Yellowstone National Park: Black Bears and Other Stuff

Black Bears in Yellowstone National Park

After striking out on Bears at Grand Teton, we moved on to Yellowstone National Park. Our plans included spending one night in a cabin at Canyon in the center of the Park and then two nights in a cabin at Silver Gate Lodging in Silver Gate just outside the Northwest entrance in Montana.

 

Our Silver Gate cabin had a queen bed and bunks in one room and a queen in the kitchen

I selected Silver Gate because Scott likes to stay there, especially because he likes the trout at the Log Cabin restaurant across the street from the lodge.

Our cabin; Photos here and above: Silver Gate Lodging

Silver Gate and Lamar Valley

The cabins at Silver Gate are great, but they are a long drive through Lamar Valley. When Lamar is hopping with animals, especially Wolves, it’s great. Unfortunately, this time Lamar wasn’t as critter rich.

OK, we did see ....

A couple of Foxes; Photo: Caty Stevens

A Moose one night

Oh, and an active Osprey Nest

And, a Golden Eagle Nest

The Eagle Nest was interesting in that the tour guide who pointed it out to us said to look on the rocks for a formation that looked like a Raven. There was a cleft that looked like a little bit like a flying bird (not in my photo because it was far below on the rock face) and, sure enough, right above it we found a standing Eagle with a stick nest to the left. 

It wasn’t until we processed the photos that we realized that the flying bird cleft was NOT the "Raven;" what looked like the standing Eagle was. The "Raven" was actually a plant (blue arrow). The real Eagle (red arrow) was sitting on the stick nest! Not the first time nature has fooled me.

We spent a lot of time trying to find an active Badger den we had been told about. We did find the den, but never saw a Badger.

I photographed Badgers in Colorado in 2017 and wanted to see more

We also found a Coyote den way up on a hill based on some instructions we got, but the Coyotes were too far away to matter, especially when we’ve seen many up close.

You can barely see it

We saw a few Wolves very, very, very far away both in Lamar and in Hayden Valley. 

We aren't interested in Wolves unless we can photograph them (this was an exception)

And, Lamar always has Bison.

Lots of Bison

One of the joys of Yellowstone; Photo: Scott Stevens

So, Lamar did have animals (we are so jaded that we complain when most people would be awestruck), but the only Grizzlies we saw were farther away than that Wolf I showed you.

Unfortunately, all the Grizzly action we had was around Lake Butte and most of it was early and late. 

A Grizzly named Jam at the Steamboat Point Picnic Area

That’s a long drive from Silver Gate. 

With all the Bison on the road, you do not want to drive in the dark

Worst of all, the Log Cabin restaurant was under new management and was no longer open for dinner. Driving there for lunch is just not logical and breakfast didn’t start until 7:00 a.m. So, that plan was a bust. 

We would have been better off staying at the East entrance. These are things you can’t know when you have to book far in advance to secure any lodging. 

Black Bears

In this post, I am going to talk about Black Bears (Grizzlies will come in the next).

Black Bears have pointy ears, a "roman" nose and a sloping butt

We go to Grand Teton/Yellowstone for Grizzlies, but a bonus is that Yellowstone has lots and lots of Black Bears.

The majority can be seen near the Tower/Roosevelt junction. And, we saw quite a few in that vicinity.

We spent a lot of time with this very close Bear at the Tower/Roosevelt Junction

This cinnamon Bear (a boar, I think) was further up the road toward Mammoth

This mama and cubs were in the same spot the day before

This one was near Rainy Lake

Petrified Tree is a good bet for Black Bears (and sometimes Grizzlies)

It can be tricky in that Black-Bear-heavy area because the roads are narrow and winding without much shoulder and it is not unusual for the Bears to cross the road.

Many areas have "no parking" signs and cones; this baby has the right-of-way

Huge Bear jams form because some people just stop dead in the road (I even saw one guy get out of his car and leave it blocking the lane).

Can you blame people for stopping? Photo: Caty Stevens

I try to follow the rules (including always parking will all four wheels completely off the road), but I do take advantage of the stops to snap photos.

Taken from the driver's seat

Of course, you could encounter a Bear while hiking (I don't hike in Grizzly country anymore) or on horseback ...

These riders just saw the Black Bear at Petrified Tree

We did see some Bears at other spots in the Park, including a lone Bear near Canyon (no photo) and ...

A mama and yearling near Dunraven Pass; Photo: Caty Stevens

Another up on a hill near Lake Butte

I love any Bear and we stop for most, but I do have Black Bears in my neighborhood, so I don’t get quite as excited when I see them. And, we’ve seen and photographed so many that we will drive by if the Bear is too distant.

This one was far up a hill, but the habitat was interesting

Yellowstone’s Black Bears can be black, brown or cinnamon.

Black and cinnamon (we saw no true browns on this trip)

The brown and cinnamon Black Bears confuse a lot of people, primarily because of the unfortunate naming convention that labels Ursus americanus as the American Black Bear (despite the many color options) and labels Ursus arctos as a Brown Bear, or more colloquially, Grizzly Bear.

This is the "classic" Black Bear

It gets especially confusing when the Black Bear is brown and really large (and Yellowstone has some big ‘uns). 

A mama guarding her cubs; Photo: Scott Stevens

I seldom confuse the two, but I hear many misidentifications every time I go to Yellowstone. For more info on how to differentiate, go here (yeah, it’s a post about Alaska, but it includes Black vs. Brown comparisons).

Black and Brown (Grizzly)

While Grizzly COYs elude us, we do usually see a few Black Bear COYS each year.

A little one I didn't see; Photo: Scott Stevens

These siblings were cinnamon and black

Other Sightings

I have covered most of what we saw (except the Grizzlies to come), but there were a few more critters ...

A close-up Muskrat (pictured) and a far-off Beaver (too far for a decent shot)

A Common Raven too close for my lens (but, what pretty detail!)

And another at a proper distance

A Uinta Ground Squirrel guarding her den

A Chipping Sparrow

A Yellow-bellied Marmot

A Dusky Flycatcher

Even more Bison

Including Bison calves: Photo: Caty Stevens

A Snowshoe Hare; Photo: Caty Stevens

And, of course, lots and lots of beautiful scenery (most of which I didn't photograph) ...

Frosty Bison; Photo: Scott Stevens

Waterfalls; Photo: Caty Stevens

Hills and mountains

The Yellowstone River and thermals

Yellowstone Lake

Steamboat thermal

Scouting Tips

I have mentioned several times that we found a nest or a den or a Bear based on information gleaned from other people. Caty and I ask almost everyone we encounter with a scope or a camera or even noticeable interest in animals about what they’ve seen and where. 

Potential sources

It’s how we find stuff. And, in return, we eagerly share our experiences with others.

We also both follow the Yellowstone Bears Facebook Page. 

Yellowstone Bears

That’s where we get most of our intelligence on which Bears are where and how we’ve learned the identities of many of the commonly seen Bears. 

Where we learned that these Bears are Storm, Jam, Quill and Timber

Without it, Bear hunting would be much more difficult. 

By the way, Yellowstone Bears also includes information about Bears in Grand Teton, so it is doubly useful. And doubly frustrating when we see picture after picture of COYs and then can’t find them.

Trip Dates: June 6-12, 2025