Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
June 1st through 4th 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
~ June 2026 ~
June 1st - Monday
37 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to a nice 69 degrees this afternoon out in the park. I had several foxes today, but no wolves. At 5:50 a.m. I found a grizzly digging above the Moosehead. At 6:00 a.m. I found a grizzly digging high north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:50 a.m. Gary G found the Specimen Ridge two small two and one half year old now sub adults high above Bear Meadow. Later they moved to Bear Meadow and spent time playing and wrestling each other. At 7:05 a.m. I found a large grizzly near the skyline north of the Institute, a brief sighting. At 7:25 a.m. we pulled into Coyote Overlook where watchers were watching grizzlies. We had five grizzlies in a fifty-yard circle: two boar sized grizzlies and three sow sized grizzlies. Not sure what was going on. One boar and sow got together for a while, but most were just moving around up and over the ridgeline and the snow cornices. No aggression displayed on the part of any of the grizzlies. Weird. At 7:45 a.m. someone noticed two sub adult grizzlies hunting elk calves on the Salad Bowl/Southern Divide Ridge. A herd of six cow elk were concerned and following the sub adults. The sub adults would zig zag around in the sagebrush trying to smell the elk calves hidden in the sagebrush. To our knowledge they did not find any calves this morning. At 7:50 a.m. Gary found the Ski Slope two and one-half year-old light colored sub adult on Ski Slope. At 8:00 a.m. Emil M showed me a small grizzly on Middle Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook. At 8:20 a.m. I found two grizzlies north of Coyote Overlook. They were not a courting pair, I think, nor were they small sub adult grizzlies. My guess is that the digging was good there and they put up with another close grizzly. At 9:40 a.m. Kim H found what turned out to be two of the three Druid Peak three and one-half year-old sub adults. One darker and taller, the other shorter and more colorful. At 10:35 a.m. there was a cinnamon black bear on the skyline northeast of the Institute. At 10:55 a.m. Gary found what we thought were the Institute cubs and that the sow had kicked them out; but it turned out to be the two Druid Peak sub adults. At 12:10 p.m. Kim H found two equal sized and sow sized grizzlies north of the Institute. They were originally close together but soon separated and fed off digging in different directions. Again, I assume two equal sized adult grizzlies sharing a nice place to dig without confronting the other grizzly. At 1:30 p.m. Kim H found a dark grizzly with a slight Yellowstone Stripe around its shoulders on Norris. Later the grizzly moved to Penny Lane and was in sight for a long time in the evening. At 1:40 p.m. We had a black bear on the # 3 finger on Norris. At 5:35 p.m. Gabriel M found a small grizzly digging on the # 3 finger, quite a long way below the black bear. At 5:45 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear on the first skyline clearing east of Penny Lane. At 6:10 p.m. we watched a cinnamon black bear on the # 1 finger on Norris way to the south.
June 2nd - Tuesday
36 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 73 degrees out in the park this afternoon. At 5:25 a.m. Gary G found a medium sized colorful grizzly digging in the Bowl. At 5:35 a.m. I found a courting pair of grizzlies to the north of the Institute, they were in view several different times this morning to the north of the Institute, just in different meadows. At 5:45 a.m. Phillip H found the Institute grizzly sow with two large two and one-half year-old light-colored cubs on the skyline north of Picnic Pullout. They were in sight for a long time this morning. At 5:50 a.m. Kate J, Silver Gate Guides, found another grizzly, this one lower and east of the grizzly family. At 5:55 a.m. Phillip H had two sub adult grizzlies in a little opening in a tree filled meadow. One of the two later moved to the east well below the grizzly family. At 6:00 a.m. Kate found another grizzly high and east of the grizzly family. The last grizzlies to go out of sight were the grizzly family, who exited quickly to the west as a large grizzly was coming in from the east. At 6:40 a.m. Kate from the Institute found the Specimen Ridge two small two and one-half year-old sub adults in the Bowl. At 6:45 p.m. Gary and I both spotted the Ski Slope light colored two and one-half year-old sub adult on Ski Slope at the same time. At 7:40 a.m. Gary found two other sub adult sized grizzlies in a high meadow east of the Bell. When I arrived the parking lot was filled, but Gary gave us directions which included climbing a small hill to view the two small grizzlies digging. At 8:00 a.m. Gary found the only Junction Butte wolf seen today to my knowledge. It was 1565M, a collared yearling, who was the only wolf seen yesterday around the old Slough Creek den area. At 12:00 noon I had a small black bear running across Specimen Ridge. At 12:30 p.m. I found two grizzlies digging in the meadow behind A-Z and the Salad Bowl looking to the south from Coyote Overlook. It turned out to be another courting pair of grizzlies; we should have a lot of cubs of the year next year. They moved over the ridge and snow cornice and out of sight.
June 3rd - Wednesday
37 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to a warm 79 degrees out in the park this afternoon. At 5:25 a.m. Cam H found a grizzly on the top of A-Z Meadow, which later moved into the Bowl. At 5:30 a.m. Sara N, Wolf Tracker, called with a grizzly on the K Meadow. We were at the Institute and could watch it from our location. At 6:10 a.m. I found the two three and one-half year-old Druid Peak sub adults low north of Picnic Pullout. At 6:15 a.m. we had a large dark grizzly appeared to be following the two sub adults. The sub adults went low, and the large grizzly went high, avoiding each other. At 6:25 a.m. Gary G found the Institute grizzly sow with two big two- and one-half year-old cubs digging near the skyline north of Picnic. With the other grizzlies around, they stayed close together this morning. At 6:35 a.m. I found a light-colored grizzly on Norris viewed from Picnic Pullout. When I told Gary, he saw two grizzlies, but I only saw the light colored one. At 8:00 a.m. I found a small grizzly on Specimen Ridge viewed from Coyote Overlook. It was not the two and one-half year-old light Specimen Ridge sub adult but may have been the two and one half year Specimen sub adult. At 11:30 a.m. Kim H found the other Druid Peak three and one-half year-old light colored sub adult on the west end of Druid Peak. Today was a rare day in that we found all three of the Druid Peak sub adults. At 1:20 p.m. We had a large bear jam north at Ice Box Canyon. It was a smaller collared grizzly with ear tags in both ears. This grizzly I believe is the reason for the Soda Butte Campground closure as well as the Warm Creek Picnic Area closure. It apparently has tried to break into the garbage containers in both places.
June 4th - Thursday
41 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to the high 70's out in the park this afternoon. At 5:25 a.m. I found the Institute grizzly sow with two big two and one-half year-old cubs lower northeast of the Institute. They were in great view for a long time and then moved on to the western end of Druid Peak for more great viewing. At 5:50 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly digging and moving west on the eastern end of Druid Peak viewed from Picnic Pullout. At 7:00 a.m. we had a large dark grizzly low across from Footbridge Pullout. It had been in view for a long time before I got down to watch it. It was in the flats across the Soda Butte Creek and was searching for anything to eat. It had a confrontation with a pair of coyotes near their den. In view a long time this morning. At 7:10 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging on the # 1 finger on Norris. At 7:10 a.m. Doug M found a cinnamon black bear grazing on the # 3 finger on Norris to the south. At 7:40 a.m. I found a grizzly in the Bowl. It was there a long time today (later joined with a large dark and a medium sized colorful grizzly). At 7:50 a.m. a nice sized cinnamon black bear low below Druid Peak viewed from the Institute. At 8:30 a.m. Randi M found the Middle Ridge two smaller two and one half year old now sub adults in the high meadow east of the Bowl. At 9:00 a.m. Paul found a large dark grizzly and a medium sized grizzly also in the Bowl. They soon moved over and joined the medium sized grizzly we had earlier in the Bowl. Still all together and in the Bowl this afternoon viewed from the Institute. At 9:25 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging on the east end of Druid Peak. At 10:40 a.m. I found a grizzly on the Northern Divide Ridge viewed from Coyote Pullout. Randi recognized this grizzly as the Middle Ridge sow. At 12:30 p.m. I found a courting pair of bears high northwest of the Institute. The heat waves were bad; I could not determine if they were a courting pair of grizzlies or of black bears. At 1:20 p.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging north of Footbridge Pullout in an area of small openings and dead and live trees. Paul and I watched for well over an hour with about half the time we could see the grizzly. At 2:40 a.m. I got into a bear jam east of the Soda Butte Picnic area. It was the collared grizzly with two ear tags digging just north of the road. Only a few cars were in front of me, but everyone wanted to take pictures. The grizzly was only fifty yards or so off the road, and I was glad everyone stayed in their cars.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Wendy B, Dan and Laurie L, and Jeff A. From Utah: Paul H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From Colorado: Mark, Carol, Roch R. From California: Glenda M, and Kathie L. From England: Jakob B. From Tennessee: Terry and Betty C. From Oregon: Bruce and Kelly H. And from Michigan: Denise M. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M. From South Carolina: Don P. From Illinois: Wayne and Maryann K, and Chicago Bob and Margaret P. From California: Carol B. From Colorado: Kim H, Dave S, and Rick H. And from Montana: Doug M, David B, and Les, Paula and Cole W. From Utah: Gail and Judy. Others seen this report: From Montana: Kate J, Hunter G, Cam H, Spencer S, Mike S, Audra C, MacNeil L, Dan and Cindy H, Michael S, Quinn H, and Jamie and Michele H. From Wyoming: Jill S.
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
Yellowstone National Park
Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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