Parking
Use the Pelican Creek Nature Trailhead at the west end of Pelican Creek Bridge, about 1 mile east of Fishing Bridge Visitor Center.
Overview
About Pelican Creek Nature Trail
Why go
- Creek-mouth wetlands and Yellowstone Lake views on a short walk.
- An easy, low-elevation-change option for a quick birding stop.
Heads up
- The park’s 0.6-mile figure is shorter than the complete mapped walk at about 0.8 mile.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,753–7,789 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
5 active Yellowstone alerts
- ClosureBiscuit Basin closed after hydrothermal explosionBiscuit Basin’s parking lot, boardwalk, and Firehole River are closed to all travel.Official details
- ClosureMost Yellowstone roads close to regular vehicles November 1Most Yellowstone roads and the West, South, and East entrances are scheduled to close to regular vehicles November 1, 2026, as the park prepares for winter operations.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yellowstone Tour Guide
Hear Yellowstone as you drive it.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yellowstone National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yellowstone audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Pelican Creek Nature Trail0:00 / 0:20
“Pelican Creek Nature Trail is ahead, a short, easy walk through forest to Yellowstone Lake. Allow half an hour to an hour for the loop and its shared approach from the west end of the bridge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Fishing Bridge and Trailside Museum
- Storm Point Trailhead at Indian Pond
- The Songbird That Swims
- A Duckling’s First Jump
- 243 audio storiesacross Yellowstone’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Bison, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 167 trails, 192 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“First time driving through a national park. We used the Yellowstone tour on grand loop Road and it’s just like having a tour guide in your car with you.”
Trail guide
Hiking Pelican Creek Nature Trail
The short loopPelican Creek Nature Trail is an easy, roughly 0.
Pelican Creek Nature Trail is an easy, roughly 0.8-mile lollipop loop from Pelican Creek Bridge through forest to Yellowstone Lake. Allow 30–60 minutes. Walk a shared access to the loop, circle it, then retrace that short connector to the bridge. The park lists 0.6 mile; the complete mapped walk is about 0.8 mile, and the available sources do not explain the difference, so plan for the longer distance.
Creek to shorelineThe path begins near the creek mouth and follows the slow-moving water through open forest…
The path begins near the creek mouth and follows the slow-moving water through open forest before the trees give way to a broad lakeshore. The route then curves back to its shared junction and returns the way it came. It is a small outing with a clear payoff: a close look at Pelican Creek’s wetland edge and an open view across Yellowstone Lake.
Birding and habitatThe creek spreads through marsh and wetland before meeting the lake, making this a useful short…
The creek spreads through marsh and wetland before meeting the lake, making this a useful short birding stop. Waterfowl may be visible near the creek mouth, with forest habitat along the approach; sightings vary, so treat the birds as a possibility rather than a promise.
Wildlife and petsBears use this area, so stay alert and follow Yellowstone’s wildlife guidance.
Bears use this area, so stay alert and follow Yellowstone’s wildlife guidance. Pets are not allowed on the trail.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yellowstone
713 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
743 sightingsWolfMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
5,273 sightingsBisonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
3,258 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
397 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,494 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yellowstone. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
