The Valley Signal

Health & Safety

Yellowstone Grizzly Attack on Mystic Falls Trail; Two Brothers Airlifted to Idaho Falls

A Yellowstone grizzly attack injured two brothers near Old Faithful on May 4. Both were airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

By The Valley Signal Editorial Board ·

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — A grizzly attack on the Mystic Falls Trail near Old Faithful injured two brothers on Monday, May 4, the National Park Service said. The agency airlifted both men to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

A female grizzly with two or three cubs-of-the-year attacked the hikers, ages 15 and 28, the agency said. Park rangers, EMS personnel, and interagency partners reached the scene, provided first aid, and transported both men out by helicopter.

The brothers, from Arlington, Texas, have not been named at the family's request. The family told Cowboy State Daily on May 7 that both were stable and the younger brother was walking.

The encounter remains under investigation. "There are no further details to share at this time," the agency said in its most recent update. The Park Service has not announced any decision on the sow or her cubs. Defensive encounters with a mother grizzly cause most of Yellowstone's injury attacks and typically do not trigger removal from the population. Chief Ranger Tim Reid told a Greater Yellowstone grizzly managers meeting on May 8 that early-season conditions had arrived ahead of schedule this year, leaving snow-free trails in areas where hikers would normally be postholing.

A passing hiker, Craig Lerman of Maryland, found the older brother and called 911 before park rangers arrived, Cowboy State Daily reported. Lerman told the outlet he saw a bloody hat on the trail and two sets of bear paw prints in the area. The Park Service has not confirmed those details.

Closures still in effect

The Park Service has closed the area west of Grand Loop Road from the north end of Fountain Flat Drive to Black Sand Basin. Closed trails:

  • Fairy Falls (north of Grand Prismatic Overlook)
  • Sentinel Meadows
  • Imperial Meadows
  • Fairy Creek
  • Summit Lake

Mystic Falls Trail sits within the closed area. Six backcountry campsites are closed. The Park Service has also suspended Firehole River fishing within the closure zone. Midway Geyser Basin, Black Sand Basin, the geyser-basin boardwalks, and the Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail remain open.

Park Service standard guidance for hikers in grizzly country: stay 100 yards from bears, hike in groups of three or more, carry bear spray, and avoid dawn, dusk, or night hiking, when grizzlies are most active.

Context

This was the first grizzly attack in Yellowstone in 2026 and the second injury-causing bear encounter in the past five years; the previous incident was in September 2025 on the Turbid Lake Trail. The last fatal grizzly attack in the park was in 2015 near Lake Village.

Greater Yellowstone is home to roughly 1,050 grizzlies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has until December 18, 2026, to issue a final rule on whether to remove the population from the Endangered Species Act's threatened list. The original deadline was January 2026. The agency extended it after receiving more than 200,000 public comments.

Sources