Skip to content

We are closed for the season. See you in late April in 2025!

A Unique Wildlife Experience

Come see the black bears, elk, reindeer, cougars, buffalo and more!

Buy Tickets
Bear tracks

Drive thru and Walk thru Park

Come see the black bears, elk, reindeer,
cougars, buffalo and more!

Buy Tickets

Welcome to Bear Country USA!

Few people have had the unforgettable experience of a full-grown bear peering into their car window—and for those who have, it was probably unplanned! Seeing reindeer or elk up close in their natural habitat is just as memorable, and at Bear Country U.S.A. in the picturesque Black Hills of South Dakota, these encounters are all part of the adventure.

Spread across over 200 acres of lush pine forests and rolling meadows, just eight miles south of Rapid City, Bear Country U.S.A. offers an unparalleled opportunity to get close to wildlife. Guests can enjoy a relaxed three-mile drive through enclosures, spotting animals such as black bears, elk, reindeer, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and bison. From the comfort of their cars, visitors can watch as bears climb trees, splash in pools, and stroll across the road just feet away.

Tickets are available for purchase at the admissions office or can be conveniently booked online using the link below.

Buy Tickets

Experience the Park

Upon entry, you’ll begin your journey with the drive-thru portion of the park. This winding road takes you through several animal enclosures set in a natural, spacious environment. Watch as the animals roam freely and enjoy their expansive habitats. 

After completing the drive-thru, take a leisurely stroll along our Wildlife Walkway. This ¼-mile path offers even more opportunities for up-close views of a variety of animals!

Don’t forget to stop by the Bear’s Den Gift Shop—there’s something for everyone. For a quick bite or refreshing treat, visit the Cub Grub Snack Shack while you relax and take in the sights of the park.

Drive Thru
Walk Thru
baby bear climbing up a tree
Bear Paw

About

Links

Visitors

Previous slide
Next slide

Explore Our Gallery

Check out amazing photos of our sanctuary’s animals. From bears to playful otters, see the beauty and diversity of South Dakota’s creatures. Each picture tells a story and shows why conservation is important. Our gallery highlights the animals in their natural habitats, capturing moments of their daily lives.

Start your visual journey today and enjoy the wonder of Bear Country!

View Our Full Gallery

Discover Our Wildlife

At Bear Country USA, discover the excitement of seeing bears, mountain lions, timber wolves, and more in their natural habitats. Our park offers a rare opportunity to observe these magnificent creatures up close. Come and explore the wild side of South Dakota like never before.

bear

Black Bear

Read About Black Bears
mountain lion

Mountain Lion

Read About Mountain Lions
Timber wolf

Timber Wolf

Read About Timber Wolves
Learn About All Our Animals
yellow bear country logo

Nestled on over 200 acres amidst towering pines and along rolling meadows just eight miles south of Rapid City, Bear Country U.S.A. offers visitors intimate views of wildlife.

Buy Tickets

Learn About Us

Visitor Info

Shop

Facebook-f Twitter Tripadvisor
Book Now
Previous
Next

Black Bear

  • Scientific Name: Ursus americanus
  • Size: 50-80 inches in length, 25-40 inches shoulder height.  Males weigh from 130-500 lbs., females usually weigh 100-350 lbs.  There is a pronounced seasonal variation in weight.
  • Diet: Omnivorous
  • Lifespan: 15-18 years in the wild

The American black bear is the most widely distributed bear species in North America, inhabiting a diverse range of environments, including forests, swamps, and mountainous regions across Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. Their adaptability allows them to thrive in both remote wilderness and areas near human settlements.

Black bears are omnivores, with diets that vary by season and location. They primarily eat fruits, nuts, berries, insects, fish, and small mammals but will also scavenge for carrion or human food when available. Their strong sense of smell—seven times more powerful than that of a dog—helps them locate food over long distances.

Despite their name, black bears come in a variety of colors, including brown, cinnamon, blonde, and even white in rare cases. They are excellent climbers and swimmers, often using trees as a refuge from danger or to find food. During winter, black bears enter a state of torpor, a form of hibernation where their metabolism slows down, allowing them to survive off stored body fat until spring.

Highly intelligent and adaptable, black bears play an essential role in their ecosystems by dispersing seeds and maintaining healthy forest environments. However, human-bear interactions have increased as development expands into their habitats, making conservation efforts crucial to ensuring their long-term survival.

Previous
Next

Mountain Lion

General Information

The Mountain lion is a very agile animal. It can easily cover 23 ft. in a single leap. They are known for their speed and quickness. One wouldn’t think that such a large animal could be quick, but they are.

Mountain lions are carnivores (meat eaters) and generally hunt in daylight where there are no humans. The mountain lion stalks its prey and when it attempts to flee, it pounces on the back of an animal with a powerful leap that knocks it to the ground. Once the lion has its prey on the ground, the prey can be killed with a single bite to the back of the neck. Mountain lions have huge hunting territories, and they eat all kinds of different animals. Deer is their principal source food, but they have been known to feed on rancher’s cattle. They can run very fast over short distances, but they tire quickly. Therefore, the cat must capture its prey on the first attack. If the prey is able to avoid the initial attack, it usually escapes. Mountain lions rarely share hunting territories and usually avoid each other. On the off chance two meet, they will make no attempt to defend their own territories or take over those of others.

The territories of male mountain lions may overlap those of females, so the males can detect when females are ready to mate. During a 14-day period of mating, a male and female hunt together and sleep next to each other. The female later gives birth in a carefully hidden den, located between rocks or in a cave. Blind at birth, the cubs have spotted coats until they are six months old. They begin to take meat provided by their mother at six weeks. Although they can hunt for themselves after nine months, they usually remain with their mother for two years. The cubs then leave her and wonder off to establish a territory of their own.

Many folk tales repeat the savagery of cougars, their numerous attacks on man and their bloodcurdling screams, but authentic, unprovoked attacks on man are far less numerous than those of the domesticated bull. Unless cornered, the cougar avoids contact with man, but at bay he is an adversary that should command respect and caution.

These cats spend most of their time on the ground, but they are adept at climbing trees and often do so when pursued by dogs. Their chief range preferences are rocky, precipitous canyons, escarpments, rim rocks or, in the absence of these, dense brush. Heavily timbered areas usually are avoided. Looking for scrapes, the signpost of the male, which consist of small piles of leaves, grasses and so forth, which he scrapes together and on which he urinates, can usually detect the presence of a cougar in an area. These are best looked for on their travel routes along the ridges and rim rocks.

Contrary to popular opinion, cougars seldom use caves as dens. An area under an overhanging ledge, a crevice in a cliff, a dry cavity in a jumbled pile of rocks, an enlarged badger burrow, a cavity under the roots of a tree or a dense thicket seem to be more desirable.

Their food is almost entirely animal matter, but. as with domestic cats, grasses may be eaten occasionally. The chief item of diet is deer Analyses of stomachs revealed that in the Southwest the mule deer accounted for 54 percent of the total food (by frequency of occurrence); white-tailed deer, 28 percent; porcupines, 5.8 percent; cottontails, 3.9 percent; jackrabbits, 2 percent; domestic cows, 1.6 percent; miscellaneous (including sheep, goats, skunks, foxes, coyotes, beavers, prairie dogs and grasses), 4.7 percent – In certain areas they are known to kill and feed upon horses, particularly colts. In general, the cougar’s food habits are of neutral or beneficial character. The high percentage of predation on deer probably is beneficial from a game management view in most instances because the cougar tends to prevent overpopulation of deer, which is the bane of the game manager in many areas where this cat has been exterminated.

Cougars are thought to be monogamous, at least for the mating period. The female is said to initiate the courtship and mating act. There appear to be no regular periods of reproduction. A female containing four large embryos was killed in April; another with three young nearly ready to be born was killed on January 20. Also, records are available for October and December. The gestation period is about 3 months. The number of young ranges from two to five, averaging three. At birth, the kittens are woolly, spotted, have short tails and weigh about 1 pound each. They develop teeth when about a month old, are weaned when about 2 or 3 months old and may remain with their mother until more than 1 year old. Adult females usually breed every other year.

Previous
Next

Timber Wolf

Size

  • HEIGHT: 26 – 33 inches.
  • LENGTH: 6.5 ft. (including tail)
  • WEIGHT: Can weigh up to 175 lb.

Breeding

  • MATURITY: Two years old.
  • MATING: January through March
  • GESTATION: 9 weeks.
  • YOUNG: One to eleven pups.

Lifestyle

  • HABIT: Most active at night, but may be seen during the day. Hunt in packs.
  • DIET: Small animals and birds. When in packs, will hunt sheep and other large animals.
  • LIFESPAN: N/A

Scientific Name

  • FAMILY: Other common name: “Gray Wolf”. Family: “Canidae”. Species classification: “Canus lupis”. Related to the jackal, coyote, and domestic dog.

General Information

Timber wolves are widely distributed. They are found in various parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. In the United States, they range from the Rocky Mountain ranges to areas in the Great Lakes states. Timbers can be found of prairies and forests, but usually not in high mountain ranges because of the lack of food. Their color ranges from nearly white to nearly black, but are usually grayish.

The “pack” is a very complex and strict organization. They communicate through posture, voice, and scent. The alpha, or dominant, male is the leader. Only the alpha male and alpha female are allowed to breed. The entire pack cooperates in feeding, protecting, and training the pups. The pack distinguishes its territory by marking it with urine and feces. Dominant males can stare down other wolves in the pack to prevent a fight and dominate females do the same to prevent females from mating with her mate, but fights are very rare. Some members may stay with the pack for life.

Wolves are big game hunters. After a howling chorus, the pack will leave the den for the evening hunt with one adult guardian staying behind to watch over the young. Timber wolves will generally hunt in packs of 12 or more during the non-breeding season. They feed on anything that is available. They primarily hunt birds and mammals such as deer and caribou. Their hunting range can be up to 60 miles is diameter. Wolves can run up to 40 miles an hour and can easily cover 50 miles a day. By smell alone, wolves can locate prey, other pack members or enemies. It can tell them if other wolves were in the territory, if they were male or female, and how recently they visited.

In the spring, females have litters of one to eleven pups. The pups are born blind and deaf, so they have to depend on the their mother and other members of the pack. The whole pack takes care and raises the pups (non-breeding females produce milk and males compete to baby sit). The pups also eat regurgitated food. When the hunters return from a hunt, the pups will jump and bite at their throats to get them to regurgitate the undigested meat from the recent kill. The pups normally stay with the parents until the following winter, but may remain much longer. Parents and their young constitute a basic pack.

Under the Endangered Species Act, the gray wolf is listed as a threatened species in Minnesota and as an endangered species in the United States. The decreasing numbers of wolves are the result of encroachments on their territory by humans, who have regarded wolves as competitors for prey and as dangerous to livestock, pets, and people. However, very few wolves attack humans. There might be “some” isolated incidents, but which is usually the case in those, the wolf was only trying to protect itself from the invasion from the human. There have been some efforts to try to reintroduce the wolf back into the wild, but those efforts have been very controversial.