Estes Park Wildlife Tours | May - October

Rocky Mountain National Park Wildlife Tours

Wildlife Tours involve a good bit of driving throughout the park, a number of stops, and generally only a few minor walks as we explore the park for animals. 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. Some sightings are very close, others may be so far we can only see them through the spotting scope.

Our record for one day is finding 14 species on an 8 hour tour. We only see Black Bears 3 or 4 times a year, usually May and August, 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 spotting 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

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, what they eat, learn about funny and meaningful body langauge they use, and some great random facts you will love.

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 often 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?

For most Wildlife Tours a 4 hour trip is recommended. All afternoon tours are 4 hours. Morning 6 hour tours are only recommended if you want to search out specific small mammal species or you would like to spend extended time to do a short hike or add in Nature Tour elements like wildflowers or other nature interests. Adding those 2 extra hours to a 6 hour tour from a 4 hour tour will rarely produce more large animal sightings than what we already get in a 4 hour trip. 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. 

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 sightings end around Sept 8th.

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