Specialty lodge Alban on the French River offers American plan meals, clean, modern housekeeping cottages fully equipped kitchens, stove, refrig, micro, propane BBQ on each deck, bedding supplied. Water taxi from Hartley Bay Marina included. Excellent fishing. Free WiFi. Guides and Boat rentals. Amazing Landscape and Wildlife viewing in remote setting. Family and corporate retreats. Fishing French River. 5 Star Quality Family-style meals are prepared by the Executive Chef, incorporating seasonal fresh garden ingredients. Enjoy dining with panoramic waterfront views while sharing the day's stories and tales.
Ontario Adventure Rowing returned to the French River after many years and chose Bears Den Lodge as our base. Brenda, Joe and Art were extremely gracious hosts - welcoming, thoughtful, accomodating and very generous with their vast knowledge of the local area. The delicious home cooked food kept us well fueled and the quintessential lodge provided the perfect ambiance to get to know each other and recharge. THANK YOU Bears Den - we'll be back!
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Date of stay: September 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Brenda Barefoot, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded 4 days ago
Thank you for your kind review and thoughtful comments. We certainly look forward to your return and sharing more experiences on the French River. It was a pleasure to serve your group.
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Great trip and wonderful hosts. Too bad we could only stay 4 days. All the staff were very helpful on where to fish and what to watch out for on the water. Very nice boats with new motors. Reasonably priced. All the meals were generously portioned. Already making plans to go back.
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Date of stay: May 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Brenda Barefoot, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded 4 days ago
Thank you for your kind review of your stay. We enjoyed serving you and look forward to your return!
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My Husband and I visited in July. Had an amazing time!! Great fishing and so beautiful. Hosts were friendly and helpful. I would highly recommend taking a trip to Bears Den for great atmosphere and great fishing!
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Date of stay: August 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Brenda Barefoot, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Nov 13, 2020
Glad you and your husband had an amazing time with great fishing and beautiful French River scenery! We are always happy to help and look forward to your return!
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I have been meaning to write this review for months. We booked a cabin at Bears Den this past July for the first time. From the extremely clean and well appointed cabin to the friendly outstanding dock service(even during covid times) our experience was outstanding. Fantastic boats, comfortable wide bottom boats and motors ran like a charm. We will definitely be back this summer once again. Thank you for a wonderful vacation.. P.s. Buddy the dog is a bonus..
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Date of stay: July 2020
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Service
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Room Tip:we were in eagles nest, nestled back from water and quiet.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Brenda Barefoot, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Nov 13, 2020
Thank you jefferyf334, for the fantastic review! We are glad our friendly staff were able to give you and your family a great holiday and that you felt safe here at Bear's Den Lodge! We look forward to your return here this summer.
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This was our first time staying at a lodge. We know the area very well and for our 25th Wedding Anniversary we decided to visit this lodge because of the location. We had a wonderful time, the lodge is very quant and homey. A big thing for us was cleanliness and it sure was. From our cottage to the lodge to the grounds and the boats. Everything is very well taken care of with pride and it shows. Brenda is a very gracious host and inquires often how we are and how is everything going. The meals were excellent and the whole ambiance was restful. We will be returning next year, but this time some of our kids will be joining us as we shared our stay with them and they are looking forward to experiencing it as well. A big thankyou to Art and Brenda and Mike. See you next year!
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Date of stay: September 2014
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Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:All the cottages face the lake so your view is always peaceful and tranquil.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fishingfrenchriver, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Oct 2, 2014
Thank you for taking the time to share your comments from your recent stay at Bear's Den Lodge. We are glad to hear your positive comments and experiences. We look forward to providing you and your family next year the same quality of experience and service we are known. Thank you for the opportunity to share our passion of the French River. Sincerely, Brenda Barefoot Owner
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My family has been visiting this Lodge for the last 10-15 years. Brenda and Art Barefoot are outstanding hosts. They provide all the equipment you need to have a very successful fishing trip. We always go with All Inclusive Plan... and always gain weight from the delicious meals!
The best part is MOTHER-NATURE- at this lodge I've seen Moose, Bears, Deer, Beavers, Bald Eagles, and RIVER MONSTER MUSKY, PIKE, WALLEYE, and Lunker Bass....
By Far... BEST LODGE ON FRENCH RIVER DELTA. (Not even close)
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Date of stay: May 2014
Value
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Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fishingfrenchriver, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Sep 23, 2014
Thank you for sharing your experience at Bear's Den Lodge. We enjoy the opportunity to share the outdoors with our customers. We look forward to you and your groups return!
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Bears Den Lodge on the French River near Alban, Ontario is the best fishing lodge I've been to in over 55 years of fishing trips to Ontario. I just completed my 5th visit to the Lodge and plan on continuing to making an annual fishing trip there for the foreseeable future. This year, we had a group of 8 guys and enjoyed great fishing, beautiful scenery, comfortable accommodations, and fantastic food. Brenda and Art Barefoot, the owners, did everything possible to ensure we had a great stay, starting with super friendly service, comfortable and clean accommodations, fantastic food, and very good boats.
The location is just a short boat ride from Hartley Bay Marina in the French River Delta. With hundreds of weedy bays, rocky points, and deep ledges to fish, we caught lots of good sized Northern pike, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass along with a few walleye and a couple catfish. We saw a bald eagle, deer, beaver, mink, otters, sand hill cranes, loons, ducks, blue herons, and numerous other animals during our week there.
Our rooms in the main lodge were comfortable, very clean, and included daily maid service. Our American plan included 3 very hearty and delicious family style meals each day. Art’s special recipes for barbecued chicken and grilled pork chops are amazing and Brenda’s homemade cakes, pies, and cookies were a delicious final touch to the meals. A couple of the guys were diabetic so Brenda made sure there were plenty of sugar-free options available to them..
In previous stays, we rented a housekeeping cottage. They were always super clean and well supplied with the necessary pots, pans, and dishes and included a gas grill on the deck.
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Date of stay: July 2014
Value
Rooms
Service
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fishingfrenchriver, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Oct 2, 2014
Thank you so much for the taking the time to write a review about your stay at Bear's Den Lodge this season. Your review was awesome for the variety of accommodations and packages we offer. We are pleased to hear your positive comments and experiences. Thank you for the opportunity again to share our passion of the French River and look forward to your return. Sincerely, Art and Brenda Barefoot Owners
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The French River experience never fails to disappoint. And so it continues at Bear's Den. Our hosts Brenda and Art Barefoot run a top notch operation! Spotless, housekeeping cabins are the best we've ever stayed in on the French River system. Excellent amenities are to be expected at Bear's Den.
From tasty shore lunches, to maxing out on chunky Walleye in scenic back bays, to bear sitings and endless Mockingbird serenades, the landscape and fishing is second to none. Fishing and outdoor advice and friendly conversation is standard fare at Bear's Den. The lodge is easy to get to and offers a wilderness fishing experience in total comfort at a reasonable price.
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Date of stay: June 2014
Value
Location
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Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fishingfrenchriver, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Oct 2, 2014
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent experiences at Bear's Den Lodge and the French River Delta. We take pride to provide the highest standards of cleanliness and service to our guests and appreciate meeting those standards for our customers. Your comfort is important to us. We are always happy to share our outdoor advice and knowledge to ensure a quality experience with our guests. We appreciate your business and look forward to your return. Sincerely, Art and Brenda Barefoot Owners
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I was there at last year and I tried to book again. The rate in the site said ,"Bedroom Cottage (minimum charge) 3 adults maximum occupancy - 6 persons" So, I tried to book at weekly rate. But, the hostess said I have to book with the rate of individual personal rate (280 per a person) I said there are only two adult and three kids. Why do I have to do that? She simply told me to look at the rate description and insisted to book individual rate only. So, I cancelled the booking.
1. if I have to book with individual rate of 5 family members, it is way too expensive compared to any other lodges around the area. 280 x 5 = $1,400
2. if the rate is simply misinformed in the site, it is better to be changed clearly.
I got strong impression that she tried to get some advantage against newbie like me who don't have much experience of camping or lodges.
I will never book the lodge in my life for sure.
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Date of stay: August 2015Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from fishingfrenchriver, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Jun 20, 2016
Dear Mr. Joon C., Thank you for your review. We are sorry for any misunderstanding and hope this clarifies the rate we were trying to offer. Please understand the price quoted to you was the same price quoted to any other caller requesting the same number of days and individuals. Bear's Den Lodge would like to clarify some details that appear to be missing in your recent reviews. Last year when you booked the same cottage you booked for 3 days at $200.00 per person - family of 5. Ages given in 2015 were: Age 4, 6 and 12 yr. and you were charged for only 4 at $800.00 plus tax. This year when you called, you requested to stay for 5 days, which is an additional 2 days more than last year. The ages you provided this year the children were 7, 8, and 15 years old. I tried to offer you the 5 day rate of $265.00 for 4 people, but you were insistent that it should be the "minimum charge" for the week for 3 people. Minimum charge means the least amount that we will accept for the week of 3 people in the 2 bedroom cottage. Because you had 5 individuals; 2 of which would be half price since they are under 12 years of age, we offered the cottage to your family of 5 for the rate of 4 adults - the same number of individual charge as last year. Bear's Den Lodge was unable to complete the price with you. The price would be $1060.00 plus tax for 2016, not $1400.00 as you have seemed to understand and comment in your reviews. We have reviewed our rates and have clarified the rate schedule further for those booking for fewer than weekly rates.
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Just returned from bears den lodge. The boat and motor were excellent and the cottage was clean. Everything else sucked. We were picked up at Hartley bay marina by, I guess it was Joe. He didn’t say a word to us the whole way, even though I introduced us to him. We were taken to our cabin and given a map of the river. The topic of breakfast came up and I said we would like to eat at 6am. I was told “the fish don’t bite til after 8 “so breakfast would be served between 7 and 8. The boat was never gassed up and wiped down until after breakfast. Coffee usually was delivered between 7:15 and 7:30. Breakfast between 7:30 and 8:00. We wanted to start fishing around 6:30 but never got on the water til the earliest was 8:20. American plan was supposed to include beverages,worms, boat and maid service. The boat was gassed and and the seats wiped but never cleaned. We asked for coffee twice, once after dinner, and once after lunch. We were told there wasn’t any and then told begrudgingly she’d make another pot. My grandson went to get some worms and was told it would cost $ 7.00.Finally she gave him some. Meals were served in styrofoam containers with the cheapest plastic utensils available, and three napkins for 3 people. Dinners were ok at best but try to cut a skinny grisly piece of steak with a cheap plastic fork. Same brownies for dessert every dinner. Lunch was another story. Some had lunch meat with cheese and mustard on the side, there was also peanut butter and jam. Six sandwiches the same cookies every lunch, fruit and three napkins.Monday she asked what kind of sandwiches we wanted packed in the cooler, so we told her bologna was fine. What a surprise when we opened the cooler to grab a sandwich and it’s two pieces of bologna between bread. No butter no mustard no mayo no cheese no lettuce. Also pop and the same cookies and yes,3 napkins.I phoned this morning to talk to the owners about the maid service that was never supplied and was told that the government won’t allow them in the cottage and if I want a rebate it’s never going to happen. I mentioned the other complaints to the man on the phone and he told me us yuppies have a sense of entitlement and expect too much. I happen to be a 64 year old retired autoworker who was taking his son and grandson away for a “memory”. He was even ruder on the phone than in person. I told him I was doing a review on trip adviser and he said he didn’t care he had 500 great reviews and people would know what kind of person I was by reading my review. I really didn’t expect a lot but certainly a lot more than I received. Good thing we caught lots of fish. The woman even ask my son where we caught some pickerel and when he told her she said no way and argued with him. Why would he lie? The bottom line is we stopped at french river lodge because they had an ice cream sign an felt more welcome there buying ice cream than we did paying big money at bears den lodge.
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Date of stay: July 2021
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Brenda Barefoot, Owner at Bear's Den Lodge
Responded Jul 9, 2021
Thank you for taking the time to review our boats, motors, cottage cleanliness and our meal plan. We have taken your concerns to the fullest review as indicated during our conversation prior to your departure. Meal times have been added to our website. As noted in our COVID-19 Protocol we are not permitted to enter your cottage for daily maid services other than for emergency services. We appreciate your grandson following COVID Protocol and I am sorry that I did not recognize him masked and with sunglasses thinking he was either one of our neigbours or part of a different group. I quickly corrected the situation and no receipt of money occurred for the worms as that was part of your package. Your boat was serviced and fully cleaned on a daily basis. Boats are available to the guests during daylight hours from arrival to departure to freely come and go at their leisure. You asked advice about fishing our area and with 36+ years of experience and fishing logs we offered you advice of when the best fishing times were and reviewed the map with you for navigation and fishing. We did not stop you from going fishing early morning before breakfast. We even offered as compensation the opportunity to fish an extra morning at no charge which you declined before departure. Our staff delivered all the “take out” meals. Nonalcoholic beverages were offered to you and you notified us you had “plenty of your own” and that you “only required coffee for breakfast”. Nonalcoholic beverages were served with all meals and coffee was served extra once we knew of your desire. Prime Canadian angus beef was served on China plates with silverware and steak knives. Styrofoam containers are used to provide a means to maintain temperatures for food serving during take out in Step 2 of COVID-19 requirements. All our cottage kitchens are fully serviced with silverware, dishes, glassware, coffeepots, microwave, refrigerator, stove plus more of which you were welcome to have used. Our staff is committed to providing a safe and COVID-19 free environment for our guests to enjoy their Canadian wilderness experience and we continually strive to maintain high standards of service.
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