Opening hours BearPark

Feeding our bears by visitors is strictly prohibited! The wrong food can harm wild animals and we don’t want “begging bears”, but wild animals that are as natural as possible and have to find and work for their food themselves.

The bears are not fed at specific times of the day. Food is repeatedly distributed and hidden in the enclosure in different places and at different times. The animals then search for the treats and are often kept busy for hours in a manner appropriate to their species.

Our bears at Dählhölzli Zoo and BearPark hibernate like their wild counterparts. This usually lasts from November to mid-March. During this time, the bears are in their winter dens and are rarely seen.

News from the BearPark

Feel like a bear in the old days for once!

Bears used to be kept in the small bear pit, but today it is freely accessible to visitors. Children can climb on the wooden bears and the sandstone bar, while adults can find a wealth of information about the history of the bear pit and the latest news about Dählhölzli and the Bear Park. The small bear pit can be hired for events.

The big moat is still part of the enclosure because keepers and bears are not allowed to be in the same enclosure at the same time: The bears are in the big moat for about 1 hour every day, while the keepers clean the big enclosure by the Aare and distribute food. The rest of the day, the bears are out and about in the Aare enclosure, foraging, climbing or bathing.

Rangers are available daily for the guests of the BearPark (summer: 9.00 – 17.00; winter 11.00 – 15.00). They provide information on questions about the bears of Bern. You will recognise the volunteers of the Bern Animal Park by their uniform.

Public toilets are located in the building of the restaurant ‘Altes Tramdepot’.

The BearPark Bern is a unique local recreation area at the lower end of Bern’s old town and is open to all guests around the clock free of charge.

There are plenty of places to sit and take photos around the BearPark.

A total of 12,000 paving stones engraved with names were sold and laid in the BearPark during the “With Heart and Stone for the BearPark” campaign. You can check the position of your paving stone on the website www.steingravur.ch.

Currently, no new stones can be purchased.

Yes, there is an interesting guided tour in the BearPark. Under expert guidance, you will visit the facility, learn exciting facts about the history as well as the significance of the Bear Pit and the BearPark for Bern, about bear husbandry, bear biology and about our three Bernese bears.

You also get a behind-the-scenes look at where the bears lived in years gone by.

The bears are always out and about in the enclosure, but sometimes they cannot be seen because they retreat into a bush. In winter (November – March) they hibernate and are hardly visible. The BearPark is open 24 hours a day, all year round.

There are currently three bears living in the BearPark, actually a bear family: mother bear “Björk”, father bear “Finn” and daughter bear “Ursina”. “Ursina” and her sister “Berna” were born in Bern in December 2009. “Berna” has been living at Dobric Zoo in Bulgaria since the end of July 2013.

The inclined lift (BäreBähnli) connects the Aare promenade with the upper visitor path around the Bärengraben. It is available to everyone free of charge.

Hours of operation: 08.00 to 17.00
Euro-Key: 24 hours.