Colorado's first reported bear attack of the year shuts down Jefferson County park

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Jun 22, 2026

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A popular hiking and biking area near Golden was closed Monday after a bear attacked a hiker the night before — Colorado’s first reported attack of the year, according to state wildlife officials.

Jefferson County Parks and Open Space announced the closure of Apex Park shortly before 6:15 a.m. Monday. The park will reopen “when it is safe to do so,” county officials said.

A woman hiking in the park at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday noticed a bear approaching humans and following hikers, according to a news release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. She told wildlife officers that the bear grabbed her backpack and “made contact” with her leg.

The bear followed the woman down the trail for more than 30 minutes, despite her attempts to scare it off with sticks, rocks and loud noises, state wildlife officials said. The bear finally left after two other hikers joined in, but it started following a separate pair of hikers on a neighboring trail, according to the release.

The nearly 800-acre Apex Park offers more than 10 miles of trails in Colorado’s foothills, including several that venture up Lookout Mountain, according to county officials.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers responded to the area Sunday night, but were unable to find the bear, according to the agency. Jefferson County officials then closed the park for “aggressive bear activity” on Monday.

“This is the first reported bear attack in Colorado for 2026,” wildlife officials stated in the release. “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.”

A bear was sighted in a residential area near the park on Monday morning. State wildlife officers are investigating whether it’s the same bear involved in Sunday’s incident.

As of June 12, Colorado Parks and Wildlife had received 1,192 reports of bear activity across the state for 2026, according to the agency.

Any bear sightings should be reported to Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Denver Office at 303-291-7227 or by calling the Colorado State Patrol at *277.

“Most conflicts between people and bears begin when bears gain access to food, garbage or other attractants left by people,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager Tim Kroening said in a statement. “Properly storing food, securing trash and pet food, and keeping campsites clean helps protect both people and bears.”

If a bear visits a campsite, campers can make loud noises by yelling, clapping, blowing a whistle or using an air horn, and they should always give the bear a clear path to leave, Kroening said. These actions can discourage bears from becoming comfortable around people and help prevent future conflicts.

State wildlife officials said last month that bear sightings are likely to increase in the Denver metro amid Colorado’s ongoing drought, which can deplete the animals’ natural food sources. When resources disappear in the wild, bears venture into human-populated areas in search of food.

“Bears have to eat, and they normally would be eating things like berries, cherries, nuts — things they can find in the wild,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife Public Information Officer Kara Van Hoose said in May. “When you have drought that’s affecting the bounty of all of these, … the easiest food sources are things like human trash, bird feeders, pet food.”

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