Parking
Turn onto the gravel road about 3 miles east of Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and follow it to the end at Pelican Valley Trailhead 5K3. Parking capacity and facilities are not posted.
Overview
About Pelican Valley Trail
Pelican Valley Trail is a mostly level, bare-ground out-and-back from the road-end trailhead through meadow and forest to a washed-out bridge in the Pelican Creek valley. The official trail description lists 6.2 miles round trip and 3–4 hours. The connected mapped line is 3.62 miles each way from the first tread point, about 36 meters beyond the road-end parking; including that short access, expect roughly 7.3 miles round trip. Allow for the extra distance, or turn around before the bridge if your mileage reaches the listed total. The tread is gentle overall, with roughly 180 feet of cumulative rise on the elevation profile, and the hike is rated moderate.
Why go
- Open valley meadows and an Absaroka overlook
- Mostly level tread through notable grizzly habitat
Heads up
- Seasonal bear-area closure and strict day-use hours
- The connected mapped line is longer than the official mileage
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yellowstone map
Full mapElevation7,802–7,936 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
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 Valley Trailhead0:00 / 0:25
“You're approaching Pelican Valley Trailhead, for a mostly level walk through meadows and forest to views of Pelican Creek and the Absaroka Mountains.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yellowstone Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Storm Point Trailhead at Indian Pond
- The Blast That Made Indian Pond
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- 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 Valley Trail
From the trailhead to the overlookA single-wide dirt path heads north across open meadow and over several bridges before entering…
A single-wide dirt path heads north across open meadow and over several bridges before entering forest. After the trees, it climbs a small hill to the route's best view: Pelican Creek below and the Absaroka Mountains to the east. For a photo that shows the scale of the valley, include the creek below the ridge rather than framing only the skyline.
Beyond the overlookThe path turns east through a small hydrothermal area, then bends north, crosses a small creek…
The path turns east through a small hydrothermal area, then bends north, crosses a small creek and climbs a cut bank with another view toward Pelican Creek. It continues about a mile to the washed-out bridge. That bridge is the turnaround, not a creek crossing; there is no bridge across the creek, so return the way you came.
Bear-country rulesPelican Valley is prime grizzly habitat.
Pelican Valley is prime grizzly habitat. The Bear Management Area is seasonally closed until July 4, and hiking is limited to 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Groups of four or more are recommended, and off-trail travel is prohibited on the first 2.1 miles. Pets are not allowed. Stay on the tread through the fragile, hazardous hydrothermal area and check the current backcountry report before setting out.
Getting thereTurn onto the gravel road about three miles east of Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and follow it…
Turn onto the gravel road about three miles east of Fishing Bridge Visitor Center and follow it to the road-end parking at Pelican Valley Trailhead 5K3. Parking capacity and facilities are not listed. No food or drinking-water stop was identified at the trailhead or along the route.
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.
