Hiker injured by bear at Glacier National Park

A section of a trail in Montana’s Glacier National Park was closed Thursday after a hiker was injured by a bear, park officials said. The injuries to the hiker, a 35-year-old man, were not life-threatening, the National Park Service said. The hiker was hurt Thursday morning after he and his group encountered a bear near the Grinnell Glacier Overlook trailhead, the Park Service said.

Highline Trail from Haystack Butte to Granite Park Chalet is closed until further notice because of the incident, the agency said. The type of bear is unknown and under investigation, it said, but both black and grizzly bears call the national park home. “Hikers are highly encouraged to hike in groups, make noise when hiking, and have bear spray accessible and know how to use it,” the park service said in a statement .



The hurt hiker was able to walk to safety and was taken by an ambulance to Whitefish, a city west of the park, it said. Glacier National Park covers 1,583 square miles in northwest Montana. It was the 10th most-visited national park visited in 2023, according to park service data, although the agency manages other types of properties, including the Lincoln Memorial.

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