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Field Guide

Wildlife Spotting Guide

When and where to see the animals that make each park worth the drive.

Acadia

View park →
  • Peregrine Falcon
    Apr–Aug nesting
    Precipice Trail (closed during nesting)
  • Harbor Seal
    May–Sept
    Bar Harbor whale-watch boats
  • White-tailed Deer
    Year-round
    Sieur de Monts Spring at dawn
  • Atlantic Puffin
    Jun–Aug
    Petit Manan boat tours

Channel Islands

View park →
  • Island Fox
    Year-round (endemic)
    Santa Cruz Scorpion Ranch
  • Blue Whale
    Jul–Sept
    Boat crossings from Ventura
  • California Sea Lion
    Year-round
    Anacapa landing cove

Denali

View park →
  • Grizzly Bear
    May–Sept
    Sable Pass and Toklat River bars
  • Caribou
    Aug migration
    Stony Hill & Eielson tundra
  • Dall Sheep
    Summer
    Polychrome Pass slopes
  • Wolf
    Quiet shoulder seasons
    Teklanika & East Fork river beds

Everglades

View park →
  • American Alligator
    Dry season Dec–Apr
    Anhinga Trail & Shark Valley loop
  • Roseate Spoonbill
    Winter
    Eco Pond & Mrazek Pond at sunset
  • Florida Manatee
    Cool months Nov–Mar
    Flamingo marina basin
  • Florida Panther
    Rare; dusk in winter
    Big Cypress backroads

Glacier

View park →
  • Mountain Goat
    Jun–Sept
    Logan Pass & Hidden Lake Overlook
  • Grizzly Bear
    Jun–Sept
    Many Glacier huckleberry slopes
  • Bighorn Sheep
    Summer
    Going-to-the-Sun pullouts
  • Moose
    Summer dawn
    Fishercap Lake, Many Glacier

Grand Canyon

View park →
  • California Condor
    Year-round; best Apr–Oct
    South Rim near Lookout Studio & Navajo Bridge
  • Elk
    Sept rut, winter on rim
    Grand Canyon Village meadows
  • Bighorn Sheep
    Spring & fall
    Inner-canyon Tonto Trail; Phantom Ranch area
  • Rock Squirrel
    All year (do not feed!)
    Every rim viewpoint

Grand Teton

View park →
  • Moose
    Summer dawn/dusk
    Gros Ventre, Moose-Wilson Road willows
  • Pronghorn
    Spring–fall
    Antelope Flats
  • Grizzly 399 lineage
    May–Oct
    Pilgrim Creek & Willow Flats
  • Bald Eagle
    Year-round
    Snake River Overlook & Oxbow Bend

Great Smoky Mountains

View park →
  • Black Bear
    Spring & fall
    Cades Cove loop early morning
  • White-tailed Deer
    Year-round
    Cades Cove fields
  • Synchronous Fireflies
    Late May–early June (lottery)
    Elkmont
  • Elk (reintroduced)
    Sept–Oct rut
    Cataloochee Valley

Katmai

View park →
  • Coastal Brown Bear
    Jul salmon run & Sept fat-bear
    Brooks Falls platforms
  • Bald Eagle
    Summer
    Naknek Lake & Brooks River mouth
  • Red Fox
    Year-round
    Brooks Camp area

Olympic

View park →
  • Roosevelt Elk
    Sept rut
    Hoh Rainforest meadows
  • Sea Otter
    Year-round
    Rialto & Shi Shi tide pools
  • Bald Eagle
    Year-round
    Lake Crescent & Pacific beaches
  • Olympic Marmot
    Jul–Aug
    Hurricane Ridge meadows

Rocky Mountain

View park →
  • Bull Elk
    Sept–Oct rut bugling
    Moraine Park & Horseshoe Park meadows at dusk
  • Bighorn Sheep
    May–Aug
    Sheep Lakes pullout, Horseshoe Park
  • Moose
    Summer mornings
    Kawuneeche Valley, west side
  • Yellow-bellied Marmot
    Jun–Sept
    Trail Ridge Road alpine tundra

Yellowstone

View park →
  • Gray Wolf
    Winter & early spring (Dec–Apr)
    Lamar Valley pullouts before sunrise
    Bring 60×+ spotting scope; rangers gather at Slough Creek.
  • Grizzly Bear
    May–June, then Sept salmon-fat
    Hayden Valley and Mt. Washburn slopes
    Carry bear spray and stay 100 yards back.
  • Bison
    Year-round; rut roars in late July–Aug
    Lamar & Hayden Valleys, Old Faithful basin
  • Bull Elk
    Sept rut bugling
    Mammoth Hot Springs lawns at dusk
  • Trumpeter Swan
    Winter
    Madison & Yellowstone River bends

Yosemite

View park →
  • Black Bear
    May–Oct, peak summer
    Tuolumne Meadows and Wawona
    Store all food in lockers — fed bears get euthanized.
  • Mule Deer
    Year-round; rut in Nov
    Cook's Meadow at dawn
  • Peregrine Falcon
    Mar–Jul nesting
    El Capitan and Glacier Point cliffs
  • Sierra Nevada Bighorn
    Summer
    Cathedral Range high country

Serengeti

View park →
  • Great Migration herds
    Calving Jan–Feb (south), river crossings Jul–Oct (north)
    Ndutu plains, Mara River crossings
  • Lion
    Year-round, easier dry season
    Seronera River circuit
  • Cheetah
    Year-round on shortgrass
    Naabi Hill & central plains

Kruger

View park →
  • Big Five (lion/leopard/elephant/buffalo/rhino)
    Dry winter May–Sept
    Lower Sabie & Satara loops
  • African Wild Dog
    Pup season Jun–Aug
    Northern Kruger; Pafuri area

Galápagos

View park →
  • Galápagos Tortoise
    Year-round
    Santa Cruz highlands ranches
  • Blue-footed Booby
    Courtship Jun–Aug
    North Seymour & Española
  • Marine Iguana
    Year-round
    Fernandina lava shore

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

View park →
  • Mountain Gorilla
    Dry seasons Jun–Sept, Dec–Feb
    Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga sectors (permit)
    Book gorilla permits 3–6 months ahead.
  • L'Hoest's Monkey
    Year-round
    Buhoma forest edge
  • African Green Broadbill
    Mar–May breeding
    Mubwindi Swamp trail

Pantanal

View park →
  • Jaguar
    Dry Jul–Oct
    Cuiabá & Three Brothers rivers by boat
  • Hyacinth Macaw
    Year-round
    Pousadas along the Transpantaneira
  • Giant River Otter
    Dry season
    Pixaim & Cuiabá tributaries