Where to See Black Bear in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Sighting map

Black Bear sightings in Great Smoky Mountains

Loading the Great Smoky Mountains map

FewerMore sightings

Where Black Bear has been reported, from 1,569 sightings. Not a live tracker: animals move, and an empty area doesn’t mean there are none.

Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Timing

When to look

12 AM1% of the busiest hour1 AM1% of the busiest hour2 AM2% of the busiest hour3 AM3% of the busiest hour4 AM11% of the busiest hour5 AM42% of the busiest hour6 AM79% of the busiest hour7 AM95% of the busiest hour8 AM68% of the busiest hour9 AM47% of the busiest hour10 AM37% of the busiest hour11 AM32% of the busiest hourNoon29% of the busiest hour1 PM32% of the busiest hour2 PM37% of the busiest hour3 PM47% of the busiest hour4 PM63% of the busiest hour5 PM79% of the busiest hour6 PM95% of the busiest hour7 PMBusiest hour8 PM74% of the busiest hour9 PM37% of the busiest hour10 PM11% of the busiest hour11 PM2% of the busiest hour

Black Bear is most seen 7 AM and 6–8 PM. Bars compare each hour with the busiest one.

Black Bear sightings by hour, as a share of the busiest hour
Hour	Share of busiest hour
12 AM	1%
1 AM	1%
2 AM	2%
3 AM	3%
4 AM	11%
5 AM	42%
6 AM	79%
7 AM	95%
8 AM	68%
9 AM	47%
10 AM	37%
11 AM	32%
Noon	29%
1 PM	32%
2 PM	37%
3 PM	47%
4 PM	63%
5 PM	79%
6 PM	95%
7 PM	100%
8 PM	74%
9 PM	37%
10 PM	11%
11 PM	2%

Audio tour

Hear about Black Bear on the drive.

Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays stories like this one as you drive Great Smoky Mountains, triggered by GPS and read through your car’s speakers.

Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide

Acorns and a Bear’s Year

0:00 / 0:28

“A black bear's year follows the forest's food supply. In the Smokies, about eighty-five percent of its diet is plant material. Autumn nuts, especially acorns, help bears build fat for winter.”

Plays as you drive near Townsend Overlook in Parkwolf’s Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.

One more story about Black Bear in the app

A Bear Den Above the Ground

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Where to look

Great Smoky Mountains spots that mention Black Bear

Compare with the sightings

Places and trails whose Parkwolf guides talk about Black Bear. A good start, never a guarantee.

Places

Visitor centerSugarlands Visitor CenterGet your bearings with a bear exhibit, ranger advice, and trail map.

SightElijah Oliver PlaceA short walk to a farmstead with Cades Cove’s only surviving springhouse.

CampgroundCades Cove CampgroundA woodland base for the cove's historic loop and wildlife.

CampgroundBig Creek CampgroundTwelve tent sites by the creek, with big hikes close at hand.

Trails

ModerateWest Prong Trail5.4 mi · 3.3 hrA steady forest climb to a riverside backcountry campsite.

Wolf sightings in Yellowstone on Parkwolf’s Find Wildlife map, brightest around Lamar Valley — Wolf sightings in Yellowstone, in the app

Find Wildlife in Parkwolf

Every sighting map, in your pocket.

16 sighting mapsfor Great Smoky Mountains, on the same park map as your route
Works offlineout where the animals are and the signal isn’t
200 audio storiesplay as you drive Great Smoky Mountains, wildlife included

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Wildlife

More wildlife in Great Smoky Mountains

All 16 sighting maps

900 sightingsElkCervus canadensisMost seen 6–9 AM & 6–9 PMSighting map

13 sightingsBald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalusMost seen 8–11 AM & 3–5 PMSighting map

142 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeCrotalus horridusMost seen 5–8 PMSighting map

26 sightingsBobcatLynx rufusMost seen 6 AM & 7–9 PMSighting map

42 sightingsRiver OtterLontra canadensisMost seen 7 AM & 6–8 PMSighting map

177 sightingsCoyoteCanis latransMost seen 6–8 AM & 4–7 PMSighting map

305 sightingsEastern CopperheadAgkistrodon contortrixMost seen 8 PMSighting map

18 sightingsBeaverCastor canadensisMost seen 7 AM & 7 PMSighting map

Where to see Black Bear in Great Smoky Mountains