Known as the Crown of the Continent, Glacier National Park is an incredible destination boasting over 1,500 square miles of Montana wilderness to explore. In 2024, 3.2 million tourists flocked to Glacier to experience its incredible landscape featuring melting glaciers, verdant alpine meadows, carved valleys, and spectacular lakes. With 700+ miles of trails, Glacier is a veritable paradise for hikers seeking to experience pristine ecosystems and the diverse natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains.

One prominent member of Glacier’s ecosystem is its grizzly bear population. As of May 2023, an estimated 300 grizzly bears were living inside the park. As the weather warms and grizzly bears come out of hibernation, encounters with visitors will ensue and it’s important to know what to do if you cross paths with one of these apex predators.

The following video was taken this month and shows a grizzly bear cub hitching a ride on its mother back across one of Glacier’s 762 lakes. Hard to say how close the person taking the video was to the grizzlies, but it is important to keep in mind that Glacier requires visitors to maintain a 100 yard distance from grizzly bears at all times. Rather than approaching a grizzly bear to get better picture, Glacier recommends using telephoto lenses or the zoom feature on your smartphone.

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