Where to See Grizzly and Black Bears in Yellowstone: Hidden Gems & Hotspots

Seeing bears in Yellowstone In the 1960s and 70s was one of my late father's favorite things in the whole world. This was back in the old bear dump days where he’d pull up to a garbage dump near Mammoth or Fishing Bridge, crack the window of his Buick Skylark, toss some jelly doughnuts on the hood, and wait for the squeals of excitement to come from the back seat.

Of course, these days cars don’t have the thick Detroit steel hoods that they used to, and Yellowstone has done away with the bear dump experience. Yet every year thousands of people visit the national park hoping for the chance to spot a grizzly or a black bear.

However, the ecology of Yellowstone is relatively unchanged. So, I poured over my father’s notes and my own experiences to come up with a list of the best places to see grizzlies and black bears in Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone Bear Safety Tips

Spotting a bear in Yellowstone can be awe-inspiring, but you always have to keep a smart head on your shoulders. Always look around before getting out of your car and always make sure you have your bear spray with you. Especially if you’re in the Hayden or Lamar Valley where bears are more likely to be.

Always stay at least 100 yards away from bears and never approach them for a photo. Ideally, you can scan for bears with a cheap pair of binoculars, and use a spotting scope with a phone attachment to get the pic.

This article on Yellowstone and Grand Tetons bear safety tips takes an even deeper dive into how to camp, hike, and drive safely in bear country.

How to Use Bear Spray

When you get out of your car in any of Yellowstone’s wild places, you should always have your bear spray on you. Always keep the spray accessible and holstered on your hip or chest. It’s useless if it’s lost in your backpack.

Pro Tip: Practice removing the safety clip beforehand but never test spray it near others or indoors

If you see a bear you can use the following steps.

Step One: Remove the safety clip so the canister is ready and keep your eyes on the bear.

Step Two: Clap your hands or make noise to make sure the bear knows you’re there. “Yo Bear!” is often enough.

Step Three: If the bear approaches within 60 feet, aim slightly downward and spray a continuous burst to create a cloud between you and the bear.

If it moves forward the more miasma cloud of bear spray there is between you and it, the less likely it is to charge. Remember, bear spray is a deterrent, not a repellent. So, use it only when a bear shows signs of potential aggression.

Yellowstone Bear Movements in Spring (March to May)

Bears in Yellowstone start to come out of hibernation in March. Mature males tend to emerge first, as they survey the land, the competition, and the chance to dial in where the sows will be. This is followed by females with yearlings, and finally females with newborn cubs.

Bears typically move to lower elevations as soon as possible. They move downslope until they get to where the snow has melted and they can find early-season food sources.

Grizzly Tip

Grizzlies will happily scavenge the carcasses of animals that died in the winter, and they get first pick over all the other species. Even if a wolf or a black bear gets there first, the grizzly will chase them off!

My father’s trick was to look in the sky for crows circling. Then he’d use a spotting scope to look along the snowline below the crows. Even if you don’t see a grizzly, there’s likely something else there, otherwise the crows would land!

Black Bear Tip

Black bears tend to emerge a little later than grizzlies. So, you’re more likely to find them scavenging in open meadows. The same crow trick works, but you’re less likely to see them near the snow line.

Spring Yellowstone Bear Hot Spots

My father’s notes had a few key bear hot spots to look in spring near Yellowstone Lake, as well as the Hayden and Lamar Valleys.

 

Hayden Valley Spring Bear Hot Spots

The Hayden Valley is one of the most famous wildlife-viewing areas in Yellowstone, and some areas draw bears in the spring for different reasons.

Grizzly Overlook near Otter Creek Picnic Area

This is great for spotting grizzlies in spring. I think they’re drawn here by the winter-kill bison carcasses you usually find on the valley floor and the frozen banks of the river.

My father’s notes mentioned having to “Run like Hell” when he disturbed a grizzly in the trees. So, park with caution, and look around thoroughly before you even dream of getting out of the car with a spotting scope!

Mary Mountain Trailhead

Mary Mountain in general is one of the quieter parts of Yellowstone, and I think black bears in particular congregate here in late spring just to get away from the sudden influx of humans into the park.

Look for tracks and bear activity near the tree line and be very wary of cub tracks. Black bears are at their most dangerous when a female with cubs feels threatened.

Sulphur Cauldron

The bear-friendly topography of the Mud Volcano and Sulphur Cauldron areas are like a series of natural wildlife funnels that all come together near a geologically warm basin. Bears often forage here in the spring on the south-facing slopes.

East Cauldron with Bison drinking from the Yellowstone River

 My father’s notes also mention seeing bears across the Yellowstone River in the East Cauldron area. I suspect these are bears that are pushed out of the Mud Volcano area when tourists flock into the park. It also tends to attract buffalo, which gives bears the potential to scavenge a carcass.

So, it’s worth a shot to park on one of the northbound blisters just south of Mud Volcano and walk down to the river to take a look with a spotting scope. Even if you don’t see bears, you might see bison.

Lamar Valley Spring Bear Hotspots

Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley is known as the "Serengeti of North America" for all the wildlife you see there. It’s also at a slightly lower elevation than the Hayden, so bears find more carcasses to scavenge early in the spring.  

Soda Butte Creek

This area is great for black bear sightings in the spring and Yellowstone moose in the summer. Use a spotting scope to scan near the forest edges.

Depending on the state of the river, you might be able to settle in with a spotting scope on a tripod right on the banks to scan the tree line. There are often clearings up-slope that might also hold bears in the spring. The trick is to stick to the snow line as the bears are likely to be below it rather than above.

Specimen Ridge Trail Area

In spring you can sometimes spot grizzlies digging for roots or looking for carcasses. It’s just east of Soda Butte Creek, so if you strike out at one, try the other.

Scanning the distant tree line with binoculars or spotting scope or the snow line with the “Crows Trick” will improve your chances of seeing a bear.

My father’s notes mention “Do not cross the bridge, the bear doesn’t have to use it, but you do!” I can only imagine something happened here, 50 years ago that I know nothing about.  

Lamar River Trailhead

Yellowstone’s Lamar River trailhead sort of tempts you to take a long bear-spotting hike. There are tones of good visibility for spotting movement in the distance. I think the trick here is to set up on the banks of the river and use a spotting scope to visually scour the meadows and tree line to the south for movement.

My father’s notes indicate that to the North of the Lamar River trailhead’s parking lot is a swampy lake that’s great for spotting moose in the summer. I remember seeing one here in 1987 and again in 1991.

Trout Lake

At the eastern fringes of Yellowstone's Lamar Valley, Trout Lake gives you a good chance of seeing bears in the spring and moose in the summer. A small stream carries snowmelt from the upper elevations into the northeast corner of the lake.

My father believed that bears coming out of hibernation up high followed the creek down to the melt line. This naturally draws in other animals and the chance to scavenge some winter kill carcasses.

I would also note that it's a gorgeous little alpine lake that often has a mirror surface reflecting the mountains. So, even if you don't see a single bear, Trout Lake's vista is very pic-worthy!

Yellowstone Summer Bear Movements (June to August)

As you get into the summer months, Yellowstone tourists and the thawing at high elevations send bears up. It gives them a great chance to find late winter carcasses to scavenge, and it’s also where alpine plants and berries tend to flourish. Unfortunately, it also makes it increasingly hard for you to spot a bear while driving.

Summer Yellowstone Bear Hot Spots

I think a lot of the bears that were in the Hayden and Lamar Valleys simply get pushed back up-slope by the melting snow and tourists. You can still see bears just about anywhere, so it’s a total dice roll, but the following gives you better-than-average chances.

Dunraven Pass

There are various parking blisters and trailheads along Dunraven Pass to stop check out the view and look for bears. One of the best is the Mount Washburn Hot Springs overlook. There’s more parking here than usual and the valley opens up to give you plenty of territory to scan with a spotting scope.

The majestic view down slope on Dunraven Pass' Hot springs Overlook

Pro Tip: I think this works best with binoculars and a spotting scope with a smartphone attached. You can use the binoculars to scan for movement and then dial in the image with the spotting scope to take the picture.

Mt. Washburn Overlook

If you’re already planning a trip to the Mount Washburn overlook fire tower, it can also double as a potential long-distance bear viewing experience. This is a stunning 360-degree view, but it’s a terrible drive and the hike is something only very fit people should try.

Clay Butte (Wyoming)

Clay Butte is just outside the Northeast entrance to Yellowstone and offers a great opportunity for summer bear watching. If you’re coming into the park from the Beartooth Pass, the turn-off for Clay Butte is just east of the Top of the World store and the access road to the Beartooth Campground, on Route 142.

My father’s notes mentioned a ranger he met who worked there when it was an operating fire tower back in the day. He believed there was always massive male grizzly living in the forest there during the summer. Even when one died another would simply take up his old territory.

Blacktail Plateau Drive

Blacktail Plateau Drive is a one-way dirt road just off Yellowstone’s northern loop that has tons of bear and other wildlife viewing opportunities. The road is accessed by driving westbound on the Grand Loop Road from Gardiner.

My father used to call it his “Shortcut past all the guys squinting at elk on the horizon.” When it’s nicely graded, it’s a comfortable 6-mile drive, with plenty of places to pull over to look for bears and other animals. When it’s not graded it’s a bumpy hellscape that made my mother say, “I think I dislocated my pelvis.”

Wildlife Viewing Tours

There are several expert-guided Yellowstone guided tours to consider. The following are tours my late father or I have taken over the years, which I mentioned in Ultimate Guide to Yellowstone Wildlife Viewing: Hayden & Lamar Valley.

They're a great way to see wildlife in general and learn about the ecology of Yellowstone while staying safe!

Yellowstone: Full-Day Private Guided Wildlife Safari from Gardiner

If you’re staying near Yellowstone's north entrance this private full-day safari with a decent chance of spotting bears. You'll explore wildlife hotspots like Lamar Valley and the Northern Range, with a guide who knows exactly where to look for wolves, bison, bears, and more.

From West Yellowstone: Lamar Valley Wildlife Tour by Van

If you're staying in West Yellowstone and you want to see the Lamar Valley this Wildlife van tour is a great pick. The big comfortable van with big windows, and the guide brings optics to help you catch all the action. The tour also includes coffee, a morning snack, and a picnic lunch, so you can stay fueled while you explore one of the best wildlife corridors in the park.

Lamar Valley: Safari Hiking Tour with Lunch

This Lamar Valley Safari Hiking Tour is quite possibly the most authentic Yellowstone National Park wildlife experience in the park. It’s so much more than a 6-hour guided trek through one of the “Serengeti of North America” with a light lunch included.

The expert guides provide everything including backpacks, trekking poles, binoculars, and bear spray. The guides are experts, and they walk you through a proper safety orientation. They even offered me a hot coffee on a cold morning.

They take you across open valleys and sagebrush flats, following bison trails, and teach you about the area's rich Native American history. Midway through the hike, there’s a nice little riverside picnic lunch along the Lamar River, that lets you soak in the expansive scenery.

Final Thoughts on Bear Viewing In Yellowstone

You can see bears just about anywhere in Yellowstone at any time. So don’t go thinking that this guide is the be-all-end-all of bear watching. Instead, these hot spots, times, and tricks just improve your odds. This article has tons of best bear safety practices for Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

In spring and early summer watch the crows, vultures, and other birds circling in the sky. They’re usually telling you that there’s a carcass down there and it’s been claimed by something big enough and bad enough that they won’t dare risk landing until it’s done. Scanning the snow line with a spotting scope improves your odds of seeing a bear.

As always be smart and prioritize safety. Don’t even think of getting out of your car without first giving a good look around and grabbing your bear spray. Then always stay at least 100 yards away and keep your bear spray available.

If you want to learn more about Yellowstone and other outdoor adventures, you should follow Eric Beuning's Author Page.

Disclaimer: As an affiliate marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, the cost remains the same for you.