Montana Grizzly Encounter — Attraction in Bozeman

On our way through Bozeman Montana on interstate 90 there is this very cool sign for bears. As you drive along you start to see more for Montana Grizzly encounters. When you get there you are greeted by the nicest lady with a great attitude of happiness. She will give you the rundown on what’s going on and how to get to the viewing area. On your way to the viewing area you pass the goats in the corner. As you walk through the cutest gift shop with another very friendly gentleman who is very knowledgeable on everything. When you enter the viewing area you see MAX. Max is a 4 year old 1100 lbs Alaskan grizzly bear who was rescued at 4 months old. They could not find his mother. He is so cute the way he plays with his log and in the water. As you are being entertained by Max some of the workers there tell you different ways you identify the different kinds of bears and how to and how not to approach the situation. They teach you why bear spray is better then a firearm. When you are fully entertained and are ready to leave, there is a shuttle little ice cream truck in the corner. Delicious ice cream. As you walk out you see 2 rocks they had made for a manorial for there 2 bears that have passed. This is probably one of if not our favorite stop and will definitely go again. ( to see the other 2 bears). I highly recommend everyone to stop. They are a nonprofit organization who operate on donations only. No government funding. All in all on of the coolest and very educational places for the who family. Pet friendly, lots of parking and easy to get to. Entrance fee is 12.00$ for adults and 10.00$ for kids. They offer military and...

The best thing about this place is getting to see a grizzly up close. They have 4 grizzlies. Only one, Bella, was out when we were there. The enclosure is WAY too small for one bear, let alone 4. You couldn't see where the other three were, but I imagine they were crammed together in the cement "room" which didn't have any windows. I love that they are rescuing the bears, but PLEASE move them somewhere where there's enough space for them to roam. It's borderline abuse to keep them in this environment, and at $8 a person admission, I highly doubt that all money goes to the bears.

My comments to owners response:

I wasn't suggesting that your facility should comprise miles and miles. You state that you are in bear country you don't want to encroach on wild bear habitat by making your facility bigger. Theoretically you could expand for miles parallel to I-90 and not affect wild bear habitat because nobody needs wild bears roaming near the interstate.

According to public record, your facility is on 3 acres. On those 3 acres are a parking lot, 2 gift shops, a viewing area, and a large goat pen. That leaves approximately 1 acre for 4 grizzly bears to live on. I have seen bigger enclosures at zoos. It would be the equivalent of a jail cell for you and me. Yes, we could live in a jail cell as long as we were provided food, but would we want to? Call me ignorant, but I doubt that the bears are happy living in these...

We loved this experience! As others have mentioned, the facility is not very big, and there is usually only one bear in the habitat at a time. (Bears' preferences, not staff!) And yes, you'll definitely still be separated from the bears by a sturdy fence. It is NOT a close-up encounter, but it's certainly much closer than you'll ever (safely) get in the wild. If you know these things going in, there's no reason that you still can't have a wonderful time.

My husband and I stopped on our way out of Bozeman and stayed about an hour. The educator that gave the talk while we were there was Grace, and she did a fantastic job. The bear we saw was Max; the staff said that he's usually the one who's out in the morning, and the others come out later. He was so much fun to watch. He played with his ball, and sticks, and floated in the pond with his little feet up. It was delightful to watch. The talk Grace gave was incredibly informative and included a great section about bear safety in the wild. The gift shop was small (and crowded), but really had a good selection of items. You'll probably only spend 45-60 minutes there, but it really was worth it - especially for a very reasonable price, a good atmosphere, and a great cause. We would...