Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
April 22nd through 25th 2026
Yellowstone National Park
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
~ April 2026 ~
April 22nd - Wednesday
A warm 53 degrees in Gardiner this morning warming up to only 45 degrees out in the park this afternoon with a cool wind. Kevin M found a cow mouse with a yearling calf high on the # 4 finger on Norris. I watched three different vultures today, one in Lamar Valley, one in Slough Creek and one north of Boulder Pullout. At 6:10 a.m. Randi M found a very large grizzly swimming the Lamar River south of the Institute. He took his time swimming and then slowly walking up and over Amethyst Bench. He was in few for about fifteen minutes. At 6:35 a.m. Kevin M had a medium sized grizzly moving north above Trashcan Pullout. Not in view very long. At 7:00 a.m. from Footbridge Pullout I found a grizzly walking downhill on the # 4 finger on Norris. Only in view for a couple of minutes before disappearing and not seen again. At 8:30 a.m. someone found the Ski Slope grizzly sow with one large two and one half year old light cub. They remained in sight on and off for most of the day digging on Amethyst Bench and the tree line behind the bend. At 8:45 a.m. someone pointed out another grizzly sow with one two and one-half year-old cub (with a smaller cub than the Ski Slope cub). We had only been seeing one family for the last two weeks and assumed it was the Ski Slope family. We now believe that this family with a cub that is not as big or as light at the Ski Slope family as the Middle Ridge family. We watched this family many times last year the two yearlings, so the sow has lost a cub since we last saw her in June of 2025. So, the Ski Slope family has only appeared in the last week or so. The Middle Ridge sow was out and viewed to the west several times before the Ski Slope family came out and been seen. At 9:25 a.m. Randi M from Lamar Canyon West Pullout called with a large dark grizzly on Middle Ridge. She called out the sighting and we at Dorothy's Pullout in Lamar Valley had a great view. This grizzly crossed three large snow patches and despite the long distance it was a great view. At 9:15 a.m. I found 1564M, a black Junction Butte wolf now a yearling, on Jasper Bench. Rick M had walked up the hill to the north of Dorothy's and had seen the wolf from up high. The wolf moved west and out of sight but a lot of people at roadside got to see the wolf. At 12:40 p.m. I found a small colorful grizzly traveling east to west on the # 1 finger on Norris. Not in view for over five minutes, we got to show quite a few people the grizzly. At 12:45 p.m. I found another grizzly, this one on the # 3 finger on Norris. This one was digging and in view for about thirty minutes. We got to show a lot of people the grizzly.
April 23rd - Thursday
40 degrees in Gardiner this morning warming up to 46 degrees out in the park this afternoon, storms moving through the park reduced visibility from time to time. At 6:15 a.m. Bruce P found a large slow walking grizzly in the Slough Bowl. He was moving slowly to the north and in sight for about ten minutes. At 7:25 a.m. I found two small grizzlies in and around that really old carcass in the meadow below the fingers on Norris. I think two separate sub adults had found the carcass that nothing had been on for days. Probably chewing on old bones. Each one got a turn on the carcass, but both walked out separately. At 8:15 a.m. someone called with grizzlies in Little America near Aspen Pullout. When I arrived, it was the Middle Ridge sow with one two-and-a-half-year-old light-colored cub. They were digging for a while but then moved towards the road. They came quickly and crossed the road from south to north. Once across the road they began to dig again on this side of the Lamar River. A storm later made seeing the grizzlies impossible, so I moved on. I found a large black bear bedded in a large meadow north of the road in Little America. It was grazing lazily, not bothering to get on its feet. Just after that Bruce was driving down the road and another grizzly crossed south to north. I saw it was a medium sized colorful grizzly and watched the large meadow where the black bear was bedded. The grizzly ran into the clearing, and the larger black bear ran off quickly. Then Dean D saw the Middle Ridge sow with her cub going up one of the Peregrine Hills. To our surprise the medium sized grizzly which we identified as the 5 1/2-year-old female grizzly was not chasing the black bear but chasing after the grizzly sow and her cub. The 5 1/2-year-old female is the daughter of the Middle Ridge sow before the current family of one cub (actually in 2024 she had three cubs of the year, but in 2025 she was seen with only two yearlings, now with only one 2 1/2 half year old cub). We watched the sow and cub run and being followed by the 5 1/2-year-old over two of the three Peregrine Hills. The sow and cub ran back across the road further to the west while the 5 1/2-year-old laid down in a meadow with some low water, cooling off I suspect. At 10:45 a.m. Paul H heard two wolves howling from south of Boulder Pullout. A couple at Curve Pullout had seen five wolves disappearing to the southeast. All the wolf watchers spread out to find them. Some went to Elk Creek expecting them to go up high to the south. I and others guessed Straight-away Pullout and that was the place. Soon a guide picked them up, traveling east in a series of small openings. They got the count of six blacks and one gray, with most of them mature wolves including the alphas. 1385F the alpha was with them (so she is not in the den yet). This was the same total we had two days ago in Lamar. That day, like today, we had seven of the fifteen wolves. Most of the now yearlings were in the missing group. At 12:00 noon Randi M found the Ski Slope grizzly and one large light colored two and one-half year-old cub digging on Amethyst Bench. They were in sight for most of the afternoon on Amethyst Bench. At 2:00 p.m. Bruce, returning from Cooke City, found a grizzly digging north in Soda Butte Valley. It was a darker grizzly with a slight Yellowstone Stripe back of the shoulders and around the body. It was digging and checking out the bison pies, checking for insects under the pies. It was in view a long time. Before I left, it rolled on its back with all four feet in the air, rubbing its stomach with its claws. After that it bedded for a nap.
April 24th - Friday
31 degrees in Gardiner this morning but only 22 degrees at Slough Creek warming up to only 37 with a cold wind all day. At 6:55 a.m. Karol B found a large, tall grizzly south of Midpoint Pullout in a snowstorm. Bad visibility when you can see it with binoculars but not with the scope. When I arrived it was chasing three bison, which did not last too long. The grizzly walked slowly to the east with its head down looking for anything. Paul H and Frank H called with action at Slough Creek saying either Bob's Knob or Dave's Hill was good viewing. They had a new bison carcass in the Slough Creek with wolves and three grizzlies in the area. Do not know if the wolves got it or died on its own. The first of the three grizzlies had left the carcass area heading east approaching the Horizontal Forest when I climbed the hill to Dave's. He was a large dark grizzly who eventually went up the Diagonal Forest and out of sight. The second grizzly was a medium sized grizzly, or sow sized, and it was tentatively on the carcass. The third grizzly was a large dark grizzly coming in from the east. The small grizzly left the carcass as the third grizzly swam the creek to the carcass. The medium sized grizzly stayed in the area. It bedded about one hundred and fifty yards from the carcass; it entertained itself from laying on its back with all four legs in the air. Later it moved closer as the second large grizzly swam back across Slough Creek and left the area. The medium sized grizzly moved towards the carcass but three of the wolves intercepted it and it retreated to the willows. The wolf watchers counted nine blacks with both of the gray wolves in the Junction Butte pack this morning either near the carcass or bedded up towards the den area. I was glassing around and found a dark grizzly east of Crystal Rock across the road to the south in Crystal Drainage. About the same time Kevin M found a carcass with another grizzly sleeping on the carcass. Not sure of what the carcass was. The carcass grizzly got up, and we could see why the first grizzly was walking away, the carcass grizzly was larger. Not a bad morning, three grizzlies and eleven wolves in Slough and two grizzlies around a carcass in Crystal Drainage all watched from Dave's Hill. The wind was hard and cold this morning, and I left the area. At 10:30 a.m. Bruce P told me about a grizzly north of Coyote Pullout in Lamar Valley. It was a small to medium sized grizzly moving slowly up hill to the north. It was gone five minutes after I arrived. At 1:15 p.m. I found the Ski Slope grizzly sow with the two and one half year old light cub south of Picnic Pullout. Digging again today and were in sight for hours. At 2:30 p.m. Brexlyn J (Dean and Jeri's granddaughter) told us about a grizzly on the east end of the Soda Butte Valley. When we arrived, we noticed it was the same grizzly that we had yesterday and in the same place as yesterday. It moved to the west and was north of the Soda Butte Cone when I left. At 3:15 p.m. Paul H called with two grizzlies that had been in sight north of Aspen Pullout for quite a while and were still there. It was the Middle Ridge sow with one two and one half year old light cub. Digging again today not too far away and created a huge bear jam. I had a THREE DOG DAY today.
April 25th - Saturday
28 degrees this morning but only 19 degrees on Dave's Hill this morning warming up to 37 degrees with a cool breeze. At 6:10 a.m. a dark grizzly was leaving the Slough Creek bison carcass. Going up the hill and through the rocks and out of sight. At 6:20 a.m. a dark grizzly was laying on the carcass in Crystal Drainage. It was there most of the day and it was a better view from Lamar Canyon West Pullout. At 6:25 a.m. a brown grizzly approached the Crystal carcass; I do not believe it ever got to the carcass because of the dark larger grizzly staying on it. At 8:50 a.m. I found a small blond sub adult on the skyline north of Picnic. It was only in sight for three minutes, but only Karol B got to see the bear. At 9:35 a.m. we had a black bear south of Midpoint Pullout in the tree line. At 11:45 a.m. I spotted a large grizzly near the tree line south of Picnic Pullout. At 10:00 a.m. I found a small black bear grazing in a clearing below Druid Peak viewed from the Institute. At 12:35 p.m. I found the Ski Slope grizzly sow with one two and one half year old light cub digging south of Picnic Pullout. Today they stayed close to the tree line. At 1:15 p.m. Karol B showed me the Middle Ridge sow and one two and one half year old light cub high on Specimen Ridge. They were digging together and soon after moved over the hill from the viewing place of Aspen Pullout. Randi M had watched this family a lot and knew they would be in good view from Lamar Canyon West Pullout. They were in view for well over an hour, lots of people got to watch the grizzlies. At 3:45 p.m. I found the colorful 5 1/2-year-old female grizzly in a rock formation southwest of Slough Creek. Randi and others had watched her earlier leaving the bison carcass in Slough Creek. At 4:00 p.m. I saw a large black bear in a clearing in Little America. At 4:30 p.m. I made a good spot on a black bear with a black yearling cub crossing the high part of the slopes of Hellroaring. Bold action for a black bear and cub that far from trees.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Wendy B, Dan and Laurie L, Jeremy S, Randy T, Melba C, and Leo L. From Utah: Paul H. From Missouri: Frank H. From California: Glenda M. From Wyoming: Christy and Paul G. From England: Jakob B. From South Carolina: Greg and Renee B. From Colorado: Karol B, and Jim and Elizabeth L. And from Massachusetts: Jon W. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Utah: Dean and Jeri D, and Mark and Liz H. From Oregon: Larry and Char T. From Washington: Randi M. From Wyoming: Kevin M. From Montana: David B, Doug M, Jeff, and Valarie B and From Idaho: Larry M. Others seen this report: From Montana: Cam H, Amanda E, Andrea B, Cliff B, Nate U, and Scott B. And from Florida: Mark L, and Bill L.
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
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Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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