Bear Spray Rental Yellowstone, NP~ Practical Info You Need to Know

Are you looking for a place that offers Bear Spray Rental at Yellowstone National Park’s Gardiner (Montana) entrance? Have you searched “everywhere online” and still can’t find information about where exactly bear spray rentals are offered near Yellowstone? If so, look no further!

When we visited Yellowstone National Park, we used the Gardiner Entrance. During our trip, we visited the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce to find out where we could rent a can of bear spray. We were told, at the time of our visit, there was only one place in town that offered rentals.

We’re sharing all the details about our bear spray rental experience in Gardiner to help you plan for your visit to Yellowstone National Park.

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Your Guide to Bear Spray Rental, Yellowstone National Park (Gardiner Entrance)

What Kinds of Bear Live at Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone National Park is home to Grizzly Bears and Black Bears. Both species roam freely throughout the park and can potentially be dangerous to humans.

Knowing how to identify bear tracks/scat is a wonderful skill to learn before your visit to Yellowstone… especially if you plan on backcountry hiking.

Do I Need Bear Spray for Yellowstone NP?

This was a question we found ourselves asking a lot, as we planned our trip to Yellowstone. We knew we wanted to do some back country hiking, so figured we’d better have bear spray on hand, just in case.

(FYI: Bear Spray is NOT allowed on airplanes. Because we were flying, we knew we would need to either purchase or rent a canister near Yellowstone National Park.)

Many areas of Yellowstone are extremely quiet, making it pretty easy to accidently startle a bear. When hiking it’s a great idea to make noise (clapping hands, talking, a bell ringing) to let any bears in the area know you are there.

While our kids had no problem providing the noise, I felt much better knowing my husband had a canister of bear spray attached to his waistband. Thankfully, we didn’t need to use it!

Where Can I Find a Bear Spray Rental at Yellowstone National Park’s Gardiner Entrance?

When we visited, the only place in Gardiner that offered bear spray rentals was Yellowstone Big Rock Inn. The hotel closes during the winter season and is open seasonally, so you’ll need to call ahead of time to make sure you are still able to rent bear spray during the time of your visit. Don’t forget, bears hibernate during the winter months! (Check nps.gov for more information on hibernation and when it occurs.)

The Yellowstone Big Rock Inn was easy to find and had plenty of parking available. When you walk in the lobby, the TrailQuipt rental station will be visible on the wall opposite of the check-in desk. The front desk staff was very helpful and answered any questions I had about renting bear spray.

Are There Other Bear Spray Rental Locations Near Yellowstone, NP?

TrailQuipt does offer other rental locations near Yellowstone National Park. Check their website for more information.

How Do Bear Spray Rentals Work?

Yellowstone Big Rock Inn has a TrailQuipt vending machine/locker type of rental system in its lobby. Visitors can use the TrailQuipt rental station on their own, by using the touch screen prompts to secure a rental.

Basically, you choose how long you’d like your rental to be, read the terms of use, and swipe your credit card for payment of rental fee and deposit. Once you’ve paid for your bear spray rental, one of the locker doors pops open and you retrieve your canister of bear spray and hip holster.

When you’re finished with your bear spray rental, you’ll simply return the canister/hip holster to any TrailQuipt vending location. Again, the touch screen program will walk you through returning your canister and a locker door will open for you to place your bear spray canister/hip holster in and close.

Once your canister has been inspected and found in good condition, your deposit will be refunded back to your credit card, minus the cost of your rental. Of course, the refund of your deposit is dependent on the condition of the bear spray canister/hip holster when returned. (Check TrailQuipt for more information on policies regarding deposits.)

How Much Does It Cost to Rent Bear Spray?

(Obviously, rental prices, deposit and policies may have changed since our experience. Please visit Trailquipt’s website for the most up-to-date pricing, deposit requirements and policies.)

Prices vary based on how long you’d like to use the bear spray. When we rented, a 1-2 day rental was $16 and an 8-14 day rental was $28. A $50 deposit was required at the time of rental, which was refunded to our credit card (minus the cost of our rental) following inspection of our bear spray canister.

Each rental includes a hip holster so you can keep your bear spray handy when hiking. Hip holsters must be returned along with canister when rental is finished.

How Long is My Bear Spray Rental Good For?

You get to decide! TrailQuipt offers rentals from 1 day to 15+ days. Rental prices will vary based on number of days you choose.

We decided to get a three-day rental and scheduled all of our backcountry hiking within that time frame. It was nice to be able to customize the length of our rental based off of our itinerary.

I highly recommend knowing which areas of Yellowstone you intend to visit each day as there is a lot of driving involved when exploring the park.

Tips For Hiking at Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is full of incredible hikes all with different levels of difficulty. Before putting on your hiking boots and hitting the trails, it’s a great idea to do some planning beforehand to make your hike more enjoyable. Check out our tips to help you plan for your family’s hike(s) at Yellowstone National Park.

Before You Start Your Hike

• Before you start your hike, let someone know back home where you will be exploring that day and which trails you intend to hike. Cell phone service is pretty scarce in Yellowstone National Park, so you likely won’t be able to alert someone once it’s “too late”. Let others know where you are going ahead of time and when you plan to return, in case any problems arise.
• Check the Weather and Alerts. Before starting off on your hiking adventure, you should check www.nps.gov for the weather and any alerts, so you can plan accordingly. A road was closed when we visited, and we had to reroute to get to our destination. Had we not checked beforehand, we would’ve spent a ton of time driving only to learn what we could’ve with the click of a button.

Things to Bring on Your Hike

• Bring a hard copy of a map/trail guide. Again, cell phone service is very limited in Yellowstone NP. It’s a great idea to have a hard copy of a map or trail guide with you. We loved A Ranger’s Guide to Yellowstone Day Hikes for its very detailed description of each featured hike. It is full of trail maps and information regarding terrain, distance of each trail, estimated time to complete, inclines and difficulty level. Excellent and easy to understand.
• Bring Bear Spray with you and have it easily accessible clipped to your backpack or waistband. A canister of Bear Spray can cost around $60 to purchase near Yellowstone National Park. Daily rental options are also available in some areas. Some vacation rentals offer a canister with your amenities, just ask if you don’t see it on the listing. Keep your bear spray easily accessible by clipping it to your waistband or backpack when hiking.
• Carry a Backpack. I know it’s obvious, but I’d recommend a backpack to carry snacks, water, sunscreen, sweatshirts (higher elevations can be chilly), extra socks (in case it rains… you don’t want blisters), portable phone battery, camera, etc.
• Water and snacks are an absolute must when hiking the trails. You’ll be using a lot of energy exploring and you’ll need to hydrate and refuel your body. Don’t forget, wildlife can smell the food too, so be alert when eating.

Good to Know

• Get the scoop on scat! You’ll definitely want to be familiar with how to identify animal droppings. I know it’s gross, but learn how to identify bear, bison, elk, wolf, coyote and horse droppings as well as how to determine if they’re fresh. Yes, horse droppings… you’ll see lots of it on the trails and you don’t want to be worried you’re surrounded by a large pack of predators. Hiking in the wide-open backcountry means you have to be aware of your surroundings, especially signs of wild animals in the area. Identifying scat/tracks is a good way to know who else may be enjoying the great outdoors near you. There are great books for kids and adults on identifying scat/tracks at Yellowstone.
• Wear appropriate footwear. Properly fitting hiking shoes or tennis shoes are an absolute must, even on the trails with portions of boardwalks. Yellowstone National Park is “America the Beautiful” at its absolute finest and wildest! Loose rocks, dirt paths, scratchy brush, mud, loose boards on boardwalks and animal droppings are all things you’ll likely encounter while hiking. Sorry flip-flops, sandals and crocs… you should definitely sit hiking at Yellowstone out!
• Bathroom Stuff. Yellowstone National Park is HUGE. There are limited “port-o-potty” buildings scattered along the roadways, so you’ll need to plan your potty breaks accordingly. My advice, if you see one… stop and use it. Many of the backcountry hiking trails aren’t near the more popular tourist places, with modern bathroom facilities. We did come across modern bathrooms at the North Entrance Albright Visitor Center, Old Faithful Visitor Center, and Norris Geyser Basin.

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