Bear River State Park is a park located right in Evanston, WY, which is about an hour from the Wasatch Front. This state park features a small Visitor Center, display animals that are guaranteed to be seen, and hiking trails along the Bear River. It also is home to a herd of elk and bison.
Bison & Elk
Bear River State Park’s main attraction is the animals that are managed. There are two types of animals on view, both elk and bison. The bison are unique, because in the small herd there are several white buffalo, which only occur in about 1 out of 1 million births. Since they have this small population, they occur in Evanston more often.
There are also a few elk at Bear River State Park. We saw three massive bulls lounging inside the fence when we visited. These three alone were worth the price of admission, which is free. The elk and bison are both contained behind fences.
Visitor Center
The Visitor Center is small, but worth walking through. We asked the friendly volunteers a lot of questions, all of which they could easily answer. Best of all, about every imaginable indigenous animal can be seen on the walls of the Visitor Center. From cougars to bison, they had quite a display. Our boys enjoyed looking at the animals while we plied the rangers with questions. The Visitor Center felt like a mini Cabela’s.
Trails
There is a short scenic drive in the park, but mostly, the road provides access to several hikes along the bear river. This is moose habitat, even though we didn’t see any. We did spot deer, leopard frogs, beaver, and a variety of birds. The walks are mostly short strolls through the thick trees alongside the river. We enjoyed these gentle “hikes” so much that we went back in the evening to do the stroll a second and third time.
The nice thing about the trails in Bear River State Park is that you can choose how long you want to hike. They are lots of short little loops that connect back to the one long paved trail. We took a printed copy of the map to avoid getting lost, and walked every little trail. Our favorites, and the ones that might have moose, are the Willow Trail Loop and the Beaver Trail Loop. All of the trails are flat and easy, and especially nice in mornings and evenings.
Bear River State Park is a must-stop for visitors for Evanston. We really enjoyed this park and returned several times on our visit. The river runs right through the park, which makes for lots of great photo opportunities, too. For other ideas in Evanston, check out our post about things to do there.
