Yellowstone National Park 2026 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
June 25th through 28th 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 25th - Thursday
50 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 68 degrees out in the park this afternoon. I had a cow and yearling calf moose on Amethyst Bench this morning. At 5:00 a.m. I found four black wolves of the Junction Butte pack on Amethyst Bench. I called the wolf watchers, and they ended up with fourteen or fifteen wolves for an hour or two this morning more to the east. At 5:25 a.m. a black bear was spotted in the tree line south of Picnic Pullout. At 5:30 a.m. I found a grizzly on Amethyst Bench after the wolves had left going to the east. At 6:00 a.m. I found a grizzly on the skyline above the snow cornices which are southwest of Footbridge Pullout. A long view but with the sky in the background a pretty look. At 6:10 a.m. I found two grizzlies on the # 3 finger on Norris. It ended up being a courting pair of grizzlies. Nice because we have not had much on the fingers for about two weeks. At 6:50 a.m. I found a dark grizzly on the second meadow behind Ski Slope. At 6:55 a.m. Gary found two cinnamon black bears low in the Salad Bowl / Southern Divide Ridge. At 7:30 a.m. Gary found a grizzly high northeast of Coyote Pullout. We were watching from Lamar Canyon East Pullout. It has meadows and clearings that cannot be seen from Coyote Pullout. At 7:40 a.m. still from Lamar Canyon East Gary showed me two smaller grizzlies. They were two of the three Druid Peak now three and one-half year-old sub adults still hanging out together. At 8:35 a.m. I found the two and one-half year-old light colored sub adult digging in the Bowl, near little tree /big tree. At 9:30 a.m. Jason U found two grizzlies on the top of Ski Slope. It turned out to be the two Specimen Ridge two and one-half year-old sub adults. This was the first time we viewed them on Ski Slope. Later they moved off to the west, and the Ski Slope sub adult had returned to Ski Slope. All three within a hundred and fifty yards of each other. At 10:00 a.m. Tim G found a medium sized dark grizzly in the Bowl above little tree/big tree. The Ski Slope grizzly sub adult had left the Bowl by now. At 10:10 a.m. I had a big cinnamon black bear northeast of the Institute. At 1:25 p.m. I found the Pebble Creek grizzly sow with her two darker two and one-half year-old cubs low on Druid Peak.
June 26th - Friday
45 degrees in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 62 degrees out in the park this afternoon. At mid-morning we had a nice thunder and lightning shower. The cow and yearling calf moose from yesterday was below the Bowl this morning. At 5:40 a.m. I found the two and one-half year-old light colored sub adult on Ski Slope. They were in view for a long time this morning. At 5:45 a.m. we watched three black Junction Butte wolves who were in the Chalcedony Fan around a new carcass out of sight in the tree line. The wolf watchers had a good view of all fifteen this morning before they left, going south towards Cache Creek. At 7:00 a.m. Kate J, Silver Gate Guides, called out a large brown grizzly sitting near the tree line on Amethyst Bench. Only in view for six to ten minutes before disappearing in the tree line. At 8:00 a.m. Gary had a brief sighting of the Pebble Creek grizzly sow with her two dark two and one-half year-old cubs north of Picnic, fortunately I was in the parking lot with him, so I got to watch them. Only in view for a few minutes, I checked back from time to time to look there for them but never saw them again today. At 9:00 a.m. Sara U, Wolf Tracker, called with three grizzlies north of Coyote Pullout, this was the Institute grizzly sow with her two-light colored two and one-half year-old cubs. I arrived in time for about ten minutes of good viewing as they were digging and moving to the east. Others at Coyote Pullout got about thirty minutes of good viewing, often in short grass so showed up really well. At 9:20 a.m. I found a medium to large sized grizzly slowly going over the west flank of Ski Slope. Only about a five-minute sighting.
June 27th - Saturday
47 degrees this morning in Silver Gate this morning warming up to 60 degrees out in the park this afternoon. We had rain off and on most of the day, good because it is dry up here. In fact, last night the Silver Gate Fire Department were called to put out a lightning strike on a dead tree. At 5:30 a.m. I found a large dark grizzly near the skyline north of the Institute. In sight for ten to fifteen minutes and lots of people got to see the grizzly through spotting scopes. At 6:00 a.m. first Gary G found a small grizzly high in the Bowl. Then soon after Randi M found another small grizzly, this one lower in the Bowl. We think these were the Specimen Ridge two and one-half year-old sub adults. They were close to getting back together when we moved on. At 6:30 a.m. Gary found the Institute grizzly sow with her two-light colored two and one-half year-old cubs north of the Institute. In view for almost forty minutes of good viewing as they were digging and moving to the east. At 7:00 a.m. Kate J, Silver Gate Guides, found the Ski Slope two and one-half year-old light colored sub adult back on Ski Slope. Later Randi had talked to someone that had three grizzlies in a clearing up the road to the south and east. We headed for Footbridge Pullout and found what we assume is the Pebble Creek grizzly sow with her two large two and one-half year-old cubs. They were digging and in sight for quite a while on # 3 finger on Norris. This is the first time we have seen them on the south side of the road. At 9:15 a.m. Gary found a large black cinnamon bear swimming the Soda Butte Creek south of the Soda Butte Cone.
June 28th - Sunday
43 degrees this morning in Silver Gate warming up to 47 degrees with a very cold wind this afternoon out in the park. We watched a cow moose with this year's calf running across the bottom of A-Z Meadow this morning. A strange place for a cow and calf moose. At 5:30 a.m. I found the Institute grizzly sow with her two colorful two and one-half year-old cubs on a high saddle north of the Institute. We watched her a few times in the same clearing, the last about 1:00 p.m. We had a large bear jam and lots and lots of people got to see the family in spotting scopes. At 6:30 a.m. I found a small colorful grizzly digging in the second meadow behind ski slope. It was in view for quite a while. At 7:00 a.m. I found a black bear northeast of Coyote Pullout. It was in view later in the morning in the same clearing. At 7:20 a.m. Gary G found a medium sized grizzly northeast of Coyote Pullout. At 8:45 a.m. Gary found a small colorful grizzly north of Picnic Pullout, may have been one of the three Druid Peak three and one-half year-old light colored sub adult. At 9:05 a.m. I found a medium sized grizzly high north of the Institute. It too was back in view later in the morning. At 9:25 a.m. Gary found the two Specimen Ridge two and one-half year-old sub adults on Ski Slope. In and out of view for quite a while again this afternoon. At 12:20 p.m. we had a bear jam west of Thunderer Pullout. It was a black bear sow followed by a cinnamon-colored black bear, looked like a courting pair.
People Seen
Wolf Watchers seen this report: From Montana: Rick M, Jeff A, Dan and Laurie L, and Wendy B. From Florida: Andy and Missy O. And from England: Jakob B. Bear Watchers seen this report: From Mississippi: Gary G. From Washington: Randi M. And from Montana: Tim B, Doug M and Jeff and Valerie B. Others seen this report: From Montana: Hunter G, Quinn H, Audra C, Nathan V, Brad B, Cam H, Jayden A, Kate J, Matt D, Grant J, Mike S, Evan S and Russ K. From Wyoming: Tom H and Sandi R.
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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