angethereader

Wilbur - I guess I'm spoiled. We've had bald eagles nesting near our lake lot since the mid 70's. They come back every year and fish in our lake.

It's a rare year that I do not see one of the bald eagles at least once. We get to see a juvenile nearly every other year. We've walked through the woods to their nest - two adults could sit in it. It's amazing. Like I said, I guess I'm spoiled.

There are also loons that nest in a nearby lake and fish on our lake nearly every day. We also have a great heron pair that nests on the far side of our lake. The male will fish right off our dock.

Hazelmn

I agree and disagree with most of the posters. Agree that seeing the roadside moose and bear, like you would in Yellowstone, is more of a fluke than a regularity in Minnesota or Wisconsin. However, if you are willing to hike a bit or follow some low-maintenance roads, you might get lucky.

Attached is a map of the moose range in Minnesota. Note that the best place to find moose is near areas that have recently been logged. A few calls ahead of time might point you in the right direction:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snapshots/mammals/moose.html

Also, don't forget about Timberwolves. There is a wolf interpretive center just outside of Ely which has several wild Timberwolves roaming its grounds.

sobolik

It can be safely said that the North Woods is all about wildlife. According to the Trail Coordinator Susan Foot Martin of the WI DNR Wisconsin is tied with Alaska as the 3rd largest destination State for wild life viewing. Behind #2 Minnesota and # 1 Virginia. You will have many of the best of the best sites nearby your route on the BRAND NEW as of 2004 Great Wisconsin Birding & Nature Trail. (“new” as a man made cohesive nature viewing plan anyway)
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/public...ods_Region.pdf and http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/birds/trail.htm

BearsGrl8

You're right, Pictured Rocks are very far out of your way, as far as the UP is concerned. I live up here, and my suggestion would be to see Copper country in Keewenau (sp?) peninsula, the little bit of land that juts out into Lake Superior. While it is not likely that you'll see moose and bears without having to camp out or hike (if you see them at all), it is incredibly beautiful.

Like TC said, with just a few days youll be spending an awful lot of time driving. I didn't realize until I got up here how long it takes to drive everywhere because they are smaller highways and a lot of little towns with slow speed limits. At the risk of losing some tourism money for my state, I would not really bother coming up until you have more time to see the Pictured Rocks, Copper Country, and other places.

isabellasu

There are bear, deer, eagles, beavers, loons, etc. in the woods in extreme Northern Wisconsin. My parents have a cabin on a lake near Iron River, WI and we have seen bear several times on their lake or on the roadside.

SuzieTrue

The lunchroom conversation today centered around seeing bears in MI. One of the gals mentioned that a grandfather is building a fence around the granddaughter's yard because of bear problems. This is in the Lower Penisula of MI not far from Traverse City. Less and less wilderness means more interaction with humans. How sad!

ComfyShoes

Definitely unrelated to wildlife (well, unless tourists are considered part of it!), consider visiting Mackinac Island. It is unique and very nice, specially if you stay overnight. A favorite one or two day destination of many Michiganders I know.