Best Places to see Elk in United States

The National Elk Refuge in Wyoming lives up to name, with absolutely astounding elk viewing. Every year a herd of up to 7,000 elk winter in the refuge after migrating from other parts of Wyoming. The herd contains lots of males who spar and lots of females with calves. Horse drawn carts will take you in the middle of the herd for up close views of these magnificent animals. It should be noted that elk are only present in the reserve Dec-March when they are wintering in the area. Though you may see them at other times, you will not see the huge herd.

There are lots of bighorn sheep in the refuge. Grizzlies and wolves are rare sightings, but they do occur.

Rocky Mountain National Park is Colorado's most famous park, and not without reason. It has beautiful snow-capped peaks and crystal clear lakes, all allowing for the best and highest quality landscape photography. But not only is Rocky Mountain National Park known for its beautiful scenery but is also known for its large population of wildlife, especially elk.

Elk are very numerous in Colorado, the most residing in Rocky Mountain National Park. The elk population here is very high, even higher than Yellowstone. Elk are very easily view able here, especially during the rutting season in September. The elk are busy rutting and are unaware of their human observers. They have been known to fight on the trails and on the roads. The elks are very habituated to human presence and people have reported spitting them up close very day.

Other highlights in Rocky Mountain National Park includes breathtaking scenery with tall and impressive peaks and beautiful lakes. Other wildlife highlights include a large population of coyotes which are used to human presence. they have been spotted hunting up close. There are also a good amount of black bears, which are most frequently spotted in the back country. Though they are not spotted too frequently, there are more mountain lions in Rocky Mountain National Park than molst other national parks in U.S They are occasionally spotted, more so than in other parks.

When Point Reyes National Seashore comes to mind, you probably think of beaches and lighthouses. And while there are beaches and lighthouses there, Point Reyes National Seashore contains the largest population of the once thought to be extinct tule elk.

The tule elk was once abundant all over California. But large amounts of hunting drove them to extinction. Or so they thought. One farmer secretly gave refuge to the last herd in Point Reyes. Now the tule elk have been reintroduced to many places in California, but the biggest stronghold for the charismatic tule elk is Point Reyes.

The elk in Point Reyes National Seashore reside in the Tomales Elk preserve. While you can see the elk anywhere in Tomales elk Preserve, to get really up close and personal with the elk, hike the Tomales Point Trail. The elk here are very habituated, and since there are several herds on the trail, you can get really up close and personal with these marvelous animals. When I went I only walked 2 miles in the trail. But we had a male with 7 harems 5 feet of the trail, paying little to no attention to its human onlookers. the herd then crossed the trail and disappeared after we watched them for 35 minutes! Hike the Tomales Point Trail for great viewing of elk.

The roosevelt elk is the largest subspecies of elk and was once almost driven to extinction due to excessive hunting. Today small populations reside on the coast of Oregon, Washington, and California. The largest stronghold for these large and beautiful elk are the Redwood National & State Parks, where elk are easily view able.

Roosevelt elk are very common in Redwood National & State Parks. They were almost driven to extinction everywhere, except here. The elk here are rather habituated, allowing for up close viewing and photography opportunities. They are found in many spaces all over the park.

Yellowstone National Park is known for its beautiful geysers and its charismatic predators like grizzly bears and wolves. But Yellowstone National Park also has one of the largest elk population in United States, if not one of the largest in the world.

Elk are very numerous in Yellowstone National Park. They have been protected for a long time in the park, allowing them to roam freely without the fear of being hunted. This protection has also allowed them to become very habituated to viewers and photographers. large amounts of elk live in the Lamar and Hayden Valleys. If you come in September and October during the rut, you can see large male elk bugling and if you are lucky you may even see them sparring with other elk.