery, and food and beverage processing industries. BC Green Business is an initiative of the non-profit Synergy Foundation.
NO PETS ALLOWED
Meet Bella
This is our large guard dog Bella. She is a friendly giant with people, even small children, but, frightens the bears away. We don’t have the word “bear” in our name for nothing. She is very loyal and instinctively works to protect us and our guests from predators. This means that sometimes she barks. It’s a signal to large animals that they are getting too close to our property. If the animals come closer or don’t leave, she may escalate to louder barking or even go chase the perpetrator away. Most of our guests rest easy knowing that Bella is keeping them safe. For others it is a sleep disruption and we apologize for that. We never know what other animals or bears are moving through the area so, some nights, Bella is silent and others she barks a lot. If you know this might be a problem for you please try ear plugs or perhaps our accommodations just aren’t right for you. We want everyone to enjoy their stay.
Bella can be very territorial. She is not always friendly with visiting pets making it a very uncomfortable situation for everyone. Therefore we cannot allow any pets.