About Us

As of the end of the 2008 season, Grizzly Creek Lodge is being operated by Dave and Reggie O'Farrell. Dave started guiding hunters in British Columbia in the mid 1980s, then he and his wife Reggie moved to the Yukon in 1988. From their new home, Dave guided for the pioneer Dickson outfitting operation in the Fall, and Grizzly Creek Lodge in the summers.

In 1991, Dave and Reggie began managing Grizzly Creek for its new owners, Doug and Carol Skanse, and construction of the lodge complex that we see today began. The main lodge on the lower lake was completed in 1994 after 3 years' work, and the lodge on the upper lake was then started. All of the cabins that had existed on the property were then rebuilt. For the two lodges, master log home builders were employed, and after learning the trade from them, Dave now adds another log guest cabin each year.

A sign of the care that goes into the propery is the fact that all of the development work has been done by hand, including getting the logs out of the woods. In this northern climate, any ground torn up by equipment takes many years to recover. The Yukon wilderness is Dave and Reggie's passion - in the winter they run 2 traplines, so understand the land intimately.

In 1997, Bud and Marge Carpenter of Stewart Crossing, Yukon, joined the lodge team. Marge has been taking care of all the housekeeping since that time, and Bud is been the handyman, helping with cabin construction and doing finishing and maintenance work.

Dave and Reggie have 3 children, who have spent every summer at Grizzly Creek. Both their son, James, and youngest daughter, Katie, are qualified guides, and James will be the head guide on canoe trips.

The Number One rule at Grizzly Creek has always been that the camp can't be too clean, and they go to great lengths to keep it that way. It not only looks good, it keeps bear problems to a bare minimum (the bear population in the region is very healthy).

Fishing is conducted the same way, with proper stewardship of the land the highest priority. Usually fish are not weighed, the length is just measured in the water and the fish is released with minimal handling. As you can see by the photo albums, though, guests are allowed to weigh their fish and get pictures, but 90% are never handled. Grizzly Creek is a barbless hook camp and they have found that as a result very few fish are lost.

Dave and Reggie want all of their guests to have a great trip, and hopefuly even to come back. Very few people each year get to experience Grizzly Creek Lodge, and you will definitely not feel like a number.