montana grizzly encounter

I was skeptical, but we took two children, ages 9 and 7. The day was very cold, but this was informative and interesting. The kids were mesmerized. I learned a lot. The bears seem happy, and they get great snacks.

We were so charmed by the bears that were out the day we visited. They were active and playful - nothing like caged animals at a zoo. We learned so much from the friendly staff and would have stayed longer if it had been a warmer day.

We are huge wildlife fans, and huge fans of Casey Anderson and Brutus, and thus, had high hopes coming to the Montana Grizzly Encounter. Unfortunately, the build-up of expectations was not met. Our visit would probably have been better if Brutus had been there that day and we could have seen the real TV personality in real-life, but in any case, the encounter is comprised of watching fuzzy grizzlies (who are cute), walk around an enclosure behind a few dividing walls, and sometimes play in the water. The staff is helpful and clearly passionate about the bears, but our visit was complete in about 30 minutes and we left thinking "well...ok". If you're in the area this is worth a stop, as the entrance fee is reasonable and the bears neat to look at for awhile, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. Maybe call ahead and see if Brutus is there that day.

We have planned to include this Grizzly Encounter as soon as we arrive in Bozeman!!!!!! See you in August 2015.....Jack and Marsha, Indiana

We spent well over an hour there, which surprised us given how small it is. There is just 50 ft wide platform to view one angle of the display enclosure. We got there a little after 10 and stayed until almost 1130, standing in the cold wind and sleet. The bears, big Jake and Maggi, foraged around the front for most of the time. Jake, front and center, looked back at us over his shoulder, almost seeming to wink, and proceeded to dump a load right there. Where do bears crap? wherever they darned well please.As others have commented, the staff provide an engaging discussion and field questions with ease. Useful information on how to avoid bear attacks when hiking.I would suggest that they knock the snow off of the descriptive signs and, even more importantly, sprinkle more gravel around the walking areas, which are treacherously icy even for the sure-footed. I'd hate to seen them slapped with an easily-prevented lawsuit. They certainly run on a shoestring budget and have a HUGE food bill.

It's a great way to see with your own eyes a grizzly bear. They are great animals that deserves a great amount of respect.

I was able to spend time taking photographs of the well kept bears, each one had their own personality. The are doing great work with these bears that have been abandoned. This is a great place for adults or children, you can learn to interact with bears.

We had such a lovel time watching Brutus we spent more time than we expected here. It's lovely to watch the bears, the day we were there Brutus and Sheena where out and about. All the bears at the sanctuary have been born in capivity and kept in less than desirable conditions - Sheena for example spent 15 years in 6x4foot wire container with her sister... So this centre is heaven for them. The staff are incredibly knowledgeable and have an easy going chatty manner about them. And we got some amazing Grizzly shots.... The only ones you should of a bear - digital!

Great place to visit! The bears are great and the grizzly encounter is doing great things for the grizzly bear population in the world!

Nice stop on Bozeman Pass. The kids (and adults) loved it. Reasonably priced. The "guide" was informative and the bears were fun to watch.

The new baby bear was adorable. This place is a up close no cage experience. My family loved our stop here. The price is not expensive and the staff are friendly and great at what they do. Thank you all for the great time

I Love taking the kids I watch to Grizzly Encounter, and they get so excited. The staff just keeps on talking and telling educational & Bear Life stories that I enjoy listening to while guiding my kids safely. Just have to go back now and see the new Baby girl, Bella, before she gets to bid.

The bears are incredable. They are healthy and very content. The trainers are extremly knowledgable about the bears and their habits. Ask any question and you will get an honest answer. The bears are used in films and are stars. The facility is small, but the bears seem to be happy. The entrance fee is minimal, just $7.00 per person and it is well worth it. There is n pressure put on to buy anything and this is a wonderful place to stop. I will ber stoping again.

I was very impressed with the knowledgeable facilitator as we viewed very content Grizzly bears!! Even though the location is small, the Bears seem extremely healthy and happy. I love the fact that these magnificent animals have been rescued from deplorable conditions and proceeds go to their direct care. Even though we live in Denver, we bought a year long pass. We will go back a few times. Got great pictures!

I have to admit that I was surprised at how low the entrance fee was - I expected to pay $30 to $35 each and it was $7 each!!. I was also suprised at the look of the entrance and size of the entire facility, I figured this would be a big, flashy place with lots of things to sell while you were there, but it wasn't. The entrance is unassuming and the overall size of the encounter is smaller than what I thought. But you can tell that they focus their finances on supporting the bears - which takes A LOT of money based on their diet alone!! The bears are huge, and very healthy looking and seem pretty happy to be there - read their stories on the web site and you will see that even though this may seem small to you and I - it's HUGE for some of these bears! The Staff were ALL amazing, from the front office where we gave our money, to the vounteers that spent hours with us talking about each of the bears, their stories, and anything we wanted to know. You can get very close to the bears - we have some EXCELLENT photos. No fences in the way and no cages for the bears - it's as natural as you can get without having to have your bear spray for protection. It was a very warm day (unsually so in September) so the bears were moving a little slow and spending a lot of time in the water - we had so much fun watching them - could have stayed forever. We called the day before to make sure that Brutus was on site since we know he still does outsite appearances, they explained the schedule that Jake and Maggie come out at 10am and then Brutus and Sheena come out at 2pm. So your pass is good for 2 days if you don't want to hang out all day. We just went into Bozeman and had lunch and came back just before the switch - you want to be there when the bears first come into the area as they "enrich" it with hidden food and it's fun to watch the bears forage around. They were still a few weeks from introducing Bella, the newest bear to the gang, so we didn't get to see her and I'm not sure how that will affect the viewing times - so I'd call to check.We plan to come back in the winter and see the bears playing in the snow!If you are looking for an amusement park with lots to do and bears as a side attraction - this is NOT the place for you. If you respect and understand that these are RESCUED bears most from horrible lives prior to coming to MGE and you want to support this cause and can just sit for hours and enjoy happy bears - then bring a sack lunch and hang out all day!!