For all you wildlife photographers and photographer wannabes out there, we’re getting closer and closer to the start of ‘bear season’, the gorgeous spring season where both black and grizzly bears can be found and photographing regularly throughout Banff and Jasper National Parks. In fact, last week the first grizzly tracks of the season were spotted in Jasper National Park near Highway 16 west of town.
Black bears start becoming quite common sightings in Jasper in mid to late April, while grizzlies start to pop out regularly along the Icefields Parkway and throughout most of Banff and Kootenay National Parks a bit later in June. You can expect to see bears along the sides of roads like the Maligne Lake Road in Jasper beginning in mid to late May, while the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff is usually a bit later into May or even June. An excellent early season are to look for bears in early May is along Highway 16 west of Jasper towards Mt Robson Provincial Park. Some of the roadside areas green up quite early and it can be a great place to get a bear to yourself for photo purposes.
Happy shooting!
John
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