Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Colorado Parks and Wildlife investigating reported bear attack in Jefferson County

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating a reported bear attack on a trail in Apex Park in Jefferson County. Around 5:20 p.m. Sunday, a woman hiking in the park encountered a bear displaying habituated behavior by approaching humans and following hikers. She told CPW officers the bear grabbed her backpack and made contact with her leg. She reported to CPW that the bear continued to follow her down the trail for more than 30 minutes, despite her attempts to haze the bear with sticks, rocks and loud noises. Two other hikers joined her in trying to scare the bear from the area. The bear eventually left and crossed a gully, where it reportedly started to follow a separate pair of hikers on a neighboring trail.

CPW officers responded to the area Sunday night, but were unable to locate the bear. Officers continue to search for the bear involved in the reported attack. Jefferson County Open Space closed Apex Park for bear activity on Monday. A bear was sighted in a residential area near the park on Monday morning. CPW is investigating if it is the same bear involved in Sunday’s incident. Please report any bear sighting to the Denver CPW Office at 303-291-7227 or by calling Colorado State Patrol dispatch at *277.

This is the first reported bear attack in Colorado for 2026. Bear reports to CPW are high this year, likely due to the generally warm and dry winter Colorado experienced impacting natural forage opportunities for bears. This year, it is even more important that humans not provide unhealthy, unsafe food attractants for bears.

For more information on bears in Colorado, visit cpw.state.co.us/living-bears.



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