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Top 5 National Parks For Wildlife Lovers

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Published Date

September 6, 2015
Grizzlies in Yellowstone National Park/NPS

Visit Yellowstone or Grand Teton national parks this fall and you might be able to spot a grizzly...from a distance, hopefully./NPS

Here's your quick cheat sheet to five of the best units in the National Park System for finding wildlife this fall.

Yellowstone National Park: From grizzlies and wolves to bison and elk, Yellowstone has it all. Tour the Hayden Valley in the heart of the park or the Lamar Valley on the northern range for success.

Grand Teton National Park: The park is home to many of the same animals found in Yellowstone, though they’re not always quite as visible. The Moose-Wilson Road is reliable for black bear sightings, while the flats above the Snake River are good bets for bison and pronghorn.

Alligators at Everglades National Park/NPS

During the dry season of fall and winter, water holes at Everglades National Park are wildlife magnets. American alligators are among the various species you might see./NPS

Everglades National Park: Alligators and crocodiles and colorful birdlife are the hallmarks of a fall-winter wildlife safari at Everglades. Stay alert along tidal creeks and you might spot a West Indian Manatee, an endangered species.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: From black bears to elk, with wild turkeys and white-tailed deer in the blend, the Smokies harbor a good deal of wildlife that’s visible, and an astonishing array that is not to the casual observer, as the park’s all taxa biodiversity survey reminds us.

Point Reyes National Seashore: Tule elk in the highlands, migratory birds overhead, and sea lions and harbor seals in the coastal waters make this national seashore a great fall wildlife-watching destination.

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Comments

Submitted by rdm24 on September 7, 2015 - 11:17am.

I just went to Mt. Ranier, and it has a good assortment of North American megafauna (mountain goats, deer, elk, bears, etc.)


Submitted by Andrew Elston on September 9, 2015 - 2:41pm.

Glacier should be on this list.  It was here that I and my companions saw a wolverine in the wild.  We were able to watch it from close range for about 20 minutes, and it was watching us, too. This was on the Highline Trail. We also had an opportunity to watch a young grizzly inspect a pit toilet in one of the backcountry camps.


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