Bear Maze Printables with 98, 284 or 553 Cells
This bear maze comes in three levels, from 98 wide cells for ages 3 to 5 to 553 narrow ones for ages 9 to 12. Every PDF ends with an orange answer key.
Choose a level
Round ears and a pinched neck
A standing bear gives a maze plenty of corners: round ears, a big round head, a pinched neck, arms that bulge out at the sides, two short legs and a small tail on the right. Two arrows outside the outline, each at the end of a short channel, mark the way in and out. The solution is on page two of every PDF, in orange.
Three bears, three routes
Wide 12 mm cells make up the easy bear, 98 of them, for ages 3 to 5. Start is on the left side of the head, just below the left ear, and Finish is just above the left arm. In between, the 64-cell route wanders down through the head and body, loops through the lower body and heads out to the left. The tail and the bottoms of the legs stay outside this maze.
On the medium bear the cells shrink to 7.5 mm, and 284 of them fit inside, for ages 6 to 8. It begins on the right side of the head. The 141-cell answer winds up across the top of the head, comes down the left side and through the neck, sweeps out to the right arm and into the right leg, then crosses the lower body to end just above the left arm.
The hard bear packs 553 cells of 5.5 mm into the outline for ages 9 to 12, with cells in both ears and the tail. It starts on the left side of the head and finishes just below the left arm, and the 220-cell route between them winds across the top of the head, down the middle of the body and through its right half, then drops into the left leg. Shrunk to fit, those paths would narrow even more, so the A4 or US Letter file is best printed at 100 percent.
A start to the day
Only a pencil is needed, so the bear travels well. In class it makes a calm start to the morning or one part of a forest animals unit.
Skills practiced & tips
- Find Start and Finish together first, since Start sits in a different place on each level.
- Let your child run a finger along the route before using a pencil.
- On the hard bear, Start is on the left side of the head and Finish is just below the left arm, and the route between them winds across the top of the head and down through the body.
- Switch pencil colors after a dead end so the new attempt stands out.
- When the maze is solved, color the bear around the route in brown, black or white.
Bear fun facts
- Bears have an excellent sense of smell, which helps them find food across long distances.
- Bears are good swimmers, and polar bears can swim for hours in cold water.
- Most bears have a short tail only a few inches long.
Classroom ideas
- Pre-K (ages 3 to 5): use the easy bear as a fine-motor warm-up, first with a finger and then with a chunky crayon.
- Grade 1: have students solve the medium bear, then count how many times their route turns a corner.
- Grades 4 to 6: compare the route lengths on the three answer keys, 64, 141 and 220 cells, and work out how many times longer the hard route is than the easy one.
- Year 3 (UK): ask pupils to write step-by-step directions for the easy route using left, right, up and down.
More bear activities
More mazes
Frequently asked questions
How large are the cells on each bear maze?
The easy bear has 98 cells of 12 mm and a route of 64 cells. The medium bear has 284 cells of 7.5 mm with a 141-cell route, and the hard bear fits 553 cells of 5.5 mm with a route of 220 cells.
Does the bear's Finish ever move away from the left arm?
Not far. On the easy and medium bears it sits just above the left arm, and on the hard bear just below it. Start is what moves: it is on the left side of the head on the easy and hard bears and on the right side of the head on the medium one.
Which bear should a younger child start with?
The easy bear, for ages 3 to 5. It has the widest paths, 12 mm, and leaves the tail and the bottoms of the legs out of the maze. The medium bear suits ages 6 to 8 and the hard bear ages 9 to 12.
What does the orange route do on the hard bear?
It starts on the left side of the head, winds across the top of the head and down the middle of the body and through its right half, then drops into the left leg to end just below the left arm. That is 220 cells, against 141 on the medium bear and 64 on the easy one, and each route is drawn on page two of the PDF.
About this printable
- Made with AI assistance (vector drawing authored by a language model) and checked by automated tests and an AI reviewer.
- Checked by automated tests and an AI reviewer on 22 Oct 2026.
- Free for personal and single-classroom use. See the license. Read the license · How these are made · Report a problem.
- Vector PDF, 2 pages, 186×254 mm art box — prints edge-safe on A4 and US Letter.
New printables, twice a month
Our newsletter starts soon, with new sheets twice a month and a free 10-page starter pack for every new reader.