Bear Safety in Glacier National Park (2026)
Bear Safety in Glacier National Park: What to Know After Mt. Brown
A reminder about bear spray, awareness, and the difference it can make, written with the family on my mind.
This week, search and rescue crews found Anthony Pollio, a 33-year-old hiker from Florida, about 2.5 miles up the Mt. Brown Trail above Lake McDonald. His injuries were consistent with a bear encounter. If confirmed, it will be the first fatal bear attack in Glacier National Park since 1998, nearly three decades ago.
I didn't know Anthony, but I love this park, and a story like this hits hard. My heart goes out to his family.
I'm writing this because I've been thinking about it all week, and because I want anyone planning a trip to Glacier to actually know what to do out here. That includes visitors, hikers, and the couples I work with on their elopement days. Most people don't, and that's not their fault. Bear safety isn't intuitive. So here's the part that matters.
Bear spray works. Carry it.
I'm not exaggerating when I say bear spray is the single most important thing in your pack in Glacier. Not your rain jacket. Not your headlamp. Bear spray.
Multiple studies, most notably Tom Smith's research in Alaska, have found bear spray stops aggressive bear behavior more than 90% of the time. Of people who used it in close-range encounters, 98% walked away uninjured. It is, statistically, more effective than a firearm. The reason is simple: in a charge, you need to put a wall of irritant between you and the bear, not land a precision shot under stress at a moving target.
A can costs about $50 at any grocery store, gas station, or outdoor outfitter in the area. Super 1, Costco in Kalispell, REI, Glacier Guides, plenty of others. If you're flying in (you can't bring it on a plane), you can rent from Glacier Outfitters in Apgar Village or right at Glacier Park International Airport, with 24/7 drop boxes for returns. Rentals run about $10 a day.
There is no good reason not to have one.
Know how to use it before you need to.
This is where a lot of people fall short, including people who already own a can. A few things you have to actually commit to memory:
- Carry it on your hip or chest, never inside your pack. If a bear is close enough to need it, you have seconds. Buried gear is useless gear.
- Practice removing the safety clip. Just the motion, not the spray. You want it to feel automatic.
- Wait until the bear is 30 to 60 feet away before deploying. The cloud, not a direct hit, is what stops the bear. Too early and it disperses before it gets there.
- Aim slightly down at the bear's face. Spray in 1 to 2 second bursts. The cloud rises and expands into their eyes, nose, and lungs.
- Don't pre-spray your gear or tent. The residue can actually attract bears.
If you rent from Glacier Outfitters, they walk you through deployment with a tester canister. That ten minute run-through is genuinely worth doing.
Avoiding encounters in the first place
Most bears in Glacier do not want anything to do with you. The goal is to let them know you're there before you ever meet face to face.
- Make noise. Talk, sing, call out "hey bear" every minute or so, especially around blind corners, dense brush, and fast-moving water that drowns out your steps. Bear bells aren't loud enough. Your voice is.
- Hike in groups when you can. Three or more has a substantially lower attack rate. Solo hikers on quiet trails are the highest-risk profile.
- Be most alert at dawn and dusk. Those are peak activity hours.
- Stay 100 yards from any bear you spot. That's the NPS rule. On a narrow trail it's not always possible. If a bear is on the path, get off, give it space, back away slowly.
- Know what attracts bears in Glacier specifically. Berry patches in late summer. Streams. And here's a strange one: in mid-summer, grizzlies congregate on talus slopes high up to eat army cutworm moths by the tens of thousands. A bear that's been quietly flipping rocks for moths can absolutely turn and charge if surprised. Wildlife is wild. You don't get to predict the moment.
If you actually encounter a bear
- Do not run. This triggers a chase response. Your speed will not matter. Don't run.
- Stay calm. Speak in a low, steady voice so the bear knows you're human.
- Back away slowly, sideways if you can, keeping the bear in your peripheral vision, but don't stare directly at its eyes.
- If it charges, hold your ground. Most charges are bluffs. Have your spray out, safety off, ready. At 30 to 60 feet, deploy.
- If contact is unavoidable: for a grizzly, drop face-down, hands clasped behind your neck, legs spread to make it harder to flip you. Play dead until the bear is fully gone. For a black bear, fight back. Aim for the face.
A note for visitors and the couples I photograph
I'm not writing this to scare anyone away from Glacier. The chance of a fatal bear attack here, statistically, is vanishingly small. This is the first in 28 years. You are far more likely to be hurt driving Going-to-the-Sun Road than by a bear.
But the difference between a frightening encounter and a tragic one usually comes down to two things: were you carrying spray, and did you know how to use it. Almost everyone who has deployed bear spray in Glacier in the last few decades walked away. That's not luck. That's preparation.
If you're coming out here for a hike, an elopement, or a road trip, please carry spray. Practice the motion. Make noise. Stay sharp at dawn and dusk. Travel in pairs when you can.
For the couples I work with: I always have bear spray on me during shoots, and I plan our locations and timing around bear activity. It's part of how I do my job. The same applies to you. Show up to your day prepared, and we get to focus on the part that matters: you, your person, and a place that takes your breath away.
This park is wild. That's why we love it. Please come home safe.