American Black Bear

Where to see

American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

Great Smoky Mountains National Park leads · 26 parks ranked by real sighting rates

Parks Ranked

Share of wildlife watchers reporting an American Black Bear during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)

#ParkCountrySighting
1 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~80%
2 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~80%
3 Wood Buffalo National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~80%
4 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~70%
5 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~60%
6 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
~60%
7 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~60%
8 Nahanni National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~60%
9 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~60%
10 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~50%
11 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~50%
12 Kenai Fjords National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~50%
13 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~50%
14 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~40%
15 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
16 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
17 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~40%
18 Cape Breton Highlands National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~40%
19 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
20 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~40%
21 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
22 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
23 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
24 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
25 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%

Before you go

Which is the best park to see an American Black Bear?

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, United States, about 80% of wildlife watchers report an American Black Bear sighting on a given day, the highest of the 26 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see an American Black Bear?

It depends on the park

In the top parks, the best months are August and November in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (about 90%) and May to November in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (about 80%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report an American Black Bear on a given day. Each park's American Black Bear page has the full month-by-month chart.