Schools across Denver’s suburbs have been forced to issue a new type of warning to students and parents arriving on their campuses in recent weeks: Watch out for bears.
Bears are common in Colorado’s high country and the Front Range foothills, but their recent and more frequent appearances in places like Greenwood Village, Littleton and Arvada have led to an unusual start to the 2026-27 school year.
Cherry Creek Schools and Jeffco Public Schools have each put multiple schools on what is called secure status or perimeter — meaning no one can leave the building — because of nearby bears since classes resumed last week.
“It is highly unusual that we have this many bear sightings. Period,” said Cherry Creek spokeswoman Abbe Smith. “It’s made for an interesting start to the school year.”
The furry beasts are making their way into urban areas in search of food as widespread drought has depleted the berries, acorns and plants they typically feed on at higher elevations.
“We typically don’t expect to see them as far as the metro area and they’re particularly active this year,” said Cassandre Venumiere-Lefebvre, a wildlife biologist at Colorado State University. “They’re particularly desperate because of the drought.”
On Aug. 17, the first day of classes, Cherry Creek Schools placed at least four schools — Campus Middle School, Belleview Elementary, High Plains Elementary and Cottownwood Creek Elementary — on secure status after a bear was spotted at Tommy Davis Park in Greenwood Village.
Then, on Tuesday, Greenwood Elementary kept students inside for recess throughout the day after a bear was reported within two blocks of campus, according to letters Cherry Creek Schools sent to families.
The school system has experienced bear sightings before, but what’s different this year is that the animals are venturing into Centennial and Greenwood Village, Smith said.
“That is not normal,” she said.
The district notifies parents when there is a bear sighting in case it impacts how children arrive and leave school, such as if a student who normally walks home after class needs to be picked up by a parent, she said.
In Jeffco Public Schools, a bear was spotted a block from Sierra Elementary School in Arvada on Friday. A bear also reportedly roamed a neighborhood near Governor’s Ranch Elementary in Littleton, spurring school officials to send a letter to families Tuesday warning them about the potential of a furry visitor.
“They’re not a mountain school and that was something they probably didn’t anticipate seeing,” said district spokeswoman Devra Ashby.
Bears are showing up in denser, more urban areas as they struggle to find food in their natural environment. This time of years bears also go into a “feeding frenzy” as they prepare to go into hibernation in October or November, Venumiere-Lefebvre said.
Statewide, Coloradans have had almost double the number of bear encounters compared to last year.
Earlier this month, a bear wandered onto school grounds in Aspen, forcing students inside from lunch and recess, according to an alert sent out by the Aspen School District.
The Boulder Valley School District has also had several bear sightings near its campuses, including near Casey Middle School in Boulder on Wednesday, said spokesman Randy Barber.
Bears are not unusual visitors in Boulder, but when the animals start venturing farther east, such as into Broomfield or Lafayette, then it’s normally a sign they are extra hungry, Barber said.
A bear was spotted near Heatherwood Elementary in Boulder’s Gunbarrel neighborhood last week, which is a farther east in the district, Barber said.
“We’re definitely seeing bears,” he said.
School just started in Denver this week and, so far, no schools in the city have had to secure their perimeter because of wondering wildlife, said Denver Public Schools spokesman Scott Pribble.
But on Sunday, a roughly 18-month-old bear hung out in a tree at Denver’s Platt Park, near Grant Beacon Middle School.
Bear encounters have happened elsewhere this month, including when one attacked and injured a fisherman in Jefferson County last week.
A bruin wandered onto Colorado State University’s campus in Fort Collins and another bear attacked a man outside a laundry room in EagleVail. A bear also entered a home in Mount Crested Butte and sparked a fire. Another bear bit a man sleeping in and Aspen park. And yet another bruin stole M&Ms from a hotel in Breckenridge.
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