Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
June 5th through 8th 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 5th - Friday
Friday June 5th. 41 degrees in Silver Gate warming up to a warm 81 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I watched a big bull moose at Warm Creek this afternoon. At 5:25 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly digging on Druid Peak. Not in view for very long this morning. At 6:30 a.m. we had a black bear on Druid Peak. At about this time three black Junction Butte wolves were seen leaving the carcass area and milling around near the tree line. At 7:30 a.m. Paul H called with a grizzly coming towards the bison carcass at the Confluence. Then Gary G found and showed me the grizzly viewed a long way from Coyote Overlook. At 7:30 p.m. I found a medium sized grizzly near the skyline east of A-Z Meadow. Not sure why today was such a slow day for bears. I am guessing the really high temperatures and the fact that the moon is still over 50 percent so the grizzlies can be eating all night.
June 6th - Saturday
Saturday June 6th. 43 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to a hot 84 degrees, but a strong wind made it feel not so hot. A small bull moose was seen over the Western Foothills this morning. Gary found a badger just east of Dorothy's this evening. It looked like a bigger one. I had a THREE-DOG DAY today. At 5:15 a.m. Gary G found grizzlies in the Bowl from the Institute. It turned out to be four grizzlies moving together. One large one and three medium sized grizzlies soon moved over the hill and out of sight. Later two returned and laid down in a long snow cornice, we believe the large and one of the medium sized grizzlies. When they moved off the smaller of the two lead away with the large boar following, a courting pair. At 5:45 a.m. I found a colorful grizzly north of Picnic Pullout. It was in sight for a while this morning. At 6:00 a.m. there was a large black bear over the Western Foothills. At 6:15 a.m. Judy and Gail showed us a grizzly on the west arm of the K-2 Meadow. At 6:15 a.m. we found four black and one gray of the Junction Butte wolf pack moving east in the tree line south of the Confluence. The wolf watchers hiked the hills and had all fifteen wolves today, thirteen blacks and both grays. At 7:55 a.m. Gary found a dark grizzly digging on Druid Peak, we were watching from Lamar Canyon West, and despite the distance it was in view for a long time. At 8:15 a.m. I found a grizzly digging in a small area on Prospect Peak; viewed from Long Pullout it was a long sighting. At 9:00 a.m. Gary found a large cinnamon black bear in the saddle northeast of the Institute. From 10:00 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. we watched grizzlies north of Picnic Pullout. I found the backs of three grizzlies on the east arm of the Inverted Triangle Meadow. Just the backs in view for only ten minutes. Then Gary found them up on Druid Peak. They could be seen from both Picnic and Trashcan Pullouts and lots and lots of people got to watch the Institute grizzly sow with her two big and light colored two and one-half year-old cubs. At 6:35 p.m. I found a grizzly on the skyline on Penny Lane. It was digging and could not be seen from Hitching Post of Footbridge Pullouts.
June 7th - Sunday
48 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up near 70 degrees this afternoon with high winds out in the park this afternoon. I had a moose cross the road in Silver Gate this morning at 4:00 a.m. as I headed into the park. I had a THREE-DOG DAY today. At 5:10 a.m. Jeff A found thirteen Junction Butte wolves (eleven black and both grays) on a new bison carcass south of Dorothy's Pullout and a way north of the Lamar River. Bob J reported seeing two black wolves around the old bison carcass south of the Confluence, so all fifteen Junction Butte wolves were seen this morning. At 5:15 a.m. I found a dark grizzly on Amethyst Bench, a brief sighting as it soon moved into the river corridor and out of sight. At 5:30 a.m. I found the Institute grizzly sow with her two big and light colored two and one-half year-old cubs again north of the Institute. They were in sight for a long time, and at the same time several of the wolves were moving back and forth south of Amethyst Bench. So, people could watch grizzlies to the north and wolves to the south at the same time. At 5:45 a.m. there was a large black bear behind the Western Foothills. At 6:10 a.m. Gary G had a small colorful grizzly west of the Western Foothills. Randi M later found it approaching the Amethyst Bench and then climbed the Ski Slope. At 6:20 am Gary pointed out the large grizzly south of the Confluence heading towards the tree line. At 7:00 a.m. Gary found a grizzly on the northern part of Norris. It was above the rock formation and after circling a large bull bison traveled further to the south. At 7:20 a.m. Gary found two grizzlies on the western end of Druid Peak. It was the two three and one-half year-old Druid Peak sub adults, still traveling together. At 8:00 a.m. we finally got to see Randi M's grizzly on Ski Slope. We were to the east, and the grizzly was on the western flank of Ski Slope. It was a dark grizzly and digging away. At 11:15 a.m. I came to a bear jam on the Soda Butte Cone. A grizzly had crossed the road north to south and after swimming the Soda Butte Creek found and taken an elk calf bedded there. The grizzly was in the willows, and we could see some of the bear from time to time. At 7:00 p.m. the collared and ear tagged grizzly was in the Warm Creek Area, not causing any problems.
June 8th - Monday
34 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to the low 70's out in the park this afternoon. Gary found a yearling cow moose in of all places Amethyst Bench this evening. At 5:15 a.m. I found a grizzly in the river corridor southeast of the Institute. It took it's time slowly going into the trees east of Amethyst Bench. Little did we know at the time that the Junction Butte wolves had a new carcass south of Hubbard Hill. Most wolf watchers got to see at least seven wolves close to the road this morning, my count was only three blacks. At 6:15 a.m. I found a grizzly on the K-2 west arm from Picnic Pullout. Soon Gary G pointed out a second grizzly. Viewing was not great but appeared to be a grizzly sow with a least a big yearling or small two and one-half year-old cub. At 7:00 a.m. I found a grizzly on K Meadow, soon Kim H found a second grizzly close to the first. It was a courting pair of grizzlies. At 7:15 a.m. others had a medium sized grizzly in the Bowl, it was up near little tree, big tree. At 7:40 a.m. I found a grizzly in the second meadow behind Ski Slope viewed from Coyote Pullout. It was traveling and in sight for only five minutes or so. At 9:00 a.m. I found a large and small cinnamon black bear in a clearing above the one-half finger on Norris. Not sure if a courting pair or a sow with a yearling cub. At 9:05 a.m. I found a black bear in a high clearing northeast of Footbridge Pullout. At 9:10 a.m. Paul H found a black and a cinnamon black bear together in a clearing under K-2 Meadow, not sure if a courting pair or a sow with a yearling cub. At 9:55 a.m. Kim H and I found, at the same time, the Ski Slope light colored two and one-half year-old sub adult in Bear Meadow. It moved slowly, digging away, into No Bear Meadow. The big news in Silver Gate is the power outage. Yesterday sometime at midday a tree was blown down over a power line. That started a fire which is still burning. They cannot fix the power line until the fire is out. The winds are high again today. At 5:00 p.m. I found a large cinnamon black bear on Druid Peak. At 5:15 p.m. Gary found a small colorful grizzly in the meadow behind Bear Meadow; the Ski Slope sub adult was still digging in the Bowl. At 5:25 p.m. I found the Institute grizzly sow with her two big two and one-half year-old cubs high northwest of the Institute. At 5:30 p.m. Gary found a cinnamon black bear high north of the Institute.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers: From Montana: Rick M, Helena E, Jeff A, Jeff B, Bob J, and Taylor R. From Utah: Paul H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From California: Glenda M. From Colorado: Terri S. From New Mexico: Lynn C. And from England: Jakob B. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M. From Illinois: Wayne and MaryAnn K. From Colorado: Kim H and Rick and Tanner H. From Wyoming: Jim G, From Montana: Doug M, Kathy M, and Tim G. From Idaho: Jennings and Carma S. From Utah: Chris B and family members, Kevin and Pam A, and Ed and Sara S. And from California: Dennis and Barb. Others seen this report: From Montana: Kate J, Hunter G, Mike S, Jamie and Michele H, Cam H, Michael S, and Quinn H.
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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