Should you get bear spray for Yellowstone?

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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Yellowstone Bear Safety Whether you're heading to Yellowstone National Park to go hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing, or simply to take photographs, it is critical that you carry bear spray (and know how to use it!) The video below shows you the best practices when carrying and using bear spray.

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Take an active role in protecting yourself and the bears people come to Yellowstone to see: carry bear spray and learn how to use it! Bear spray is a non-lethal deterrent designed to stop aggressive behavior in bears.

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Female Grizzly Bear in Yellowstone steal from humans, so you have to work a bit harder to find them, but once you do bears show much more natural behavior. They are active throughout Yellowstone in spring, summer and fall then hibernate all winter, emerging sometime in March or early April.

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We have the proper optics and equipment, so you can witness and film bears out in the field. Hands down the best time of year to see bears in Yellowstone is between mid-April and the first week of June.

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Lamar Valley Valleys and meadows are the best places to spot Yellowstone bears. And what better place to start looking for grizzly bears in Yellowstone than the area known as “America's Serengeti”?

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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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If you see a bear, the best course of action for you is to avoid the bear to your best ability. Walk away slowly in the direction from which you came, moving sideways if possible. Do not run away from the bear because this will encourage the bear to chase you.

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Yellowstone hosts two bear species: grizzly bears and black bears. Of the two, black bears are more prevalent, making grizzly bear sighting less common.

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