Looking for Bears in Grand Teton National Park

George and Val finally arrived back in Star Valley and after they rested for a few days, we all decided to look for bears and other wildlife at Grand Teton National Park.

They picked us up, it was their turn to drive, and we first drove to Jackson and then took our favorite bear and moose road into the park.

Shortly after we entered the park two cars ahead of us flashed their brakes and then stopped, could it be a bear? Sure enough, I saw the bushes move and then a black bear showed itself as it hunted for berries. It quickly moved through the berry bushes searching each bush, and quickly gleaning any berries it held.

It reached a large pine tree and looked up, (were there cubs above?), before knocking over a large service berry bush, eating the berries and then pushing over another and another. It moved closer to the road and somewhat behind us and so we left it confident that we would see more bears. It was the last bear we saw that day.

We continued up the road to the ponds which is a place that often draws moose but there were no moose present. Arming ourselves with bear spray, we hiked along a trial, stopping to glass each forest glade.

Usual we find lots of bear sign, claw sharpened trees and scat filled with seeds, but not this time.

Paying special attention to the spots we had seen bears last week we stopped, and Renita listened, but she didn’t hear any branches breaking.

At one point a squirrel became extremely upset at our presence in its territory and gave us a loud chewing out. Luckily, we didn’t have to use the bear spray.

Having seen recent images of grizzly bears near Towgotee Pass we drove that way.

The fall foliage was starting to turn, and the high meadows were touched with a crimson red and shades of brown.

No bears made their grand entrance, nor moose, deer or elk.

We next headed into the park and drove to one of our usual picnic spots and after lunch decided to rive to the Gros Ventre campground.

The campground had signs warning of moose on the road, but it was nearly full of campers and people. The moose had apparently decided to move elsewhere.

It was time to head back to Star Valley and even though we offered to give George a break he insisted he was ok to drive. It was a nice day in the park with friends and we got to see a bear, which always adds a bonus to a day. Clear skies.

Ps if you ever come out here you may spot a bear anytime, but the best time to see a bear, grizzly or black, is in May or September.