The bison are everywhere in Yellowstone right now! My friend Heather and I spent the weekend in the park and hiked several trails. Ostensibly, we were there to watch wolves, but we didn’t put a lot of effort into that, preferring instead to walk the trails.
We didn’t get into Yellowstone until 6pm the first night, but now that the days are longer we were able to walk around the 5-mile Beaver Pond Loop out of Mammoth. There were a lot of elk and bison near the trail, a flicker, ducks, and several other birds, and even a few wildflowers.
I tried to hike this trail last May with my family, but it was too snowy. This year it was snow-free with just a few, short muddy sections. The mild winter we had really made a difference on early season hiking.
The trail starts with a three-quarter mile uphill then gently undulates the rest of the way. We started out in the shade, but came around the corner to the beaver pond and were back in the sunshine.
While we were in the park, the first bison dropped her calf. There is nothing cuter than a baby bison. We hope to head back next weekend after more are born.
