Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park in one of the best locations to view American Bison. As of 2020, there are approximately 4,800 roaming freely throughout the park. There are also opportunities to see other animals like wolves, grizzly bears, coyotes and waterfowls.
The best time to see these animals is at sunrise or sunset. You can stop at one of the many turnouts or parking lots along the way to take in the sights of all the roaming bison. There are frequent traffic jams here due to bison crossings. Try to keep on rolling if you see a single bison, you are sure to see herds along the way that are more worth the stop.
Note: Be courteous and don’t stop suddenly in the middle of the road unless there are bison crossing, several people stop to take photos on the one lane highway and it causes major traffic jams.
As you can see from the image below, the Bison will get incredibly close to cars. Most of the time, they seem to be unphased, but beware that they can become hostile and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. We saw some pretty severely damaged cars at the Auto shop to say the least.
During Yellowstone’s harsh winters, the Bison will place themselves near hot springs so the steam can keep them warm. We were there in the summer, so you can just see them wandering around some of the steaming regions near the river.
Hayden Valley is a must-see on your trip to Yellowstone. If you want to capture some great shots of the bison, bring a zoom lens. You don’t want to get too close and disturb the animals or put yourself in any danger.
Do you have any other tips on Hayden Valley? Please leave them in the comments below.