Rocky Mountain National Park | Special Fall Tour Offering
Elk Rut Tours are a must do trip for any wildlife enthusiast visiting Rocky Mountain National Park between September and mid October. Many people come to Estes Park to watch the Elk Rut but few of them really see what is truly going on. Spend an morning or evening with our guide getting play by play commentary on the rut activity, hear the bugling of bull elk, as you will also learn to read an Elk’s mind through their subtle body language.
Learn about their behavior, biology, history and survival strategies that makes the elk one of the most majestic animals in the Rockies. By the end of Elk Rut Safari you will be able to predict exactly when an elk will bugle, tell if a cow elk is interested in a bull or just playing coy, and know where to look to find the next potential fight between two bulls.
Elk Rut Tours
The park meadows are closed to walking so the elk can go about their business. We park along the meadow sideroads which can be busy but we can always find a place to park. Mornings have smaller crowds with good activity but usually about 20 or so minutes less action as the Elk head for the trees once the sun gets warm. Evenings on average have a bit more activity, are more crowded with folks parked along the meadow roadway, and are very dependent on the weather being cooler for closer activity. Sightings are usually 25-250 yards away. The warmer it is the farther away the elk are usually.
Elk Rut Tours are half Wildlife Safari with a chance to see Big Horn Sheep, Mule Deer, Marmots (until Sept 10th), Pika, and other small mammals, and then we set up in one of the park’s meadows around 5pm (evening tours) or first light (morning tours) to start watching the elk action. We will follow the elk and their action, and in October that usually means a migration from the national park to the town yards and golf courses of Estes Park. The September phase of the rut offers views of the largest bulls of the year, and October offers more chance for very close encounters but often close to civilization.
Moose Note: Moose sightings start to decrease drastically right before their rut season which starts at the end of September. The Moose rely on green Willow bush leaves and aquatic vegetation for their summer food. By Mid September most Willows will turn yellow so sightings may only be seen near a few lakes with preferred aquatic vegetation until they also turn brown and like magic the moose will disappear deeper in the woods. Moose sightings decline through September and seeing even one moose a tour is more luck than skill some days. Early October it is a rare treat to get a breif moose sighting, and becomes very rare by mid October.
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. Depending on the season we will likely drive over Trail Ridge Road, to 12,183 ft and back to find wildlife or east of Estes Park depending on your goals. When we find wildlife, we will generally park the vehicle and get out if its safe. Some sightings are very close, others may be so far we can only see them through the spotting scope.
Yellow Wood Guiding is Authorized by the National Park Service, Department of Interior to conduct services in Rocky Mountain National Park. Fees for service are strictly for educational nature experiences and photography instruction, not transportation.
