Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is a not-for-profit wildlife park and education centre in West Yellowstone, a short walk from Yellowstone's West Entrance. It has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 2001, and it is open every day of the year, including holidays. Many visitors come to see a grizzly bear up close before or after looking for one in the park.

None of the animals here can survive in the wild. Several of the grizzlies were orphaned when their mothers were killed after getting into human food; others became "nuisance bears", too comfortable around people, and would otherwise have been put down. One arrived in 2020 after getting into food near West Yellowstone; two sisters came in 2019 from the Seeley-Swan Valley in western Montana; the longest-serving bear arrived from Alaska in 1998. The bears live in outdoor habitats where you can watch them forage and explore.

The wolves were all born in captivity and given a home here when other facilities ran out of space. Two packs are on view in a separate enclosure. The centre also has a river otter exhibit and runs a bear-resistant product testing programme. In 2026 it retired its long-running BEARS: Imagination & Reality exhibit and opened new Yellowstone ecosystem wildlife and nature exhibits in its place.

The centre's posted hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with last admission at 5:30 p.m., but hours change with the seasons, so check before an early or late visit in winter. Admission is $17.50 for adults 13 and over, $16.50 for seniors 62 and over, $12.50 for children 5 to 12 and free for children 4 and under. Every ticket is good for two consecutive days, so you can come back at a different time of day when the animals are more active.

Allow about two hours, and use the second ticket day if the bears are resting on your first visit. The centre is on South Canyon Street at the south end of town, and it makes a good first stop on arrival day or a fallback when the park's interior roads close to cars after October 31.