Yellowstone Bear World: worth the visit to Rexburg, Idaho?
If you’re headed north to West Yellowstone, you’ll undoubtedly see signs along the way advertising Yellowstone Bear World. Although not part of the national park, this drive-thru wildlife park might be better than you might think. Here’s what we loved and didn’t love about this exciting tourist attraction.
Important note: This is NOT a paid promotion. This is an honest review.
My family goes to Yellowstone nearly every year. Every time we pass Bear World on the way up, we always say, “We should go there sometime.” Well, this time we decided to try it out. I have to say that overall, all of us were pleasantly surprised. It was pretty cool. So, here’s some take aways of the good and the bad.
At a glance: Yellowstone Bear World
- Ages: All ages welcome
- Cost: Adults ages 11-64 – $26.95, Kids ages 3-10 – $13.95 (if purchased online)
- Duration: 2-3 hours
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May – October
- Location: 6010 S 4300 W, Rexburg, ID 83440. Parking is available
- Contact information: Phone: (208) 359-9688
- Website: https://yellowstonebearworld.com/
- Nearby attractions: Yellowstone National Park, Island Park
What you’ll love about Yellowstone Bear World
Although we went to Bear World to see bears, we left having experienced a lot more than that. My husband and I and our five kids all thought that it was better than we thought it was going to be. Here’s some of the things we think you’ll like about it:
Lots of bears. Aside from the three giant grizzly bears that we saw up close, I lost track of how many black bears we saw. I’m guessing probably at least 20! They were everywhere climbing trees, swimming in ponds and walking right next to our car. Considering that it is rare now a days to even see one bear up close in Yellowstone National Park, we thought this alone was worth it.
You also see lots of other types of free-roaming wildlife of North America including Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, Rocky Mountain goats, white-tail deer and American bison. It was so cool to see these wild animals up close.
Amusement rides. After the end of our 30-minute drive through the park, you can park your car and ride six different amusement rides that are fun enough from toddlers up to adults. All of my kids loved it. They were definitely an added bonus. Plus, all of the rides were included in the price of admission.
Nice gift shop and snack shack. The gift shop was really big and had tons of souvenirs. Plus, there was a fudge counter if you want to buy a treat. You could also buy some food at the snack shack. We didn’t buy any food, but it was so hot that we bought a 32-ounce ice water for each of us to cool down for 50 cents each.
Baby bears. Another feature that I thought was fun was all of the cute baby bear cubs up close. They were running around in an enclosed area. We stumbled upon them during feeding time and for an additional fee, you can actually bottle-feed bear cubs yourself!
Jurassic Creek dinosaurs. Another unexpected surprise was the life-size interactive dinosaur park. There were tons of huge dinosaurs that moved, breathed and roared. It was really fun.
Unlimited through the drive-through park. After we had lot of fun with the rides and other attractions, we drove through and saw the elk, bison and bears again. It was super fun. Apparently they let you drive through as many times as you want. So, if you didn’t get to see the grizzly up close, you can give it another try.
Things that you might NOT love about Bear World
Although, overall, I would say that Yellowstone Bear World was super awesome and definitely worth the stop, there are a few things that I would change:
Kind of expensive. If you don’t pay ahead online, the admission price for anyone age 11 or over is almost $30 per person with tax. That is a lot of money in my opinion. Honestly, the only reason why we went in the first place was because we had a GetOut Pass and got all our entire family in for free. So, be prepared to shell out a little bit of dough. Plus, if you want to do a wildlife a
Petting zoo. They have a petting zoo on site but it wasn’t as great as I thought it was going to be. There are a few muddy pigs and ducks wandering around, but they don’t really want to be petted. And there are a couple of goats that you can pet but otherwise, it was kind of lame.
Those were basically the only two cons I could think of about Yellowstone Bear World. Overall, I thought it was super family-friendly and a great way to get excited to go to Yellowstone National Park. My kids loved it too. They treated these captive wildlife very well. They seemed happy and well-taken care of. I would definitely recommend it.
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Yellowstone Bear World is definitely worth a visit in Rexburg, Idaho! 🐻 A fantastic wildlife experience, especially before exploring the best lodges in Yellowstone National Park a complete adventure. 🌲🏕️
Yellowstone Bear World is definitely worth a visit in Rexburg, Idaho! 🐻 A fantastic wildlife experience, especially before exploring the best lodges in Yellowstone National Park a complete adventure. 🌲🏕️
I’m writing to share my disappointing experience at Yellowstone Bear World, which I feel was falsely advertised and ultimately fell far short of our expectations.
Before visiting, we thoroughly researched your attraction online, websites https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Bear_World(https://yellowstoneteton.com/listings/yellowstone-bear-world) and various search engine results. These sources listed animals such as Rocky Mountain Elk, Bison, White-tail Deer, Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Goats, Moose, and, of course, American Black Bears and Grizzly Bears. One source even mentioned a Grey Wolf. Our main goal during our Yellowstone trip was to see a moose, which had eluded us all week. Based on what we saw online, your facility appeared to be a sure thing.
We paid $152.80 for entry and drove through the wildlife area twice—seeing no moose either time. When we asked staff about it upon exiting the drive-through, we were told that you do not have a moose at all. This was incredibly frustrating and felt like a clear case of false advertising, especially given how prominently moose are featured in your promotions.
Still trying to salvage the day, we decided to explore the rest of the park with our four granddaughters (ages 7, 9, 11, and 15). They were looking forward to feeding the bears, only to be told it was sold out. Disappointed again, we moved on to the pond, where the girls enjoyed feeding fish and ducks. Things looked up briefly—until we reached the petting zoo.
The petting zoo was extremely underwhelming. There was a single pig in a cage (untouchable), two very small white-tail deer (we were told they were mother and daughter, both timid and distant), and a few goats—who were the only friendly animals. There was also a mother goose with two goslings, which we all know can be aggressive.
Then came a particularly upsetting moment. My 7-year-old granddaughter, who loves chickens, tried to gently pet a guinea fowl in a metal tub. It startled, squawked loudly, jumped out, and continued squawking for a minute or more—scaring her enough to bring her to tears. She said, “All I did was touch her back.” There were three staff members nearby who witnessed the entire situation and did absolutely nothing—not a word, not a gesture, no comfort or acknowledgment.
Trying to redirect the kids to something more enjoyable, we took them to the rides. The 7- and 9-year-olds had a decent time, but the rides were too simplistic for the 11- and 15-year-olds. After a few rides, we visited the dinosaur exhibit, which was the only part of the experience everyone genuinely enjoyed.
Additional issues included:
No soap at the hand-washing station outside the petting zoo.
The women’s restroom was closed for cleaning.
The men’s restroom had no soap either.
Only a small hand sanitizer station was available for our group of five girls.
After everything, I contacted management and was refunded the $152.80, which I appreciated. However, the overall experience was deeply disappointing, and the misrepresentation—particularly regarding the moose—should be corrected on your website and affiliated listings.
I hope this feedback helps improve your customer experience. I felt compelled to share this so other families don’t end up as let down as we were.
I’m sorry you had a bad experience at Bear World. You may want to contact Bear World directly since I am not affiliated with them.