Where to See Black Bear in Yellowstone National Park

Sighting map

Black Bear sightings in Yellowstone

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Where Black Bear has been reported, from 1,494 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 AM3% of the busiest hour1 AM2% of the busiest hour2 AM2% of the busiest hour3 AM3% of the busiest hour4 AM11% of the busiest hour5 AM68% of the busiest hour6 AM89% of the busiest hour7 AM93% of the busiest hour8 AM79% of the busiest hour9 AM63% of the busiest hour10 AM53% of the busiest hour11 AM47% of the busiest hourNoon42% of the busiest hour1 PM42% of the busiest hour2 PM47% of the busiest hour3 PM58% of the busiest hour4 PM74% of the busiest hour5 PM84% of the busiest hour6 PM95% of the busiest hour7 PMBusiest hour8 PM89% of the busiest hour9 PM63% of the busiest hour10 PM21% of the busiest hour11 PM8% of the busiest hour

Black Bear is most seen 6–8 AM and 6–9 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	3%
1 AM	2%
2 AM	2%
3 AM	3%
4 AM	11%
5 AM	68%
6 AM	89%
7 AM	93%
8 AM	79%
9 AM	63%
10 AM	53%
11 AM	47%
Noon	42%
1 PM	42%
2 PM	47%
3 PM	58%
4 PM	74%
5 PM	84%
6 PM	95%
7 PM	100%
8 PM	89%
9 PM	63%
10 PM	21%
11 PM	8%

Audio tour

Hear about Black Bear on the drive.

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

Yellowstone Tour Guide

Look Beyond a Bear’s Color

0:00 / 0:32

“Black bears can be brown, cinnamon or blond, so coat color won't reliably separate them from grizzlies. Look at the bear's shape instead. A grizzly usually shows a prominent hump above its shoulders.”

Plays as you drive in Parkwolf’s Yellowstone Tour Guide.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Where to look

Yellowstone 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

SightTower Fall Overlook132 feet of falling water framed by the towers that named it.

Trails

EasyLost Creek Falls Trail0.5 mi · 30 minA short creekside climb to a waterfall behind Roosevelt Lodge.

EasyFountain Freight Road Trail4 mi · 2.5 hrA level old-road walk past hot springs, river, meadows, and a lake.

ChallengingHoodoo Basin Trail9.8 mi · 9 hrA high, remote traverse through a basin of hoodoo spires.

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 Yellowstone, on the same park map as your route
Works offlineout where the animals are and the signal isn’t
243 audio storiesplay as you drive Yellowstone, wildlife included

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Wildlife

More wildlife in Yellowstone

All 16 sighting maps

713 sightingsGrizzly BearUrsus arctos horribilisMost seen 6–8 AM & 7–10 PMSighting map

743 sightingsWolfCanis lupusMost seen 6–8 AM & 6–8 PMSighting map

5,273 sightingsBisonBison bisonMost seen 6–8 AM & 6–9 PMSighting map

3,258 sightingsElkCervus canadensisMost seen 7–9 AM & 6–8 PMSighting map

397 sightingsMooseAlces alcesMost seen 7 AM & 6–8 PMSighting map

1,327 sightingsPronghornAntilocapra americanaMost seen 7–9 AM & 6–9 PMSighting map

648 sightingsMule DeerOdocoileus hemionusMost seen 6–8 AM & 6–8 PMSighting map

1,059 sightingsCoyoteCanis latransMost seen 6–8 AM & 6–9 PMSighting map

Where to see Black Bear in Yellowstone