Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center

Updated: January 30, 2026

Open all year, the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center appeals to visitors of all ages and is open 365 days a year, including holidays, with admission valid for two consecutive days so you have time to see everything. Children have the opportunity to help staff hide food for the bears through the Keeper Kids program and learn proper food storage and safety while in bear country. Graphics and up-to-date wildlife information are available for the curious visitor in exhibits and talks about grizzly bears, gray wolves, river otters, raptors, and other Yellowstone wildlife. Early morning and evening visitors may witness the active wolf packs as they howl, interact, and display natural social behaviors. Live bird-of-prey presentations, Yellowstone wildlife education programs, and demonstrations with a Karelian Bear Dog and staff fill the visitor with the awe that Yellowstone wildlife is so popular for.

Grizzlies

The history of the bear (truth or not?) comes to life as you explore the Center's indoor exhibits, which now replace the long-running BEARS: Imagination and Reality museum display with new interactive displays about how bears and wolves fit into the Yellowstone ecosystem and how people can safely live in bear country. The bears at the Center had to be removed from the wild because they were becoming dangerously comfortable around humans or were orphaned cubs of such 'nuisance' bears; without a permanent home here, most would have been euthanized. Their stories help share a valuable lesson of how humans can take proper steps to ensure bears stay forever wild and avoid becoming food-conditioned problem animals.

Black bear cub

The wolves at the Center are ambassadors providing a greater understanding of this predator in the Yellowstone ecosystem; they were born in captivity and lack the skills to survive in the wild, so they live in social packs that visitors can observe up close from outdoor viewing areas and the Naturalist Cabin. The Center also houses other native animals, including North American river otters in a Yellowstone River themed exhibit and several species of non-releasable raptors in a seasonal Raptor Exhibit, helping visitors see how many species are connected in the same ecosystem.

Admission is good for two consecutive days, ensuring that you have the time to experience it all, watch different bear groups rotate through the habitat, catch wolf enrichment times, or return for programs you missed. That perfect souvenir from the gift shop will bring the memory of your visit back to life and helps support this non-profit, AZA-accredited wildlife center and its mission of education, research, and providing a lifelong home for animals that cannot return to the wild.

Updated: January 30, 2026