Is it safe to walk around Yellowstone?

Always stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves, and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other animals, including bison and elk. Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature. Keep your children close and don't let them run.



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Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than encounters with wildlife. Boardwalks and trails are there to protect visitors, and off-boardwalk hiking is very dangerous - scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs.

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If you do any hiking or camping in Yellowstone, you SHOULD bring bear spray. Generally, you don't need bear spray when visiting the popular and crowded geyser areas and villages, such as Old Faithful and Canyon Village.

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It's one of the best places in the world to observe wild bears. Inhabited by both black bears and grizzly bears, Yellowstone is a bear-watcher's paradise. For many people, seeing bears is one of the main reasons they come to Yellowstone. It's possible to see ten or fifteen bears in one day in this vast preserve.

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Yellowstone's greatest geological threat isn't a supervolcano. It's a magnitude-7 earthquake. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – While concerns about a potential eruption of the supervolcano beneath this iconic park may garner the most alarming headlines, a more likely hazard in the coming decades is a large earthquake.

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Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature. Keep your children close and don't let them run. Animals that become dependent on human food may become aggressive toward people and have to be killed. Keep all food, garbage, or other smelly items packed away when not in use.

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Yellowstone is a large and complex national park, with many different roads that travel to the most popular boardwalks and trails. I recommend staying inside of the park if you want to have more opportunities for sightseeing without the crowds.

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Elk. Elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis) are the most abundant large mammal found in Yellowstone; paleontological evidence confirms their continuous presence for at least 1,000 years. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, when market hunting of all large grazing animals was rampant.

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Drownings have resulted in five known deaths in the park. Looking at all national parks, the survey indicated that falls were by far the most common way to die, accounting for a total of 245 deaths.

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The Yellowstone supervolcano last erupted about 640,000 years ago. A sleeping giant is nestled in the western part of the United States. Though it stirs occasionally, it has not risen from slumber in nearly 70,000 years.

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If you have bear spray, have it out and ready to use.
  1. If you have bear spray, have it out and ready to use.
  2. Do not run. This could trigger a chase response from the bear.
  3. Remain calm.
  4. Slowly back away from the bear.
  5. Say, It's okay bear, or I'm leaving bear, to let the bear know you are a human.


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Grizzly bears are active primarily at dawn, dusk, and night. In spring, they may be seen around Yellowstone Lake, Fishing Bridge, Hayden and Lamar valleys, Swan Lake Flats, and the East Entrance.

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