The Top 6 Best Places to See Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is one of the best places in the world to view wildlife. This national park is located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It has a surface area of 2,219,791 acres. With over 2 million acres of land, you can only begin to imagine how many animals call it home. While visiting, you can see animals like bison, American black bears, moose, bald eagles, common loons, peregrine falcons, and western tiger salamanders. But with so much space, where can you see these animals? Follow along to discover the top 6 places to see wildlife in Yellowstone National Park.

It’s important to note that wild animals are unpredictable. It’s impossible to know when or where you’ll see an animal in the park. These locations are merely suggestions. You may see animals anywhere in the park! Wildlife is unpredictable.

Lamar Valley

The first spot on our list is Lamar Valley. It’s the best place to see wild bison in Yellowstone. Lamar Valley is a popular and incredibly beautiful river valley. Visitors can spend hours hiking, bird watching, and wildlife viewing in this stunning spot. Apart from bison, you may also see wolves, elk, grizzly bears, pronghorns, coyotes, beavers, and mountain goats. According to Yellowstone National Park’s website, the park can be dangerous. Since this is the case, avoid feeding and approaching wildlife. Also, leaving flowers, rocks, antlers, feathers, and arrowheads where you find them is important.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Mammoth Hot Springs is a must-visit spot in Yellowstone National Park. You can see wildlife within the springs and nearby and enjoy the spring’s beauty. There are many ways to explore the springs. For instance, visitors can experience the springs by walking on boardwalks above the steaming. Visitors can also take hiking trails starting from Mammoth Hot Springs. An animal you can see within Mammoth Hot Springs is an elk. If you can’t make the trip to Yellowstone, you can track and spot wildlife using the Mammoth Hot Springs live webcams.

Hayden Valley

Hayden Valley is next on our list of the top 6 best places to see wildlife in Yellowstone National Park. It’s a gorgeous sub-alpine valley between Yellowstone Falls and Yellowstone Lake. The views of this valley are breathtaking. This green valley is named after Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, who led America’s first federally funded geological survey into the Yellowstone region. Hayden Valley is an excellent place to see birds. You may see ducks, American white pelicans, sandhill cranes, and belted kingfishers with binoculars.

South Entrance

Did you know you can also see wildlife around the South Entrance of Yellowstone National Park? The South Entrance is in Wyoming. Near the South Entrance, visitors can see elk and bison. To get through the South Entrance, though, you need to drive through Grand Teton National Park and the Jackson Hole Valley, which also have plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities. 

Old Faithful

Animals may also be spotted near Old Faithful, one of the 500 impressive geysers. Old Faithful is one of the only geysers that park rangers can predict. This cone geyser is in Wyoming and sits at an elevation of over 7,000 feet. Eruptions are memorable and quite a sight to see. There have been over one million recorded eruptions of Old Faithful. The eruption can last up to 5 minutes and may shoot nearly 8,500 US gallons of water. While you’re unlikely to see animals casually walking up to the geyser, there are rattlesnakes, bison, and bears.

Madison River

Last is the Madison River, which runs through Yellowstone National Park. The Madison River is about 183 miles long and is a tributary of the Missouri River. It begins at the confluence of the Firehole and Gibbon rivers.

There are multiple great opportunities to go fishing on the Madison River. It’s especially popular in Montana for fly fishing. So, what kind of fish can you find in this river? Rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, and brown trout are within the Madison River. The average fish caught in Madison River is 12 to 15 inches long. Fall is a great time to go fishing. Millions of people visit this sparkling river yearly, not just for fishing. Hiking along the river is also a popular activity in different sections.