Black Bears – Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) – National Park Service (.gov)

• Willfully approaching within 50 yards (150 feet), or any distance that disturbs or displaces a bear, is illegal in the park. Violation of this federal regulation can result in fines and arrest.
• Use binoculars, telephoto lens, or a spotting scope to view the animals.
• Check the “Bear Closures” and “Bear Warnings” sections of the Current Road, Facility, Trail & Backcountry Updates webpage before planning a hike in the park.

Smokies Life Graphic/Emma Oxford
Over the last 10 years, an average of 339 negative human-bear encounters have been reported annually; many more go unreported. High bear activity can occur in any area, and that your safety is not guaranteed.

To increase your odds for a safe visit, please follow best practices for living and recreating in bear habitat. Stay alert and be prepared to react appropriately during possible encounters, and always report any unusual bear interactions as soon as possible.
(Infographic) Dogs are allowed in campgrounds and picnic areas, along roads, and on two trails only: the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail. Dogs are not allowed on any other park trails. You must keep your dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet at all times.
Dogs are involved in the majority of all physical encounters involving people and black bears. Black bears are not normally aggressive or confrontational, but will defend food and cubs and fight back when cornered. If your dog gets into an encounter with a bear, there’s about a fifty percent chance it will be injured or killed—and an even higher chance you’ll be injured if you intervene. If your dog runs after a bear, it may bring the bear back to you.
Letting your dog off leash in the park is illegal and dangerous. Don’t put your dog and yourself at risk. Please, leash up. Learn more at BearWise.org.
Gary Carter Photo
Bears in the park are wild and their behavior can be unpredictable. Although extremely rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. Treat bear encounters with extreme caution!
Help protect others; if you experience any of the above, report the incident to a park ranger immediately. For incidents inside the park, call 865-436-1230 or go to a visitor center.

For bear incidents outside the national park, please contact local officials.
Gary Carter Photo
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States where black bears can live in wild, natural surroundings.

Bears inhabit all elevations of the park. Though populations are variable, biologists estimate that roughly 1,900 bears live in the park. This equals a population density of approximately two bears per square mile. At one time, the black bear’s range included most of North America except the extreme west coast. However loss of habitat has resulted in a significant reduction in this range.

Black bears in the Smokies are black in color, but in other parts of the country they may be brown or cinnamon. They may be six feet in length and up to three feet high at the shoulder. During the summer months, a typical adult male bear weighs approximately 250 pounds while adult females are generally smaller and weigh slightly over 100 pounds. However, bears may double their weight by the fall. Bears over 600 pounds have been documented in the park. Bears can live 12-15 years or more, however bears which have had access to human foods and garbage have a life expectancy of only half that time.

Bears, like humans, are omnivores. Plant materials such as berries and nuts make up approximately 85% of their diet. Insects and animal carrion provide valuable sources of protein for bears.

Bears have color vision and a keen sense of smell. In addition, they are good tree climbers, can swim very well, and can run 30 miles per hour.
Bears are most active during early morning and late evening hours in spring and summer. Mating usually takes place in July. Both female and male bears may have more than one mate during the summer.

Bears choose a denning site with the coming of cold weather. Dens are usually hollow stumps, tree cavities, or wherever there is shelter. Bears in the Smokies are unusual in that they often den high above the ground in standing hollow trees. Bears do not truly hibernate, but enter long periods of sleep. They may leave the den for short periods if disturbed or during brief warming trends.

One to four cubs are born during the mother’s winter sleep, usually in late January or early February. Bears weigh eight ounces at birth. Females with newly born cubs usually emerge from their winter dens in late March or early April. Commonly born in pairs, the cubs will remain with the mother for about eighteen months or until she mates again.
NPS Photo
The bear’s keen sense of smell leads it to insects, nuts, and berries, but the animal is also enticed by the tantalizing smells of human food and garbage such as hot dogs, apple cores, chips, and watermelon rinds left on the ground in picnic areas, campgrounds, and along trails. Feeding bears or allowing them access to human food and garbage causes a number of problems:
For these reasons, park rangers issue citations for littering, feeding bears, and for improper food storage. These citations can result in fines of up to $5,000 and jail sentences lasting up to six months. Visitors are urged to view all wildlife at a safe distance and to never throw food or garbage on the ground or leave it unattended. Garbage Kills Bears!
Gary Carter Photo
Bear management is really people management. How visitors behave while in the park has an impact on the safety of bears. If you are careless with your food or litter, YOU may be responsible for a bear’s death!

In the backcountry, food storage cables have been installed to make it easier for backpackers to hang their food and garbage so that bears cannot get to it. At some campsites, telephone poles were flown into remote backcountry areas because the trees around the campsites were too small to set up an effective cable system.

The park’s Resource Education staff provides information about bears at visitor centers, in the park’s newspaper, and at evening programs. Educational signs about bears can be found on picnic tables throughout the park and bear safety videos are posted on this website.

Results of these efforts are very encouraging. In some areas, the number of bears that have to be trapped and moved away has decreased by ten fold.
Wildlife Watching in the Park
Every year park animals must be destroyed because of mistakes humans make. Learn how to protect park wildlife.

Learn More About Black Bear Research in the Park
Scientists at the University of Tennessee discuss work they conducted through 2009.

Appalachian Bear Rescue
This nonprofit organization is a rehabilitation, research, and education facility that cares for injured and orphaned bears.
Last updated: May 13, 2025
107 Park Headquarters Road
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
(865)436-1200
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