TL;DR: Glacier National Park temporarily closed Grinnell Glacier area trails after a surprise bear encounter with a hiker Thursday afternoon, May 28, 2026, and staff had not authorized reopening as of May 29-30.
The core question for hikers planning a Many Glacier trip is whether the Grinnell Glacier Trail is open. The answer on the archive news day was no.
According to the Daily Inter Lake in its report titled "Park confirms bear encounter in Many Glacier on Thursday," Glacier National Park officials described the May 28 incident as a surprise bear encounter Thursday afternoon on the Grinnell Glacier Trail. According to NBC Montana in its report titled "Grinnell Glacier area trails closed as Glacier National Park staff respond to bear report," park officials confirmed the encounter to the Daily Inter Lake and prompted the temporary closure of the trail.
What happened on the Grinnell Glacier Trail?
Park personnel and emergency services responded to the incident on Thursday afternoon in the Many Glacier area.
According to the Daily Inter Lake, park officials would not confirm whether anybody was injured in the encounter. That limited disclosure shaped early trip planning, because hikers could not assess severity from official statements alone.
According to NBC Montana, park personnel and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene, but officials declined to tell the paper whether anyone was injured, how many hikers were involved, whether bear spray was used or what species of bear was involved.
The park also did not identify the species of bear involved and the nature of reported bear activity in the area prior to the encounter, according to the Daily Inter Lake. The agency had not been able to confirm if it was a grizzly or black bear in its initial May 29 news release, as summarized in the report titled "'Surprise encounter' between a bear and a hiker in Glacier National Park."
Glacier National Park Public Affairs Specialist Autumn Sifuentes said the Grinnell Glacier Trail is now temporarily closed until deemed appropriate by park staff, according to the Daily Inter Lake. NBC Montana reported the same standard, quoting Sifuentes that the trail will remain closed until park staff determine it is appropriate to reopen. No further information was available at that time.
Which sections are listed as closed?
For backpackers and day hikers, the closure was not a single point. The park's trail status page showed multiple Grinnell Glacier and Lake Josephine segments closed due to bear activity.
According to NBC Montana, the park's trail status page showed the following trails closed due to bear activity:
- Grinnell Glacier, Josephine Lake to Glacier Overlook
- Grinnell Glacier Spur Trail
- North Shore Josephine Lake, North Shore Trail to Oastler Shelter
- Grinnell Lake (North Shore Josephine Lake), North Shore Trail to Oastler Shelter
- Grinnell Glacier, Josephine Lake to Glacier Viewpoint
A separate park alert system also reflected the action. An advisory posted Thursday May 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM MDT stated that the North Shore of Lake Josephine Trail, from the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail to the Oastler Shelter, and the Grinnell Glacier Trail had been closed due to bear activity.
According to MontanaRightNow.com in its report titled "Grinnell Glacier Trail closed after hiker surprised bear in Glacier," public affairs specialist Autumn Sifuentes said National Park Service personnel and emergency services responded to the incident and park staff temporarily closed the Grinnell Glacier Trail while they assessed conditions. That report said the trail will reopen when park staff determine it is appropriate.
What did witnesses on the trail report?
News of the incident first surfaced through a Facebook post in which user Devin Dufrene described encountering a distraught hiker running down the Grinnell Glacier Trail near Lake Josephine, screaming that there had been a bear attack, according to the Daily Inter Lake.
Dufrene told the Daily Inter Lake on Friday that the man did not slow down and did not stop to talk. Dufrene said his party tried to stop and talk to him, but the man was not stopping.
Dufrene used his cell phone to connect to satellite and contact emergency services. That detail matters for readiness planning because cellular coverage is unreliable in much of the Many Glacier backcountry.
His party then turned to head back toward Many Glacier, only to find a bear with brown fur strolling along the trail toward them. Dufrene said the bear was curious but unaggressive and looked smaller than a full-grown grizzly bear. His hiking party climbed a nearby hillside, and the bear passed by them without incident.
As they continued toward Many Glacier, Dufrene saw a helicopter fly overhead and passed two crews of park rangers hiking up the trail with stretchers. He posted to Facebook later that night after seeing questions circulate online about the sudden closure of the Grinnell Glacier Trail. His post included video clips of a brown bear walking along a trail and of people carrying an empty stretcher along a lakeshore, according to the Daily Inter Lake.
According to Cowboy State Daily in its report titled "Glacier Park Reports Second Bear Attack Less Than A Month After Man Killed," hiker Devin Dufrene described encountering a distraught man who was screaming about a bear attack. That report said Dufrene and his sister attempted to get the man to calm down, but he continued running and screaming. Knowing there was an attack up-trail and a bear approaching from the opposite direction, the group decided to ascend up the cliffside and wait for the bear to pass.
Why was timing of the closure important?
Officials had closed sections of the Grinnell Glacier Trail along the north shore of Lake Josephine earlier in May due to bear activity. Signage was also posted along the south shore of the lake for bear frequenting. The entire trail reopened on May 27, one day before the encounter, according to the Daily Inter Lake.
That sequence is central for route planning. A trail that had just returned to open status closed again within about 24 hours. Travelers who had checked status earlier in the week needed to recheck status before departing for Many Glacier, Swiftcurrent, Lake Josephine, or the Grinnell Glacier overlook routes.
The May 28 advisory time also matters. The closure notice was issued Thursday evening at 7:30 PM MDT, after the afternoon encounter. Overnight and early-morning parties on May 29 would have needed updated information before starting.
How does this fit a busy May for bear incidents?
The latest encounter came just weeks after a Florida hiker was found dead on the Mt. Brown Lookout Trail near Lake McDonald with wounds consistent with a bear attack, according to the Daily Inter Lake. Officials said evidence at the scene pointed toward a surprise encounter.
The Mt. Brown Trail is located more than 10 miles from Lake Josephine. The two locations are separated by several ridgelines, including the Continental Divide, according to the Daily Inter Lake.
According to Cowboy State Daily, in early May, Glacier Park reported its first fatal bear attack since 1998. Florida resident Anthony Pollio, 33, was reported missing May 4. On May 6, his body was found in a densely wooded area roughly 50 feet from the trail he had apparently been hiking on.
May is usually the first month of widespread grizzly and black bear activity, according to Cowboy State Daily. The same report noted other May incidents in the region: on May 4, two brothers were severely injured when they were attacked by a female grizzly with cubs near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park; also in May, a black bear hunter in Idaho shot and killed a grizzly when it charged him and his son, with wildlife agents deeming the shooting a legitimate case of self-defense; and on Monday near Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, a man running on a forested trail was attacked and injured by a female black bear with two cubs.
Outdoor adventurer Michael Hodges was photographing grizzlies in the Glacier Park backcountry on the day that Pollio's body was discovered about 15 miles away, according to Cowboy State Daily. Hodges told the outlet he was up on the trail the week of May 6 and saw many grizzlies. He said he warned hikers from California and Texas at the trailhead that there was an unusual number of grizzlies and to be extra alert.
What makes Glacier terrain challenging for avoidance?
Contrary to popular perceptions, grizzlies in Glacier Park are not meaner than those elsewhere, bear experts told Cowboy State Daily. Rather, the area's thick vegetation and rugged landscape increase the chances of hikers and bears surprising each other at close range.
Canadian human-bear conflict prevention expert Kim Titchener, founder of the Bear Safety and More organization, said bears generally do not want to have anything to do with people if bears hear, see or smell people, according to Cowboy State Daily. Titchener said she had hiked in Glacier Park and could attest to how conditions there can make it more difficult for bears to sense people approaching. She added that the landscape around Squamish is similar and has lots of thick vegetation. She also said people should not assume black bears cannot be dangerous if surprised at close range.
Retired ecologist Chuck Neal of Cody, who frequently hikes solo in grizzly country, agreed that hiking in Glacier Park demands extra alertness, according to Cowboy State Daily. Neal said encounters can happen at just a few yards away if hikers are not paying keen attention. He described the park as high-quality habitat for bears, better habitat for bears than Yellowstone, and said it tends to attract a younger crowd. He said those younger hikers go barreling up those trails without paying that much attention.
What readiness steps apply to Grinnell-area hikers?
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks tips for recreating in bear country, as listed in the report titled "'Surprise encounter' between a bear and a hiker in Glacier National Park," advise carrying bear spray close at hand and knowing how to use it, making noise to alert bears of presence, and traveling in groups when possible.
The same tips advise extra caution around creeks and in areas with limited visibility, noting that most attacks happen in surprise, close encounters. They also advise watching for signs of bears such as scat, diggings, torn-up logs and turned over rocks, and partly consumed animal carcasses, and being extra aware or avoiding those areas.
The tips further advise staying away from animal carcasses, which often attract bears. For hunters field dressing an animal, they advise bringing what is needed to remove meat from the kill site as soon as possible and having bear spray close at hand.
For Grinnell Glacier visitors, the practical translation on May 29-30 was direct: check the park trail status page before leaving lodging, carry accessible deterrent, stay grouped, announce presence near rushing water and blind curves, turn back at closure signs, and use satellite emergency communication if an incident occurs beyond cell range. Dufrene's use of satellite on his cell phone to contact emergency services showed why redundant communication matters in the Lake Josephine corridor.
No management actions regarding the bear had been announced in initial disclosures, and no reopening date had been set. Until park staff deemed reopening appropriate, the Grinnell Glacier, Grinnell Spur, North Shore Josephine Lake, and Grinnell Lake access points listed in the closure remained unavailable to the public.