Off-trail travel will no longer be allowed in Yellowstone National Park’s Hayden Valley due to a newly established bear management area. The area has experienced 8 of the 10 grizzly-human encounters in the park since 1970, including injuries and fatalities.
“Hayden Valley provides prime habitat for grizzly bears, especially during the summer when high concentrations of bears can be found scavenging on bison carcasses,” said the National Park Service. 23 grizzlies were spotted at a single bison carcass, indicating just how active bears are in that region.
The new Hayden Valley bear management area will take up 16,453 acres in the center of the park. Off-trail hiking will be prohibited from July 15 to September 15 each year.
Meanwhile, the Firehole River bear management area is being decommissioned on the west side of the park due to fewer carcasses that attract bears. That means visitors will once again have access to Midway Geyser Basin Overlook, Fairy Falls and Mystic Falls trails throughout the year. They were seasonally off-limits to all recreational access.
“All of Yellowstone National Park is bear country: from the deepest backcountry to the boardwalks around Old Faithful,” the NPS reminds us all.
