Bear closures on the Hermitage Point Trail system

Grand Teton National Park posted this on their social media yesterday:

⚠️ 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝗛𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 ⚠️

If you encounter a wildlife closure sign in the park, it is not a suggestion—it is a hard closure.

A new temporary closure has been implemented on the Hermitage Point Trail system, including the Swan Lake and Heron Pond Loop, due to recent bear activity.

Several bears, both black bears and grizzly bears, are currently using the Hermitage Point area. Among them are mothers with young cubs of the year. These bears are actively foraging for natural food sources while also navigating around other bears. Recent encounters between visitors and bears in the area have created potentially dangerous situations for both people and wildlife.

While wildlife can be encountered anywhere in the park, this area has been closed after park staff carefully considered both wildlife protection and visitor safety.

Some closures occur annually to protect sensitive nesting or calving areas. Others are temporary and allow wildlife to safely access important food sources, such as seasonal roots or animal carcasses. Temporary closures are actively monitored and lifted when conditions are deemed safe.

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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Ramble On: A History of Hiking

Taggart Lake Trail work volunteers needed on National Trails Day

Grand Teton National Park posted this on their social media yesterday:

🌲 National Trails Day is Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m.–1 p.m.! 🥾

Join us as we work on the Taggart Lake Trail network to remove social trails near the lake, perform trail maintenance, and widen the trail corridor to improve accessibility. Whether you're a seasoned volunteer or joining us for the first time, we'd love to have your help caring for the trails we all enjoy.

It’s also a great time to remember what it means to be a trail steward:

🥾 Respect the landscape: Stay on designated trails, don't short-cut, and give wildlife plenty of space.

🥾 Give back: Join trail cleanups and maintenance projects like our June 6 volunteer event.

🥾 Keep it clean: Pack out all trash, leftover snacks, and yes—even that banana peel.

🥾 Prevent damage before it starts: Brush off boots before and after hiking to help stop the spread of invasive species.

🥾 Be welcoming: Help make using trails a positive experience for everyone, from first-time hikers to lifelong explorers.

Whether you're hiking in Grand Teton or your local park, you can be a steward. Caring for our trails today helps ensure they're here for future generations to enjoy. If you'd like to join us, contact Angela Timby at angela_timby@nps.gov or (307) 739-3379 for more information.

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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Ramble On: A History of Hiking

New Details Released on Bear Attack in Glacier National Park

The hiker charged by a grizzly bear in Glacier National Park last week suffered a broken arm.

The 32-year-old man sustained the injury during a surprise encounter on Thursday, May 28, at approximately 12:45 p.m. on the Grinnell Glacier Trail.

The incident occurred in a snowfield approximately 3.5 miles up the trail where the sound of loud rushing water made it difficult for either the man or the bear to detect one another.

The bear charged and fractured the man's arm.  Nearby hikers responded quickly to assist, and the bear moved away from the area. The hikers provided initial medical aid to the injured man and initiated emergency communication. At approximately 12:51 p.m. park dispatch received an SOS for an injured man who had an encounter with a bear. Park staff and ALERT were dispatched. ALERT transported the man to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell.  The incident follows an unrelated fatal bear attack on the west side of the park earlier this month. A 33 year old man from Florida, Anthony Pollio, was killed while hiking near Mount Brown Trail.

As of Tuesday, The Grinnell Glacier Trail is temporarily closed and will reopen when deemed appropriate by park staff.  Mount Brown Trail remains closed as well. For information on trail closures in the park, visit the park’s trail status webpage.



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Ramble On: A History of Hiking

This Saturday: National Trails Day

June is Great Outdoors Month, a month-long celebration of all things outdoors. Moreover, America will also be celebrating National Trails Day this Saturday.

If I had to guess, most of us probably take our trails for granted. And if you were like me, you probably have no idea how they came about, or simply assume they were constructed by some governmental entity at some point. The truth of the matter is that there are a wide variety of individuals and groups who’ve been responsible for the construction of our trails over the years.

Before local, state and federal agencies became heavily involved with the construction and maintenance of recreational trails in the 1930s and 40s, many of the footpaths in our national parks and forests were originally blazed by Native Americans, hunters, trappers, prospectors, pioneers, shepherds, cattlemen, and loggers. Even the U.S. Army, railroad barons, hotel owners and other local entrepreneurs built some of the hiking trails that we still use today!

With National Trails Day rapidly approaching, now’s a great time to learn about the rich history of early trail development.

Ramble On: A History of Hiking contains a chapter dedicated to the widely diverse accounts of how and why trail networks were developed in some of our oldest and most iconic national parks, as well as America’s first hiking destination - the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

With Father’s Day right around the corner, Ramble On: A History of Hiking also makes for a great gift idea!



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.

On This Day in Hiking History: The Pageant of the Dunes

Surprisingly, several hiking clubs have held talent shows, skits and plays over the years, some of which were/are fairly major productions. For example, in order to raise awareness of

the damage that was being inflicted on Lake Michigan’s sand dunes, the Prairie Club of Chicago hosted the “Pageant of the Dunes” beginning on this date in 1917. After the club's founding in 1908, the dunes area quickly became a popular hiking destination for many of its members. However, at that time, large portions of dune habitat were being spoiled by industrial sand mining, which was used to make concrete for construction projects in Chicago. Through the use of music, dancing, and roughly one thousand period actors, the pageant recounted the history of the dunes from pre-European contact through French, British and American governance. The two-day event drew between 25,000 and 50,000 spectators, and eventually led to the establishment of Indiana Dunes State Park in 1925 and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966, which was upgraded to a national park in 2019.

Learn more about the pioneers of hiking in Ramble On: A History of Hiking.


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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.