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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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.
Hands down the best time of year to see bears in Yellowstone is between mid-April and the first week of June. We have had days in the springtime when we have seen a dozen bears. Yes — as in twelve! The weather plays a factor too.
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.
Bearmuda Triangle. Located around Tower Junction, the “Bear-muda” Triangle of Yellowstone is an area known for bear activity (grizzly bears and, more commonly, black bears). This is one of the few areas in the United States where black bears coexist with grizzly bears.
For instance, in Yellowstone National Park, you must stay 100 yards or farther from bears and 25 yards from elk and bison. There is an average of one bear attack per year in Yellowstone.
Yellowstone National Park can get very crowded during peak season (June, July, and August). The best months to visit Yellowstone are April, September, and October. These “off season” months provide more chances to catch a glimpse of the local wildlife and enjoy thinner crowds.
Best Times to Visit Yellowstone for WildlifeMarch and April are the best months to view bears, while the winter months are best for wolves and bighorn sheep. Elk, moose, bison, and mountain goats can be spotted during the summer, which is also the park's busiest season.
The best time to witness play behavior is in early summer, when the bears are not yet focused on fishing for salmon. Mid-to-late June is also the peak of the mating season in Katmai. If you want to see mothers with new cubs, adolescents playfighting, and giant males sparring over sows, this is a wonderful time to go.
For 27 years, Jackson Hole Grizzly 399 has been strolling into human, biological and conservation history in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Unbeknownst to her, she's become the most famous living wild bear on Earth.
Katmai National Park (Alaska)The highest concentration of grizzly bears in the United States is in Katmai National Park. The park was established in 1918 to protect the brown bears that frequent the area, and today it's home to an estimated 2,000 grizzlies.
1. Lamar Valley. Without doubt, Lamar Valley is the best place in Yellowstone to see wildlife. Carved by glaciers and fed by the Lamar River, the grasslands that cover this valley are easily accessible on Highway 212 and attract the biggest land species in the park—bison, elk, moose, and bears.
Best Places to See Wolves in Yellowstone National ParkWolf watchers in Yellowstone have the most success sighting gray wolves in the Lamar Valley, Hayden Valley, the Canyon Area and on Blacktail Plateau. Since 1995, wolves have flourished in these parts, supported by a bountiful prey, including elk and deer.
Spend a lot of time looking in the Lamar Valley, and your chances at a great wolf or grizzly sighting increase exponentially. The whole drive from Mammoth to the northeast exit at Cooke City, Montana, is great predator country. Black bears are commonly seen in the Tower area and meadows around Mammoth.