YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A pair of hikers was injured by one or more bears in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) on Monday, according to an announcement by the park.
The hikers were on the Mystic Falls Trail near Old Faithful when the incident occurred, YNP said. The attack remains under investigation; no further information has been provided by YNP at this point.
National Park Service emergency services personnel responded to the incident. This is the first bear incident in the park this year. The most recent bear attack in the park was reported in September 2025; the last time a person was killed in a bear encounter in the park was in 2015, in the Lake Village area, per YNP.
While the event is being investigated, YNP has closed certain areas to visitors, including the area west of Grand Loop Road (from the north end of Fountain Flat Drive to Black Sand Basin), as well as the following trails, campsites and rivers:
- Fairy Falls Trail north of the Grand Prismatic Overlook
- Sentinel Meadows Trail
- Imperial Meadows Trail
- Fairy Creek Trail
- Summit Lake Trail
- Backcountry campsites OG1, OD1, OD2, OD3, OD4, OD5
- Fishing along the Firehole River and associated tributaries within the closure area
Park destinations in the vicinity that remain open include Midway Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail from Fairy Falls Trailhead to the Grand Prismatic Overlook (the trail is closed beyond the overlook) and Black Sand Basin.
YNP advises taking the following steps to stay safe in bear country:
- Stay 100 yards away from bears at all times
- Carry bear spray and know how to use it
- Be alert. See the bear before you surprise it. Watch for fresh tracks, scat, and feeding sites (signs of digging, rolled rocks, torn up logs, ripped open ant hills)
- Make noise
- Hike in groups of three or more people
- Don’t hike at dawn, dusk, or at night, when grizzlies are most active
- Don’t run from a bear
