Welcome To Island Park — Bear Country!

Island Park, part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, is surrounded by 3 million acres of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, an area of incredible natural beauty inhabited by all the species originally found in the Northern Rockies.

Whether you are here for a day, a season, or a lifetime, we aim to support and spread bear awareness and encourage bear-safe practices so that we can always enjoy these magnificent creatures. We are privileged to live among bears and other wild animals.

Grizzly and black bears are magnificent icons of wilderness. They are thrilling to watch and inspire both awe and fear. Grizzlies are impressive, huge, and powerful, and black bears are similarly exciting. Protecting this gift of nature requires special appreciation and care to maintain our safety and theirs.

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Be Bear Aware

We invite you to join us in celebrating bears and helping keep them wild: watch them, be inspired by them, enjoy the experience, and help us keep both people and bears safe.

Being bear-aware is about safety for people and safety for bears. If you know what behaviors to expect and how to identify signs that bears are around, and if you act on that knowledge, you will secure garbage and anything with a smell, keep food, coolers, and grills inside, and keep pet food and items with odors inside. Please enjoy our Island Park bears safely and responsibly in the wild.

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Get Involved

We need your help to spread the word that Island Park is Bear Country. Read our newsletter for tips and opportunities. Talk to friends and neighbors. Help distribute information about being bear-aware. Help at local bear education events. Click the button below to learn how you can get involved!

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Photo credits: Charlie Lansche & Shaun Ward