Rocky Mountain National Park Wildlife Tours are high on the list for many guests. If you like Discovery, Netflix, or BBC nature specials you will absolutely love to experience and learn about animals in Rocky Mountain National Park on a Wildlife Tour.

All Estes Park Wildlife Tours either start or end in the dark, as large wildlife like Elk and Moose in Rocky Mountain National Park are most active around dawn and dust. Tour start times account for the nearly hour drive to get to their mountain habitats from the town of Estes Park. May, early June and later September we do not need to drive as far into Rocky Mountain National Park to find great wildlife. This is a vehicle based tour, with many roadside stops, and if needed short walks.

On our Estes Park Wildlife Tours in Rocky Mountain National Park we will try to find the various large and small animals including Rocky Mountain Elk, Shiras Moose, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Yellow-bellied Marmots, American Pikas, Chipmunks, Ground Squirrels, and if we are lucky Coyotes, and birds of prey. On even more extremely rare moments Bobcat, Black Bear, and Mountain Lions have been spotted by our guide on Wildlife Tours. On evening tours another option you can chose is to forgo the Moose and target a small Beaver pond, and Muskrats instead. Rocky is not a great place to find Black Bears, with only 3-5 sightings a year on our tours. Elk and Pika are the stars of Rocky, with Bighorn Sheep and Moose being great targets that get everyone excited as well.

Wildlife Tours are as much about having great sightings as they are to learn about wildlife and Rocky Mountain National Park. We will talk about how they live, communicate, and what they eat. Learn about funny and meaningful body langauge they use, and some great random facts you will love.

Estes Park Wildlife Tours | May - Early September

Rocky Mountain National Park Wildlife Tours

Wildlife Tours involve a good bit of driving throughout the park, many stops, and generally only a few minor walks as we explore the park for animals. We never hike to see wildlife in Rocky. Throughout the tour we will be sure to talk about all the great and amazing stories each one of these creatures have. June through August we will likely drive over Trail Ridge Road, to 12,183 ft and back to find wildlife in the summer months. When we find wildlife, we will generally park the vehicle and get out if its safe, and for close sightings we will stay in the vehicle. While on foot Colorado and National Park laws require us to stay 25 yards away from animals Coyote to Elk size, 35 yards from Moose, and in the ultra rare sightings of large predators 100 yards. Some sightings are very close out the window of the vehicle, others may be so far we can only see them through the spotting scope. Protecting and respecting our wildlife is always practiced on tours.

Our record for one day is finding 14 mammal species on an 8 hour tour. We only see Black Bears 3 or 4 times a year, usually only in May and late August through early September, and have only seen a Mountain Lion three times (ask to see the video on my phone), both of these species are found in the park in very small numbers. Along the way we'll talk about why they are so rare and why wolves and grizzly are no longer found in the park.

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What can we expect to see on a Wildlife Tour

On nearly every single Estes Park Wildlife Tour we will find Elk cow herds often with calves. Elk bulls are fewer but spotted most days with closer sighitngs common in July through September. Moose cows and sometimes bulls are a regular sight May through August declining in September. Mule Deer are another daily close encounter species. Bighorn Sheep sightings are near daily in May and June at binocular distances, and in July through August those sightings become a bit harder at spotting scope ranges. Small Mammals like American Pika, Yellow-bellied Marmots, Least and Colorado Chipmunks, Pine Squirrels, Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels, and Wyoming Ground Squirrels are part of the cute fuzzy faction of mammals that we see daily as long as we have good weather. Predator mammal sightings are more rare and special with Coyotes being most common on about a third of summer tours, while Bobcats, Long-tailed and Short-tailed Weasels, and Red Fox are only spotted a few times a season. Black bear sightings are even more rare with only the slightest chances in May and again in August when the berries rippen. Mountain Lions are one of the rarest sightings, but we have seen 3 on tours over nearly 20 years. Check out the Wildlife Chances link below to see more details.

Wildlife Chances Page

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Each Guest is Provided Binoculars

Binoculars and spotting scopes are provided for every guest and with them we can often find wildlife that most other folks never see. Guests can use our top of the line 10x Swarovski Binoculars for great views, and 20-70x Kowa Spotting Scopes for very distant animals.

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Estes Park Wildlife Tour Fun Facts

We have two species discovered by Lewis and Clark, find out which ones those are. Learn why coyotes wag their tails and what it means, why ground squirrels are so important to the meadows, learn why most animals can't see the color red, and be amazed at how much elk eat everyday. Along the way we may find the world's smallest chipmuck, the Least Chipmunk, and the world's largest deer, the Moose.

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Wildlife Seasonal Notes

Season Notes: Moose are a major goal for many folks. From mid April through early May we often can get a few sightings a day and about 70% of the time we get closer than 50 yard sightings. Mid May through Mid June offers the best chances for moose sightings both close up and in the distance. July through early September Moose sightings become mainly views throuh the spotting scopes as most of the population moves into high mountain river valleys 1-3 miles from the trail and roadways. This is also true of Bighorn Sheep who are sometimes seen at distance but very visiable in the spotting scopes from July through mid September. The later in the summer season the fewer Bighorn Sheep we see. Around Mid-September Sheep sightings can become more common if we visit the right areas. Elk sightings are great most of the summer, with Bull Elk and cows with calves a near daily close encounter. Bull Elk do move away starting in August with spotting scope views and often get closer again just before the rut starts in September. Everyday we have a chance for close sightings of every common species, which makes every day a great adventure.

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How Long of a Tour & Morning vs Evening?

4 or 8 hour Tour? For most Wildlife Tours a 4 hour trip is recommended. All afternoon tours can only be 4 hours. 8 hour tours are best split between the morning and evening roughly 4 hours each increasing the number of species we can encounter in different habitats. I would recommend an 8 hour tour if you want to try to spend more time with species like Elk or Moose, or if you want to increase the number of species we can see.

Morning vs Evening Mornings on average give us cooler temps and less crowds, sometimes closer sightings of Elk, but very early starts. Evenings offer similar sightings but higher temps can limit sighting duration, and more chance of storms with a later afternoon start. We have had amazing morning and evening tours, it usually comes down to weather and luck, except for Beavers they are always evening sightings. Also reliable moose sightings end around Sept 8th.

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