Hi, I'm looking for suggestions on a place to go next summer. I'm hoping to view wildlife such as Buffalo, Elk, Prairie dogs, etc. I really need some recommendations on places to consider, please.

I looked briefly at the Yellowstone National Park website, but I think it's too big for what I want on this trip. So far, I think that Oklahoma and Kansas might be good states to consider, but definitely open to other places. I'm not in great physical condition so I can't do any strenuous hiking, and I also wouldn't want to be in a hot, desert area.

I appreciate all your suggestions. Thanks, Greg

I'd recommend South Dakota--in particular, Custer State Park. They have a "prairie dog village" where you can easily see prairie dogs and there is a large bison population as well, so you can spot them from your car. Or you could even take a guided tour out to the bison herds.
The Black Hills are definitely not hot and humid. The summers there are quite pleasant.

I don't know of any elk or buffalo in Oklahoma or Kansas, except in a pen or hunting resort.

Yellowstone is your best bet. You can see lots of buffalo and usually several elk from your car without going down any trails at all. You might get to see bear, bighorn sheep, moose, wolves--they are more elusive.

I can't comprehend your statement that Yellowstone is "too big" while Oklahoma or Kansas are okay. Yellowstone is SMALLER than either of those states, and (more fundamentally) the amount of time, effort, money, and travel area you would use up to see wild animals in Yellowstone is smaller than any other place in the U.S. Even better, there you can see deer, bison, elk, moose, and (perhaps) bears without any hiking at all. If you have no interest in seeing thermal areas, fine -- just drive around until you see a bunch of cars pulled off to the side of the road, then view the animal causing the jam.

In almost fifty years of travel, including decades of trying to get photos of animals in the wild, I can honestly say that no place surpasses Yellowstone for doing so.

We were in Yellowstone in late June a couple of years ago and there were tons of elk, baby elk, bison, baby bison and lots of other wildlife. That said, I think they are introducing bison to the prairie grasslands national park.

Yellowstone for wildlife AND scenery is a must, and you can combine with Grand Teton.Drives are short in comparaison with other states(Landing in Jackson Hole makes the drive short...), but it can be expensive...(Lodging in the park is the best way to see wildlife...).
South Dakota is as said before a very nice spot : Custer park and Wind cave have herds of bisons-pronghorns..., there are some prairie dogs spot there and this is less expensive. You have to land in Rapid City and a "loop" from there(Rapid City/Badlands/Windcave and Custer/Mount rushmore/Spearfish -Deadwood/Rapid City) : not too much to drive each day.Scenery is less attractive than Yellowstone in term of special foemations(geysers, thermal pools,...)or in alpin scenery than Grand Teton.
If you don't know each one, I'll begin with SD and the year after Wyoming..
Erik

I have lived in Oklahoma for 42 years and have driven across Kansas many times. I have a friend who has 4 or 5 bison that he keeps with his cows in a fence. I have yet to see Buffalo, elk, or Prarie Dogs. My Watch the travel channel for "the best places to see wildlife in national parks".

Yellowstone- Guaranteed to see Bison withing 15 minutes of arriving, Guaranteed to see Elk. These are FREE ROAMING. they go where they want to. You will see a lot of other wildlife as well. I am no expert on "when to go", but we had an awesome trip in June saw moose, 10+ bears, coyotee, fox, otter, beaver, deer, elk, pronghorn, bison, many birds, and yes the geysers are mighty great thing to see as well. Yellowstone is a "total package" National Park. Maybe not my favorite, but it would be the first place I would tell anyone to go, it is just great. I would see it over anything else that America has to offer including Washington, Disney, Grand Canyon, etc.

Other good places,
Glacier
Theodore Roosevelt
Custer State Park/Mount Rushmore-prarie dogs there also
Olympic-deer, elk

prarie dogs are in a lot of Utah area, but bison and elk aren't plentiful.

Great Sand Dunes National Park- Elk, deer, and bison- not nearly as plentiful as yellowstone, however.

Um - if you want to see wild animals you need to go where they live - not just drive around areas with a lot of farms/ranches.

That means heading for a national park where wildlife is protected - or areas immediately adjacent. (At a guess there haven;t been any bison in Kansas in about a hundred years.)

I live now in Greeley, CO. There are plenty of prairie dogs in town and also in nearby Ft. Collins. Elk there are plenty in Rocky Mtn National park. I don't know if they are easy to spot in the summer - Last Thanksgiving there were plenty in the meadows as well as a group of bighorn sheep along the road outside the park. Buffalo can be seen in the pasture next to the buffalo meat shop (I'm sure that's not what you had in mind). I have spotted 8 pronghorn from Hwy 14 on my last 2 trips near the Pawnee National Grasslands NE of Greeley.

All that aside, I would go to Yellowstone. You don't have to hike at all and there are all the geological features to see. All easily accessible with short walks from the road.

Yellowstone.

I agree with the above-Yellowstone. And The Grand Tetons. We possibly saw more wildlife in the Grand Tetons, but this included more moose and bear, rather than bison, which you can't help but see in Yellowstone. If you plan your locations in Yellowstone, the vastness is an element to enjoy, not feel overwhelmed by. These two parks are some of the most awe-inspiring in the country.

For the state of Kansas, I was referring to the TallGrass Prairie National Preserve (in Northern Chase County, Kansas) http://www.nps.gov/tapr/index.htm. And there is a Bison Reintroduction Program there. According to the website there are also other animals there such as White-Tailed Deer, Woodchucks, and Coyotes.

I'm still open however, to looking at yellowstone again. How to determine which is the best entrance to use? And determine which airport would be the closest to fly into? I'm not looking to camp -are there lodges inside the park or in nearby towns? Thanks, Greg

For places to stay in the Yellowstone, go to www.nps.gov and click on the link to lodging. There are several places and you will get lots of opinions on which is best. Also opinions on where to fly into, some folks say Jackson and come up through Grand Tetons, others say Beartoooth Hwy. It will depend on which is better for you. Do make reservations soon for this summer and if they say they are full when you want to go, call as people cancel all the time. Yellowstone, IMO, is one of the parks where staying in the park makes sense.

Bookmarking.

You can fly into Bozeman and come in the north or west entrance or fly into Jackson and drive through Grand Teton on your way to the south entrance.

Further away but with possibly better flight times and prices is Salt Lake City because it is a much larger airport.

There are several lodges in the park or in nearby towns--it just depends on where you come.
Gardiner--north
West Yellowstone--west
Jackson is too far south, IMO, to use as a base for YP. It is at least an hour away. There is no town after Jackson on the south end.

This is the website for Xanterra who runs the lodges and stores in the park to make reservations:
www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/

When we were in Yellowstone we were surrounded by bison more than once and could not drive the car til they moved. We also saw lots of elk near the wooden walkways at Old Faithful. I believe you could see and be very near these animals without much effort.

I assume this would be a vacation- or is this some type of study you are conducting? I did a little investigation and it does appear that they are moving some bison into Grasslands, supposedly November(usually government is slow, so who knows). I can't imagine anyone wanting to go there unless they just happened to be in the area or was really into wildlife reserves/areas. Since you haven't been to Yellowstone or any other National Park that has significant wildlife, it just makes no sense.

I am not trying to run you down. You say that Yellowstone is too big. Well, you don't have to see it all.

I see on another post of yours that you have a disney trip in the works. You might want to just stop at a local Walmart in Kansas and just ride the merry-go-round out front( that is about the same comparison of Yellowstone to driving through Kansas looking for wildlife). I can tell you this- a drive across Kansas and panhandle of Oklahoma is one of the most boring places on earth. A drive anywhere in Yellowstone 25 miles is fantastic.

I guess I was somewhat dumbfounded by your question on this post and the question of "how to get into Disney" on your other recent post- You might want to do a little research and then ask questions on here that are a little more specific. You asked where to see wildlife. 99% of the people will say Yellowstone or perhaps 3 or 4 other NP locations.

Again, I am not trying to sound harsh, Just wanting you to see that there are some areas that Do Offer GREAT wildlife viewing along with some other great things as well. I just don't think grasslands in Kansas can even begin to compare.

What's there to be dumbfounded by? I didn't know the answer to something *after having checked each parks' websites and I sought clarity. So I posted here asking advice from people who've already been to these places. Furthermore, my question wasn't how to get into Disney, it was whether or not I could visit Disney Animal Kingdom without paying admission to the Walt Disney World theme park.

When researching a national park that encompasses three (3) states, and has four entrances that seems big to me. Maybe not to you, fine.

We stayed in Yellowstone at the Old Faithful Lodge Cabins. They are one bedroom cabins set aside from all the bustle of the Old Faithful area, yet only yards from the geyser. While the geyser is crowded during the day, it is virtually deserted in the early morning and in the evening.

We approached yellowstone from south thru Grand Teton. We had no trouble seeing all of Yellowstone from our Old Faithful base. We were there however in early June when it wasn't as crowded as it gets later in the summer.

If you go to Yellowstone, decide soon and make reservations if you want to stay in the park. Reservations can be made up to 365 days in advance.

OK, I stopped here specifically because I saw the word "Bison" in the subject heading.

So, unlike most, I have a unique suggestion and that is "Elk Island National Park" just east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

I'm not even a nature lover but somebody suggested that I go there and, merely while staying in the car, I was surrounded by Bison, and it was quite the fun experience.

Here's a website to consider:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/elkisland/visit.aspx


I'm sure you can conjur up various photographs taken by others, online, for viewing.

Edmonton itself is a fun city, which is thriving because of the oil dollars from Northern Alberta.

You can be somewhat sure that you won't be "in a hot, desert area" either.

At least put Elk Island National Park (Canada) on your list of considerations.